Edit: I have already booked in to get a full blood test done due to the possibility of contracting any infections/diseases. This is what prompted me to post this as I think it’s possible my drink was simply spiked rather than a needle as a bug bite can look very similar to a track mark if there is no bruising at the injection site. I did not go to the hospital/police the next day as it quite clear that the general consensus in Japan is that if you’re a foreigner who has been drinking (or not) and you willingly or unwillingly end up in one of these places then anything that happens to you after that is on you and the police do not give a fuck. At the end of the day there were a combination of reasons as to why I was out alone at night in this area. Mainly because our flight there was delayed by 16 hours causing us to miss a full day of our trip, then my boyfriend was sick for a few days resulting in him not wanting to explore as much as we usually do (understandably) and I simply did not want to miss out on seeing Tokyo before we left for Kyoto. Even just typing this I can see how absolutely bullshit all of these excuses are but I wanted to post this in the hope that no one does anything half as stupid and to really make myself understand just how serious the consequences could of been.
I’m not really sure why I’m posting this I think I’m just looking for some clarification or closure on what happened to me as I’m still thinking about it after returning home from Japan a week ago. I have read the multiple, shockingly similar, experiences by other tourists and know I am probably about to get slammed in the comments for my stupidity but I really just can not stop thinking about what happened.
I (25 F) was vacationing in Japan with my boyfriend (26 M) for the first time recently. However, on this particular night I went out without him in Shinjuku around 12am just to walk around, have a drink and use my new AirPods as I was not even remotely tired. I walked for about an hour before I decided to start heading back to our hotel and decided to cut through the Kabukicho area as it was only 5 minutes from out hotel and we had been through it many times before. I know what you are thinking but I didn’t have the intention of stopping anywhere here I just liked all the lights on this particular street. Long story short, I followed one of the Nigerian scammers into a bar with the notion of playing darts or pool (I don’t even like darts so I’m not sure what I was thinking but i’m guessing it was the 14% lemon drinks I had been drinking like water up until that point clouding my judgment). I don’t want anyone to think I simply got too drunk as I am well aware, from experience, the difference between having one too many drinks and being under the influence of drugs. Growing up in Australia I am not shy of having a few too many in a short amount of time just because it is a nice day and we’re at the beach or it’s a nice day and we just finished work. I would also say I’ve done more than your standard amount of drugs since the age of 16 that includes periods of daily weed use for years. Due to this, I consider myself quite capable of getting out of the sticky situations that are often associated with drug/alcohol use. This is the only possible reason I can come up with as to why I thought it was even remotely okay to go play darts with a Nigerian scammer in a random bar in a foreign country. After entering the bar and having one drink I know I was drugged for certain but I am not sure if it came from the drink or a needle as I didn’t even finish half of the drink. My mum is also a nurse and upon my boyfriend contacting her on FaceTime once I arrived back at the hotel she basically said I displayed every tell tale sign of being roofied as she has dealt with multiple date rape victims in hospitals over the decades working as a nurse. After my mum directed my boyfriend (while I was completely incoherent and hysterically crying for some reason), he located a tract mark on my arm indicating that the Nigerian had needle spiked me instead of spiking my drink.
So my first question is how common is needle spiking in Japan, if it is common at all, or is the usual method of spiking in your drink? Secondly, all I had in my bag was my bank card and phone and both were with me when I returned to the hotel that night. Also, after checking my bank account the next day no money was missing apart from the 2000 yen they charged me for my drink I had in the bar. After having this one drink, chunks of my memory are completely missing. I slightly remember asking the Nigerian man where a toilet was and then proceeding to go into this toilet alone and do not recall if I locked the door behind me or if it was locked from the outside. Once I was done peeing, I attempted to open the door to leave but it would not open and it felt as though it was being held from the outside. This is the only point of the night I started to realise I may have made some seriously stupid decisions. I now realised I was locked in a bathroom, in a bar, in a red light district in Japan after following some Nigerian scammer here completely ALONE. I then started to really grasp the situation I was in and truly thought I was now 100% about to be raped and/or trafficked or raped and killed. All I remember from this point is slamming myself into the door to try open it and banging and screaming for what felt like hours (though I’m sure it was only minutes). My next memory is the door somehow magically opening (not from my doing) and me running out. I then somehow made my way out of the bar and on to the main street. I have no recollection AT ALL of how I got out of the bathroom, who was there when I got out and how I got out of the bar itself. My memory then jumps to me crying on a street outside the bar and then my next memory is me arriving back at my hotel room with no idea of how I got there and my boyfriend being absolutely beside himself because according to him (he told me this the next day) it was 4am at this point and my phone had been dead for the past 2 hours. He said there was a white/clear substance over the front of what I was wearing (I think he was implying cum) but as I was violently throwing up in the hotel room once I arrived I’m guessing it could of been spit or simply my own vomit from my journey back to the hotel. My mum seems to think I have quite a tolerance for certain drugs from doing so many throughout my teenage and adult years and whatever the guy drugged me with did not have the intended effect of making me completely black out so he could carry out whatever he had planned. Instead, I was very much alert in that moment in the bathroom and used every ounce of my energy trying to get out.
Basically, what I want to know is what was his intention in drugging me and why did he not follow through with it. I returned to the hotel with all of my belongings, no crazy amounts of money were charged to my bank card and no visible or internal signs of sexual assault were present? Was I simply lucky or has something very bad happened to me in the chunks of time I can’t remember and I am blocking it out? I am really at a loss of what to think and can not believe I willingly made choices that got me into such a position while knowing what area of Shinjuku I was in and knowing roughly what kind of people the Nigerians are in this area.
43 comments
Sketchy as fuck.
That area is nuts. I feel like nobody should really be going there alone, even men.
That is the only area in Japan where I had violent encounters. Felt so out of place for a city that mostly felt unbelievably peaceful.
Hope you feel better soon
By your story as told; you’re relatively young and you made a series of bad decisions and were taken advantage of by shitty people. Frankly, it seems like you’re lucky that something much worse didn’t happen, so all I could say is you should count your blessings a bit here, and use this as a life lesson to be more careful. Your boyfriend also seems like a complete idiot for not going with you in the middle of the night in a foreign country expecting that you would be under the influence of alcohol. Alcohol is a drug as much as any hard drug, and it impairs your judgment and perception and puts you at risk of being exploited.
Most of the time spiking the drink is the standard, whether you had half the drink or more is irrelevant, as a bit of the drink is all it takes. It seems unlikely they used a needle but I couldn’t say for certain. If you were already drunk and you’re small it can easily hit you fast, and the goal most likely was to just drug you and take your money. Looks like they didn’t get your money and it doesn’t seem like much worse happened.
I’m very sorry this happened to you, but a valuable lesson for yourself and others. If anyone has to convince you to go into a shady bar in the middle of the night; tell them no and walk away.
hi! i’m sorry that you went through this. i would definitely recommend that you ensure your physical health is intact with a physical exam and blood work to rule out transmittable infections even if there is no sign of physical or sexual abuse. i don’t think anyone here can tell you what their intention was or might have been. i’m glad you’re safe, make sure you follow up with a healthcare provider.
I doubt anyone here knows what happened to you. If all the financials are there, I am sure you can get a rape kit from the police station if you want to be sure. Did your phone died because of battery or someone turned it off?
i wish any of us could answer these questions for you, but i unfortunately don’t think any of us can. i am really sorry this happened to you, and i highly encourage you to talk to a mental health professional about this, because it’s super traumatic and you deserve to process and heal from it.
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Those scammers are persistent as fuck. I remember they were following my spouse and me when we walked back to the APA hotel in Kabukicho and they grabbed my spouse’s arm. I was like dude wtf are you doing.
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Anyways, scammers were obviously the least favorite thing about my trip, but overall Shinjuku Kabukicho was nice.
As far as I’m concerned, I don’t think there is too much to worry about spiked drinks. The Nigerian scammer, however, I’m surprised not many people know about that. Almost everyone I know that went to Japan be natives or foreigners always warned me about those situations that I felt were kinda common knowledge. I’m not saying you’re 100% in the wrong and only yourself to blame but you could’ve thought about that situation a bit more. You’re extremely lucky you only lost money and wasn’t assaulted or anything.
I would be inclined to think it was the just the drink that was spiked, still not good. From what I recall they often do this to get you to spend more money, rather than anything else.
Please report this and perhaps call a newspaper. Think about what these people are doing to others.
Just awful, I’m so sorry this happened.
A little fuzzy on the timeline but left at 12a and walked one hour.
Entered a bar and had one drink, presumably roofied a little after 1a.
2a your phone stops responding.
At some point you are on the street crying.
At 4a you get transported to the hotel.
That 1:15a or so to 4a gap is a long time, that is scary stuff.
OP, you need to go to the hospital ASAP to get tested for HIV if you really believe you were spiked by a needle.
It’s most likely the drink that got spiked.
I’m sorry this happened to you and I’m glad you’re sharing your story to make others aware. When I worked in Japan, they used to always warn new hires to be wary in Kabukicho because of stuff like this.
While Japan overall is a very safe place to travel, roofie incidents definitely happen. I think the most likely scenario is rape was the motive. Rape crimes aren’t treated seriously by the justice system in Japan but crimes like theft are. They know if they had stolen your wallet, the cops would have come sniffing around.
Please get to a hospital and get tested ASAP. I’m sorry for your horrible experience. Please look after yourself and talk it out.
Omg, this is scary af. I am visiting Japan in a few weeks and I intended on roaming around the streets in Shinjuku at night. Now I am super scared. And I did not know about such scams. Also, OP please get tested for HIV!!
Guys, are there any other scams that I should be aware of before my 2-week trip to Japan?
So sorry to hear about this, I was approached by many people both Asian and Nigerian. Even had one more persistent one grab my arm and try to lead me before I got confrontational about it.
Get tested, CLOSE your credit cards so they can’t charge anything, and hopefully nothing else occurs from this incident.
I believe every word of your story. These Nigerian touts are more dangerous than Yakuza. Please get a medical check-up and glad you made it out of there.
Edit: all these downvotes because you love the Nigerian scammers or you love the Yakuza?
If you really want a persistent foreign tout to go away, whip out your phone and tell them you want a selfie with them. They will scatter.
I stopped reading after „I followed Nigerians”. There you go. But I guess life is about having lessons.
Doesn’t matter if you were drunk or sober, alone or with friends or even if you knew not to follow touts, this shit is wrong and awful on so many levels and no one deserves to have an experience like that. You have the right to be safe, so don’t blame yourself.
I got roofied in Osaka once. I was at a club, left my drink unattended for a few minutes next to some girls (I’m a large male) and someone thought it was theirs and spiked it. My night went exactly as hours did hah. So I’d say you were likely roofied by a spiked drink.
How people still fall for this shit is beyond me
Wow
He did go through with it. You were drugged and he got what he wanted. Next time you travel to Japan remember it’s not a utopia by any means and has it’s fair share of scum bags.
Recently saw something on Facebook about ‘totes’, charismatic people on the street getting people into their bar and basically bullying them into using their credit cards and paying exorbitant fees (like $200/drink). Other cases of drugging people as well.
Shinjuku didn’t really feel unsafe at all, but this isn’t the first story I’ve read of this happening specifically in that area. It’s usually non-Japanese who are bullying/abusing people from what I’ve read.
I’m a 6’ 200 pound man that used to bounce for years and sometimes just fight for fun!
I was walking through Shinjuku when one of these TOUTS came up to me saying he had the best bar and I needed to GO and have a drink, I ignored him then he proceeded to grab my arm (big mistake) and said rather forcefully WE GO NOW!
Well I YELLED “if you don’t get away from me I’m going to phuck you up”
Now everyone in 30 feet is looking, he let go and I took a step and he started to follow, I turned and said “one more step and we have a problem” again I stepped away and he was right there!
I stopped took my glasses off and handed them to this older Japanese woman, he said something like “oh you tough man” and that’s when I hit his glass jaw and he dropped like bad habit.
The older woman handed me my glasses and smiled & i smiled back.
All the Japanese people around were giggling and going Ohhhhh.
The police need to get rid of these people but they’re hired by these seedy bars because of people 98% are intimidated by a black man.
But I did notice afterwards when I walked around no one would bother me so apparently news travels fast 😂
Maybe you could walk around there with your BF watching you and see if the 🤡 shows up and your BF could “chat” with him!
A friend of mine got roofied in Oregon. She and her partner had just moved there and ended up moving back.
I can only imagine how you’re feeling OP. Glad you’re already scheduled medical appointments. Hope that includes therapy (please please please don’t put that off) we’re all pulling for you
>with the notion of playing darts or pool
A great bar for this – in Kabukicho – is Sector 7G. Sports on TV (when we were there, they had the TdF on live), beers, darts, kids on dates. Very wholesome.
Japan. Good ol Japan.
Sorry to hear this happened to you. I remember turning down some scammers and they got real angry and called me names. They try to be nice but if you turn them down (I could tell by their body language and tone of voice that they were fake friendly), they got irritate.
I’m from New York if anyone, anywhere tries to get me to do something (go to a store or restaurant through cajoling or pressure) my instinct is to run the other direction.
I’m sorry this happened and ruined your trip. I hope thing terrible happened and all you get is a mild headache and out a few yen.
Keep this as a lesson that being identified as a foreigner and anything other than asking directions or having a friendly chat is a bad sign and should get your hackles up.
Shinjuku is the place this would happen
I’m visiting Japan right now and seen those Nigerians. How are they even allowed to solicit in the country?
that is so scary. I am sorry that happened to you. you didn’t deserve that.
My friend and I (both 28F) went out late in Tokyo and Osaka. We went to Japanese bars only. So my advice is, go to Japanese bars. Not any ex-pat bars.
Unfortunately I think you were targeted. – a woman, alone after 12 am not stupid but naive. Japan is one of those holiday destinations where people worry about missing their flight and nothing else. It’s a safe destination so most people wouldn’t think walking into a bar after 12am is unsafe.
I’m sorry to read about your experience and I hope this doesn’t deter you from traveling around the rest of Asia. Thank you for sharing so that others will consider about safety while traveling.
OP I’d say you’re pretty lucky. Spiking is actually decently common in Kabu and Roppongi. Most stories I’ve heard are guys getting drugged and getting robbed. But I’m sure it’s worse for gals.
Glad you made it out! Hopefully, everything is alright!
Never go into a club that a big black man is pressuring you into! Also have bad experiences when I was 16 with my gf ending up puking blood just from having drinks so I heavily suspect being spiked.
>I followed one of the Nigerian scammers into a bar
Yikes, I am very sorry this happened to you, truly but that is very reckless.
If there is one area you are allowed to racially profile an individual, it is Kabukicho. The yakuza purposely brought nigerians to japan specifically to do these kinds of seemingly irrational crimes and atrocities.
Downvote me for being extremely blunt (or even racist? idfk) but do not engage or follow nigerians anywhere in kabukicho.
Personally, I’d go even further and say don’t even go to Kabukicho anymore. I have a friend who lost his passport, had his airbnb broken into with the key they took and all of his luggage and souvenirs for his famliy gone.
I’m sorry this happened to you. Do not think you have to make excuses. You aren’t stupid, you simply didn’t know. Ignorance isn’t a crime nor something you should feel like you have to apologise for. But yes as others have said, never, ever, follow a tout anywhere.
But as for their intention, the majority of the time they’re just trying to rob you. Worse stuff can and does happen, but a lot of the time it’s just about money. They’ll drug you, charge your card over and over while you’re too out of it to object or realise what’s happening and then turf you out. They do this because it’s easier for them to get away with. You claim you were robbed, they just say that you were drunk. The police don’t care enough to really do much about it and your card provider typically won’t do anything about it because you authorised the transactions (even if you did so under the influence). In all likelihood you were lucky and managed to escape before they could really do anything.
Sounds like he targeted you for sex and/or to sell you off to some Japanese clients, as they could probably get more money from prostituting you out than they would for taking your money out of the ATM, especially if they had multiple clients lined up.
That doesn’t mean you got penetrated necessarily but probably fondled and/or orally sexually assaulted at the least. Especially considering you had a white residue on your clothes. You’ll definitely want to get tested for disease but oral transmission is much less likely for most STDs. Regarding penetration however check for any unusual odors as “unfamiliar” sperm will shift your pH balance more than your dedicated partner’s will, assuming they didn’t use a condom.
This system works for them as you’re less likely to follow up with the cops/etc if your money isn’t missing and you *aren’t sure* what happened, so sex trafficking can actually be less risky in some ways for them. Though I think it’s rare to happen to a foreigner.
That all said, he may have just trapped you in the bathroom while he was figuring out what to do with you/wait until you passed out/etc, so there is a slight possibility that you weren’t taken advantage of at all.
Not sure why you followed a Nigerian into a bar alone while you could make executive decisions. Having exposure to drugs and/or partying for large swaths of your life will not prepare you against rapists and criminals.
The needling doesn’t seem very plausible. Spiking your drink is significantly easier and needles are a controlled medical device in Japan so it would be both difficult for them to acquire and would introduce potential exposure to the police/customs/etc.
Why on Earth are you following male Strangers into bars in the middle of the night while your partner is in bed sleeping, in what is known as one of the worst areas of the city?
Sorry for your overall experience but that was an incredibly silly thing to do.
Sorry to hear this happened. Being 6’2 I literally told the nigerian touts to fuck off….. in a friendly way though as I don’t wanna get jumped…. But i knew what they were doing…..
Sounds like your memory is blocking out ALOT of time. Would not be surprised if you were orally raped n don’t remember a thing…