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Home » Crime & Punishment, Culture & Society, Food & Drink, Government, Politics & Security, Law, Music & Entertainment

Avoid Roppongi Bars and Clubs!

Submitted by on July 10, 2009 – 10:31 am5 Comments

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The latest Warden Report: “The U.S. Embassy continues to recommend that American citizens avoid frequenting bars and clubs in the Roppongi area of Tokyo due to drink-spiking incidents. 

The U.S. Embassy continues to receive reliable reports of U.S. citizens being drugged in Roppongi-area bars.  Most reports indicate that the victim unknowingly drinks a beverage that has been secretly mixed with a drug that renders the victim unconscious or stuporous for several hours, during which time large charges are fraudulently billed to the victim, sums of money are charged to the victim’s credit card, or the card is stolen.  Victims sometimes regain consciousness in the bar or club, while at other times the victim awakens on the street.  Assaults on Americans have also been reported in connection with drink-spiking.

For further information, please consult the Country Specific Information Sheet for Japan, available via the Internet at http://travel.state.gov.” You can read the previous warning and information here.

BT reader Ken commented that:

1) A professional bartender always mixes drinks in full view of the customer who ordered it.

2) No one should ever accept a drink that they didn’t see being made.

  • sean

    I was definitely drugged in roppongi two weeks ago, as i, and my japanese-american (fully-bilingual) friend both blacked out at exactly the same time after not drinking enough to black out.

    We woke up a half-mile from each other near shinjuku, and judging by my vague memories of the walk to shinjuku from roppongi, i realize that someone must have followed me a long way and waited a long time for me to pass out in order to steal my backpack. At least 2 hours. Thankfully, i keep my wallet and passport in my front pocket, no exceptions, so i guess that was a little too risky for them to try, considering the easy target of a backpack.

    I’m an experienced traveller who until this incident was the guy who said yeah you know that happens to stupid americans abroad without any travel experience.

    WARNING: it CAN happen to you.
    Drink bottles, no draught beers in roppongi!!!

  • Chase

    In my personal opinion, this is a ridiculous article. I’m a U.S. military member here in Japan and have never heard of anything like this. Hundreds of Americans flood the streets of Roppongi every weekend including myself and many of my friends without incident that they didn’t put upon themselves.

    Just being smart about it is all you have to do. Like the last comment, keep your wallet, id’s, and money in your front pockets if you’re scared. My friends and I have been to Roppongi dozens of times and keep our wallets in our back pockets without any incident. Go in a group, and always have at least one person with you. Avoid the shady African clubs and “massage” girls. In every single bar and club I’ve been to, ALL of the bartenders make the drink right in front of you and open bottles in front of you too. If they don’t, don’t pay for the drink until they comply.

    Use good judgment when choosing what bar or club you and your friends want to go to. The Gaspanic clubs are huge tourist hot spots with very legitimate business. Every club and bar in Roppongi has signs all over the inside with warnings about keeping your drink in hand. If you set it down, leave it. When the crowd gets really insane like it always does late night, keep your drink close to you or your thumb over your bottle top.

    This article should definitely be renamed as: BE MINDFUL IN ROPPONGI BARS AND CLUBS. Go there and have fun. If you’re visiting the Tokyo area of Japan and are into nightlife I wouldn’t suggest missing Roppongi or neighboring similar cities such as Shibuya and Shinjuku at all. These futuristic cities define modern Japan as we stereotype it in the U.S. and can’t afford to be missed.

  • Squidcharmer

    I was also drugged in Roppongi about a month ago..

    Passing back through Tokyo on my way North, I had dinner with a friend then went out in Roppongi by myself. Vague memories of a bar where I was playing pool later in the night exist, but after that(as if the switch was turned off) almost no recollection at all.

    Somehow I made my way back to my friend’s house the next morning at 8am and went straight to bed. I woke up early evening having missed my flight and, after checking my pockets, was Y30,000 poorer and without my gaijin card. Needless to say, also a hangover that lasted 4 days.

    Watch the Philippine ladyboys/new-halfs at late night clubs. They are pure evil. Although my memory is almost non-existent of the latter part of the night, there is a strong feeling of them being present and me conversing with them at some length that night, and it is from that point that the formation of memories ceased. They will target guys by themselves and tourists. It wouldn’t be too hard to catch them in the act if a few of us put our minds to it. This needs to be stopped. I would put some time into it, but I’m not living in Tokyo these days.

    Anyway, this is real.. it’s happening, and could happen to YOU.

  • Ghanaguy

    I had a great time in roppongi, some black guy talked me into a very shady place, i lost about 40000 yen and woke up in tsukiji fish market, i have no idea how i got there and that is really scary. If you do it like i did the next few times, just buy your drinks at the convenience stores drink them outside and then go dancing.

    just my 20Yen.

  • maneki

    Roppongi was once my favourite place to work as a hostess and these people came around and working with them make me realize how evil they were…especially the way they drugged and stole money from Japanese men they know how to fool Japanese women into marrying them and get them pregnant and after they got long term visa they go on hunting for different girlfriend…I have a lot to say about them…

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