Japan’s 8 Biggest Tourist Scams in 2024 and How to Avoid Them
In this video, we reveal Japan's biggest tourist scams that you need to be aware of in 2024. We expose the tactics used by scammers to take advantage of unsuspecting visitors. Watch till the end to learn how to protect yourself and make the most of your trip to Japan. Don't let these scams ruin your travel experience! Stay informed and stay safe with our comprehensive guide to navigating the tourist traps in Japan!
☑️ Packing List for JAPAN
• Must-Have Items for Fi...
☑️ Tourist Major Mistakes in TOKYO
• 17 biggest mistakes TO...
■About me
Hi, I’m Nao. I was born in Yokohama and grew up in a Buddhism temple in the countryside of Hyogo prefecture. Life in urban and rural areas and unique experiences in a temple can bring other perspectives on Japanese things.
I love sharing Japanese things with you, so please always tell and ask me what kind of videos you want to see in the comments.
And don't forget to subscribe and click the notification bell to stay up to date with my content.
■Subscribe → / @japanwithnao
Thank you for watching! Please let me know any scams or story you have heard in Japan Σ('◉⌓◉’)
Hola puedes añadir más subtitulos en otros idiomas. Gracias por todo tu trabajo.🙏🏼
you failed to mention the annoying nigerian scammers
White People :p XD
imagine someone using your phone to take a picture of yourself only to ask for a fee for the "service" lmao
Similar thing happened to me in Rome, some guy came out of nowhere acting really friendly and took a Polaroid pic of me all of a sudden and was forcing me to buy from him. I didn’t ask for the picture or said I would buy a picture, it was so annoying.
Very common. Time Square in New York comes to mind
Happened to me alot in China.
The logic is they're filling in for the cost of a tripod haha
Good video and a good list to be aware of. For those of us from the west visiting Japan, let's also be good guests and speak up if other westerners are not. Japan and Japanese people deserve our best.
Thank you for watching and your advice😘
Great information. Thank you!
Very good. Thanks for sharing and the awareness.
That’s very informative, thank you! 😊
Thanks for the tips bro! Highly appreciated it
Thank you for watching😉
Thank you for the advice!
Thank you for this. These are all good to know. Have a wonderful day.
thank you for this information. I will be visiting next week and this video came in clutch.
Great advice and recommendations
Excellent video Nao! I will be in Japan soon and will keep a look out for Scams Thank you! 🙇♂
We will be making videos for our channel in Japan next month, so your video is very helpful! Thank you for sharing!
Great video! I’d heard of some of these but not all. Thank you for the information. ありがとうございます！
Thank you for watching👌
This channel is underrated. I learn so much helpful information and tips from this channel. Thank you, Nao.
Wow japan so scary. Good u expose them
Thank you for watching😉 I'll work more and making better videos( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
appreciate this video so much. thank you!
Appreciate that you watched the video!😘 Thank you!
This is helpful, thank you! 💙
Thank you for watching😉
Great video I shall be video Japan for first time in January can’t wait to see your country
Thank you for the video !!😊 Arigato !
Thank you for watching👌
Thanks for your tip❤ I never think There is scam in Japan before😮
Thanks bro !!!
Great content! Will go to Tokyo and Kyoto in Oct. and Nov. this year and it's helpful! Thanks for sharing! 👍
Thank you for watching! Have fun😊
Also beware of other foreigners. There are some foreign scammers in Japan "working" at bars, etc.
Thank you. This is a big help
Thank you for watching😉
I want to do an Erasmus in Japan next year, the romance scam is scarry lmao. Thanks for the video ! :D from Belgium
Good advice!
Thank you for watching😉
I was scammed by a "monk" in Akihabara. My tour guide saw it but it was too late, I had already given some money. But the tour guide still did give the "monk" a tongue lashing.
Ill be in Japan next week too. This video is very helpful!
I just came back. You are going to have so much fun! I did notice American domestic planes are very strict now with only 2 items being allowed to carry on. Neck pillows worn around your neck don't count. Regular pillows count as do stuff your own neck pillows. Duty free bags get counted too! Foreign airlines didn't care as much about carry on and didn't count duty free bags.
@@happycook6737 Thank you for saying so! I'm looking forward to it. And thank you for the advice! I'm flying on Delta airlines, but I plan to bring just one carry on bag with me. Hopefully that's okay!
Very informative
Thank you for watching😆
Thanks for this information. Will be travelling to Japan tomorrow. 😊
Thank you for watching😉 Seems you are on flight now? Take care and have fun😊
Thank you👍
Thank you for watching😉
So much commun sense here. But a refresh is always cool
Thank you.
thank you for the information my wife and i visited japan with a tour group some years ago and found it a very friendly and safe place to explore we are going to return this year on our own and the information about travel cards is very helpful i thing we will get one for ease of travel and accept it may cost us more overall
Thanks for making this video to create more awareness. Before watching this, I have an impression that Japan is very safe. With the weakening of their currency, we never know what people will do to make a living. Aways be alert is key. Continue your good works.
Thank you for watching and your lovely word😉
Thank you for the great tips 👍 It's... heartwarming 😂 to know that the same scams get perpetrated both in Japan and in my home country 😂🤣😂 as my granny would say: "the whole world is the same village" Thank you again, I'll keep an eye out for scammers 😉
Thank you for watching😘
Very good video, thank you 😊 but i love it here in tokyo. The only problem is the language barriers.
Fantastic
JR Pass rule of thumb: - If you go from Tokyo to Kyushu at least once, JR Pass is OK. - If you travel for three weeks - JR Pass is OK. - If you travel for one week and move between Tokyo and Kyoto - Hokuriku Arch Pass is OK. - If you land in Osaka and don't go to Tokyo, Kyushu, etc. - Kansai Area Pass is OK. - If you land in Tokyo and stay in Tokyo or in the Alps - pay as you go.
Thank you so the heads up now I know what to be aware of. ❤
Just yesterday a lady did that fake monk type of thing for me in Ueno park. Luckily I already knew about this one before 😅
Thank you for watching😉 I'm sorry about that happening in Japan....it's good you avoided it anyway😉
Biggest scam in Tokyo is in restaurants where the food photographed does not match the food paid for - in size or quality.
To be fair, the same can be said of many U.S. restaurants -- particularly fast food chains.
There are fake monks in other parts of Asia as well like Taiwan. I have seen these monks here get into their luxury cars after a day of begging. And you are right about the bars and certain izakayas in Japan. They don't tend of have itemized receipts, so they are free to change/modify prices, or charge you hidden costs without you knowing. Unfortunately, many foreigners fall for this since they can't read Japanese and are too drunk to care. I called out several izakayas like these who tried to ripoff my girlfriend and I when I lived there in Japan. They immediately refunded me the difference and apologize and went on to scam the next person.
I think you should also discuss otoshi or table charges. Not really a scam, but it's worth discussing.
Thank you for watching😉 It's a piece of good advice! Actually, I mentioned it through other videos but will discuss it again someday through another video😉 Thank you anyway!
Im finnaly coming to japan maybe next month see u there
Have fun😘 Thank you for watching!
Thank you! This is very useful 🙏🏼 have to be vigilant😖
Thank you for watching😉
Very useful, thanks. Could you post a video about how to dress etc for those who are damned to travel in July weather :)
And also where to eat etc
Thank you for watching and your suggestion😉 I will consider making the video👌
I used to live in Tokyo. I recommend taking a bottle of mosquito repellent and sunscreen in your checked bag. Not a under pressure spray can, look for a plastic spritzer bottle and put it in ziplock. Japanese ladies use sun umbrellas but that can be hard in crowds so have a back up hat plan. The humidity+ heat means clothes don't dry well as you sweat a lot. I wore lightweight cotton skirts and wider legged pants, tshirts that were light and a blend of polyester cotton, and a fine gauge knit cardigan (for indoor air conditioned spaces). Light woven fabric is coolest but I like the feel of T-shirts. Japan is conservative in terms of women's clothing so keep more covered. Longer shorts are fine such as shorts that hit the knee but I didn't want my bare legs touching chairs, etc. because fungal infections are common in Japan's tropical summers. At home I wore shorts. Leave jeans at home--too heavy. Jean skirts do ok because you get a breeze up under them. I carried a terry cloth kitchen towel to mop up my sweat. You can buy these for $1 at 100 yen store like Daiso or Seria or Cando. A good drink is "pour ee chaw" barley tea. Available in ready to drink bottles. Has no calories and refreshing. Pocari sweat has electrolytes like Gatorade. Some tourists forget about the heat because they are distracted by Japan and jetlag. So maybe set your cell phone alarm to remember to hydrate, take a break in air con, etc.
Nice video! Even tho it will take me a while to visit japan it was very informative and well done. If you need some inspiration there is a channel called HONEST GUIDE that do these traveling tip and tricks about Prague.
1:58 I loved going to 82 Alehouse in Shibuya! Highly recommend :D
How do we know you are not a scammer promoting a bad bar?
We had number 1 here in California as well. Funny enough, people thought the monks were cosplaying Jedi.
I was kinda always paying attention to other passengers in the trains, just to make sure nothing was happening, due to the reputation of groping and such.
Thank you for watching😉 That's great! I've never found or seen the thing happen🙌
Thanks for information. You speak English well enough to communicate. Keep practicing for more fluency!
Great advice though for something to be a scam it requires you to have trusted someone who then misuses that trust to get what they want out of you. In that sense SA is not a scam but a person disrespecting your personal space.
The JR pass almost doesn't seem worth it, I visited Japan last November (after the price hike) and unless you take 4-5 round trip shinkansen rides, I found it a lot cheaper to just buy the tickets at the station - also keep in mind the pass doesn't cover the fastest option without a fee (Nozumi)
Being foreign myself I take pride in respecting other cultures traditions and customs. I realllyyyy want to visit Japan and also learn Japanese carpentry
Please list the scams in the description because I had a hard time understanding what you’re saying in some of those. Thanks
Scams: Sexual Assault I never heard anyone classifying sexual assault as a scam before.
Of course there’s a fake monk here as well. They have those in New York and pretty much all big cities. Thank you for the tips though! 😁
Thank you for watching😊
My only bad experience was Kabukicho. People who work for the clubs are pretty aggressive and grabby. The rest of Japan was めっちゃスゴイ!
Thank you for watching😉 Be careful while you are in Kabukicho😅
Now that you mentioned it...i was in this area 3 days ago and noticed a lot of young male japanese just standing around with their mobile phones in their Hand and airpods in their ears looking around and probably communicating with each other. They gave of a weird Gangster vibe, very different from all the japanes people i observed before. Do you know what these people are?
@@BamBam-tb8ot If they had tattoos they were yakuza, a.k.a. Japanese Mafia. Organized crime.
Can you please recommend a Japanese online Lost and Found Services for English-speaking tourists who lost something in Japan?
Can you please tell me if the SmartEx app is the real way to buy Shinkasen tickets?
I seen all of this except in my 2 visits except for the take a photo one. Wierd wondering how it works though as I would think they would just cringly beg for a fee rather than a threat type of thing where they could just be laughed off since you are at a public place for photos
Thank you for watching😉 Sorry to hear that you have seen most of them😰 Hope less people are trapped by these scams!
I had no idea on most of what you were saying.
Last year, I was asked by a monk for a donation. I didn’t know that I was scammed until now. 🤦🏻♂
Your accent is very unique. It's almost like I can hear another Brit hidden away in there when you're speaking.
I almost fell for the disaster relief scam.
Only got caught by a rip off bar once. I was in the Golden Gai just before sunset and found a bar called “the foreigner” (warning number 1) and it was almost entirely empty (warning 2) but I figured it would get busy as it got later and maybe I could find some japanese to talk to who wanted to talk to foreigners. The menu had no prices (warning 3) and I ended up paying nearly 100 USD for 2 shots and 6 beers. Which to be fair might be a similar price in the US but that was nearly 4x the price I would have had to pay at any other japanese bar. Watch out in the Golden Gai, im sure the other bars were great just be careful.
You got off easy. Last night I watched a video with a story about a newly wed couple who had one drink, passed out, woke up in another room with the hostesses on top of them and found out they had $6000 worth of charges put on their credit cards while they were out. Lots of comments by people with similar stories, in which the Golden Gai is a common denominator.
@@Eidako Are you sure it was the Golden Gai? I know shinjuku has a lot of hostess bars but I specifically went to the golden gai because I didnt want to go to a hostess bars. Most the bars were open air where you are basically sitting with your back to the street kinda deal. not like a nightclub or anything.
@@alexandercochran4013 The stories typically say something like "while I was walking back from the Golden Gai", not specifically the Golden Gai itself. The worst stuff seems to happen in Roppongi though.
Does japan have a men only cab?
Dam I thought I only worry about scam in San Diego but it’s everywhere, I like japan i just want avoid scam
Huh, no wonder people were skittish when I offered to take their pictures
Out of all these I am most likely to fall for the railway pass scam.
Rail passes are not a good deal for all travelers. I would recommend checking the individual prices for long parts of your trip, adding them up and comparing prices. I’d only buy if it was going to save 20% more as getting the pass is time consuming.
I wish we had ladies only cars when I was a school girl.
In Japan, when you get off taxi, does the driver ask you if you want a receipt?
Thank you for watching😃 If you ask them, they give it to you!
@@JapanwithNao Thank you for answering my question. The taxi drivers should give the receipts without being asked. Way too many tourists forget their belongings in taxis and don’t know what taxi it was. Japan would be much safer if taxi drivers gave the receipts to passengers without being asked.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Thank you for watching❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I was actually expecting some high school girl seduction scam or something, But I guess if it does exist people will be willingly looking for these scammers to get scammed by them
shinjuku and shibuya, main areas ほぼ全部はぼったくりじゃない
Had to put on subtitles for this one
Lip of bus? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I would give money to the guy dressed as a monk purely for the fashion show 8D
I actually got scammed by few booths and stores there run by NonJapanese
Thank you for watching😉 I'm sorry to hear that...hope you are okay!
I know some guys who fell for the rip-off bar and the romance scam... it's hilarious when men think pretty girls are actually interested in them and do all they say 🙂
Freak monks are not just in Japan. I've definitely seen them in China as well.
Thank you for watching😉 So you can easily avoid them💯
少し日本語を話すことができるですから心配しない。おもしろかった動画ありがとう
ご視聴ありがとうございます！日本語の勉強がんばってね😊
すみません 👋Hi Nao, would you like to help me with my Japanese homework? I gonna call it my first trip to Japan! 🫣I would not accept a friendly, nice person to take pic. I will avoid the rush hours but food 🤔 😢 I gonna ask for a guide in a hotel, is it possible? Which part of the city do you recommend to stay in? Safe and easy to go to the places? PS : My English is getting better and better🙄 ignore my personalized mistakes 🤗Big hug appreciate your help.
Thank you for watching! You don't need to say すみません every time! You can ask the hotel whatever you want I believe😉 About cities...it depends on what you want to experience! Kyoto, Tokyo and Osaka are top 3 cities I guess. Most cities in Japan are safer than other cities so you don't need to be scared that much😎
I think it’s safe to enter bars or restaurants that have many tourists already right? That means they’re legimately priced.
Not always. I try for bars away from tourist areas. Also take a photo of the menu in case there is a price question later. I started doing this because of menu swapping that happened in Prague. I lived in Japan previously and most scammers are foreign like bar touts and most scamming is in tourist or expat areas like Roppongi, Ebis, Shinjuku, Kabukicho, etc. Always beware of anyone that approaches you or seeks you out in a crowd.
@@happycook6737 thanks I will stay away from touts. I might just stick to those places that you self order and eat alone
It's a bad idea in general, but especially in Kabukicho and Shibuya, NEVER allow someone to entice you into their bar or club. At 8 oclock in the morning, I saw an American kid in his early 20s sitting on the sidewalk in his underwear crying because he made that mistake the night before. Japan is a very safe country in general, but use your head.
In his underwear? Jesus Christ. What happened? Do they do something to people? I thought those places were just overpriced…
@gmmmori They drugged, robbed, and dumped him in the street. He said that right before he passed out, he was told that if he brought them MORE money, he could have his passport back. The problem was, he didn't remember where the bar was. I told him to find his hotel and contact the consulate.
They can’t scam me if I’m broke
Because you wouldn’t even be there😊
1. Fake Monk 0:15 2. Rip off bars 1:13 3. Sexual Assult 2:10 4. Taking Photo Scam 3:11 5. Rail Pass Scam 4:42
You missed romance scams.
Thank you for your help and watching😘
Comon sence need it,,
Number one scam: crane game machines
ehh not all of them. If you encounter a crane game and assistance is not allowed, then it’s 100% scam
So Japan is not all rainbow and roses and not everyone is a saint there, got it. Gotta tell those Gaijins that
Even the scams in Japan seem nicer as far wondering monks most foreigners would think it some sort of performance art. Personally only real bad I heard about is the bars but to be honest with Google and KZhead why would anyone bother. Worse thing in Japan would be taking cannabis with you on your flight.
Thank you for watching! I also think Japanese scams are better than other countries😉 Cannabis...it's a crime😲haha
What’s the thumbnail scam? I don’t see it in the video? Is it those girls on the street promoting stuff? I saw plenty of them when I was in Japan. I always ignored them lol.
The girls are there to draw people into tiny side street bars. If you're lucky and it's an "ethical" one, she and a friend will sit with you at a table while you order exorbitantly priced drinks for the three of you, the prices of which may or may not be disclosed in advance. Expect to pay $100 or more for a brief awkward chat with someone larping as an anime character. If you are not lucky, the drinks have been drugged and you will wake up feeling as nearly wrecked as your bank account, which has several thousand dollars in charges you don't remember spending.
I got scammed OVERcharged at sushi place in Asakusa bc all plates had diferent prices,now go only to places where prices are clearly marked 😂
I love the idea of the women only train cars for women during peak hours. It really does a couple things. First and foremost it gives women a safe option so that they don't have to worry about some perv putting their hands on them. Secondly, it keeps men from being falsely accused of touching someone whether that be due to accidental touching, or some female scammer trying to get a male passenger in trouble. And finally, it prevents women from being accidentally touched. I mean sure, it might be an accident and the guy might be even avoiding touching you, but that doesn't mean it's nice to be touched just because it wasn't on purpose and a train car like that prevents being put in to that kind of awkward position.
I don't really get how the phone scame is supposed to work. I mean the guy take the pic, you take the phone, he ask you money, you laugh and walk away... The end. It's not like there is any written agreements in there...
Problem: the stranger demanding the money is holding on to your expensive phone after taking the picture and not giving it back.
@@Eidako Then you claim he stole your phone and he has no written agreement whatsoever about a paying picture service so he is screwed if he hang on.
@@cabrelbeuk72 Problem: you raise a commotion but nobody comes to your aid because Japanese are notoriously non-confrontational. You make your way to the nearest police checkpoint, meanwhile the stranger runs away with your phone. You no longer have a phone.
haven't watched yet but I'm going to guess he says "If someone comes up to you speaking English, it's most likely a scam"
Good video but one note, maybe don't lump number 3 with the others. It's not what I would call a scam.
Thank you for watching and for your advice😉
i think maid cafe is scam, terrible food, and expensive lol
2:10 WAIT HENTAI IS REAL????
It's so much of a problem that during busy hours, there are women's only trains. Men cannot control themselves for some reason over there and it's scary as hell. A majority aren't like that, but it happens enough times where they had to do something about it. It's insane.
At least these fake monks are in style and use the money for food or rent, unlike the homeless population trying to beg for money on the streets in America.