By It looks like some more shady activity is happening again at Tokyo’s Roppongi district:
The U.S. Embassy on Friday advised Americans to avoid drinking in a Tokyo nightlife district, warning that some customers have fallen unconscious and been robbed after their drinks were spiked.
It was the second such alert in four months about bars in the Roppongi district.
“The U.S. Embassy continues to receive reliable reports of U.S. citizens being drugged in Roppongi-area bars,” the embassy said in statement.
Tokyo is among the safest big cities in the world, but the embassy has reported a rise in incidents of American customers being rendered unconscious or extremely sleepy. Victims awake hours later to find credit cards missing or fraudulently charged for big amounts.
“These cases are very hard to investigate,” said Masahito Fujita, vice head of the Azabu police station overseeing Roppongi. “It’s difficult to know whether people were just drinking too much or if they were actually drugged.”
Canada, Australia and Britain have also warned their citizens to beware. [Mainichi Daily News]
It has been four years since I lasted visited Roppongi and these continuous negative news reports about the place is making me wonder if it has become a bigger ghetto than Itaewon?
9:25 am on July 13th, 2009 1
When was the last time you were in Itaewon? Over the past five years I've lived here, there has been a pretty amazing transformation. It's becoming more of an international dining district than a bar district these days. Even the bars that remain are generally more upscale Pubs that cater to a diverse crowd. The truest indicator of the change is that you see a lot more Koreans coming out to dine and drink here now.
Which is not to say you can't find sleaze and tackiness in Itaewon if that's your thing. I just thing calling it a "ghetto" is bit unfair.
1:22 pm on July 13th, 2009 2
John I was in Itaewon last Sept. and yes it has slowly been getting fixed up but compared to other areas in Korea it is still not a area I like hanging out at.
3:08 pm on September 6th, 2009 3
I dont drink until i black out.
And two weeks ago, after having not so many beers, I lost consciousness somewhere between roppongi and shinjuku after being at an establishment which my japanese friend has the name of and i will post later.
Since I've used drugs regularly in the past, I think that it took them numerous attempts and doses to actually effect me.
Therefore, when the drugs actually kicked in, i probably had ingested a dose fit for a horse.
I've drank to oblivion before and walked to my hotel. I've never drank four beers and woke up without a backpack on a bench somewhere. Thank the creator that i keep my wallet and passport in my front pocket without exceptions.
I'm an avid traveller whose gallavanting has spanned the globe. I'm not the stupid american who is not vigilant and makes himself an easy target.
Lesson: It can happen to you.
Dont drink draught beers in roppongi
If you dont see them open the bottle and serve it to you, dont drink it.
And to the expat americans who'll cry about the murder rate in detroit: I'm not saying our cities are safe by any standard. I'm just saying…