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What happened to all the African touts?

When I was there this summer there were a TON of them, they infested Golden Gai as well which was very frustrating and annoying to see because drunk tourists were actually buying into their shit. I don't mind them on the main street of Kabukicho but stay away from Golden Gai, fuckers.
 
Saw a ton of them around mid October at Kabukicho and Shibuya. I don't recall seeing them in Harajuku but I guess I didn't know where to go near there. I didn't know there were fun to have had in Harajuku....
 
When I was there this summer there were a TON of them, they infested Golden Gai as well which was very frustrating and annoying to see because drunk tourists were actually buying into their shit. I don't mind them on the main street of Kabukicho but stay away from Golden Gai, fuckers.

They hang around the perimeter for easy pickings. Lots of tourists there that will still fall for it.
 
I saw a lot of em in Harajuku and Shinjuku (near Don Juan and Toho cinema section) during my visit in April 2017...the Harajuku bunch are less pushy than the Shinjuku counterpart...probably bcoz they are no different than human billboard selling t-shirt and stuff
 
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I saw a lot of em in Harajuku and Shinjuku (near Don Juan and Toho cinema section) during my visit in April 2017...the Harajuku bunch are less pushy than the Shinjuku counterpart...probably bcoz they are no different than human billboard selling t-shirt and stuff
I dont understand them though...
There have been multiple occasions that i was interested in a clothes store or restaurant but that i got scared off by the over enthusiastic owners/staff who tried to lure me in. And then i'm not talking about an "irrashaimase" but very loud voices and hand signs and not stopping talking to give me some space.
 
I dont understand them though...
There have been multiple occasions that i was interested in a clothes store or restaurant but that i got scared off by the over enthusiastic owners/staff who tried to lure me in. And then i'm not talking about an "irrashaimase" but very loud voices and hand signs and not stopping talking to give me some space.
they seem tamer in harajuku compared to ueno. in ueno they seem more gropey towards girls.
 
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I dont understand them though...
There have been multiple occasions that i was interested in a clothes store or restaurant but that i got scared off by the over enthusiastic owners/staff who tried to lure me in. And then i'm not talking about an "irrashaimase" but very loud voices and hand signs and not stopping talking to give me some space.
the more they talk, the more suspicious I get. I do let my guard down in Japan though.

My worst African (American) tout experience was in Venice beach CA.
Wanted me to buy his $10 'mixtape' . If only he would shut up while I was sampling the goods... I would have bought his whole pile of blank CDs.:D
 
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Its weird how they seem to come and go in seasons in Kabukicho though - I'm down there for work at night all the time and sometimes it seems there are barely any at all for a month or so. Then a whole new group come in and are back at it again.

They've definitely been less pushy recently, though - I was meeting someone down by the I Love Kabukicho building the other night and even after waiting around there for 10 minutes or so had yet to have one approach me. Maybe I just look too poor to bother with :cat: I can remember about a year or so ago another foreign friend was helping me load out after work around the same area (i.e. very obviously working - not just loitering) and the same tout still hit him up 3 or 4 times.
 
Its weird how they seem to come and go in seasons in Kabukicho though - I'm down there for work at night all the time and sometimes it seems there are barely any at all for a month or so. Then a whole new group come in and are back at it again.
Exactly what i noticed. Sometimes its so nice and quiet and then boom, they are there again.
 
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suspect this has helped me too.
I heard that ripped clothes and soup stains are also a good repellent. :happy:

Having the madman look from hell too.
Or pretending to talk on your phone while walking. Or only speaking French or Russian etc
 
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Having the madman look from hell too.
Or pretending to talk on your phone while walking. Or only speaking French or Russian etc
Yes Definitely Russian... (not sure about French. )
Anyone been to Kabukicho samurai museum? (tourist trap)
In my group during sword play demo, a big Russian with mullet came up to volunteer...the fake 'samurai' /sensei looked scared shitless Lol.
 
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Yes Definitely Russian... (not sure about French. )
Anyone been to Kabukicho samurai museum? (tourist trap)
In my group during sword play demo, a big Russian with mullet came up to volunteer...the fake 'samurai' /sensei looked scared shitless Lol.

Yeah, Russian much better. French , actually a few of them speak it (they sometimes come from Francophone Africa, not just Nigeria) so it is not guaranteed to work all the time.
 
Yeah, Russian much better. French , actually a few of them speak it (they sometimes come from Francophone Africa, not just Nigeria) so it is not guaranteed to work all the time.
Russians don't mess about.
just saw a video showing what they do to Somali pirates.
 
Russians don't mess about.
just saw a video showing what they do to Somali pirates.
I was purely on linguistic grounds
You don't need to beat a Tout to the pulp if he doesn't even speak the only language you can apparently speak ! :)
 
You don't need to beat a Tout to the pulp if he doesn't even speak the only language you can apparently speak ! :)

Well, you are correct in that you don't need to beat them, but you still want to.
 
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Well, you are correct in that you don't need to beat them, but you still want to.

Problem, of course, being that if you get into it with one of them, you will find yourself dealing with a dozen or more of them.
 
When I was there this summer there were a TON of them, they infested Golden Gai as well which was very frustrating and annoying to see because drunk tourists were actually buying into their shit. I don't mind them on the main street of Kabukicho but stay away from Golden Gai, fuckers.

I’ve had so many run-ins with these fools. I’ve tried the usual tricks- walking fast with earphones in my ears, pretending to be on the phone, pretending that I don’t drink, pretending to have a husband etc.

I had the misfortune of being bailed up by one guy calling himself ‘Elvis’. He said that he bought himself a marriage with a Japanese wife. He then licked his lips, addressed my chest and said that I was his kind of woman. Gross.

Last winter I tried to cover my blonde hair, wear a surgical mask and blend into the crowd to avoid them when I went out at night. Sadly, my height was still a little bit of a giveaway. It makes me so sad if I ever see a drunken salaryman being helped by one of these guys. I just know that it’s probably not going to end amicably.
 
1st night in Shinjuku last night and these guys really got on my nerves. They seem to be on every corner around Kabuchiko, I couldn't go a minute without being hassled by another :(

I wasn't making eye contact, had my hands in my pockets, but they'd still purposely run over and try to shake my hand and make small talk. Even when just looking at menus outside restaurants they'd come up and start talking to me - didn't expect that, figured the restaurants owners wouldn't want them hassling customers.
 
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Ah, so I guess I was just there during an off-season period.

Regardless, I can always pretend to not speak English. I find that swearing at them in Cantonese occasionally works in getting them to leave me alone. Being called a 'stupid chinaman' is a small price for a brief respite.
 
Speaking of pushy touts, one of these pricks gave me a good hard shove in the back when I ignored his pestering while coming out of Golden Gai a few weeks ago. He was in a group of 4, obviously I should’ve just walked on but I turned back and asked him to explain himself. He pulls this fucking idiotic butthurt act, like “oh I was just trying to talk to you man, why’re you so rude, you can’t even talk to me?”, what a crock of fucking shit. So I told him I’m not coming to your stupid bar, but apart from that if you want to talk, what exactly would you like to talk about? Nothing, obviously... his mates stepped in at this point, all smiles and handshakes, “sorry he hassled you he’s had a bad night because of all the rain”, etc. So a round of handshakes & “take it easy”s and I’m on my way - only for another damn tout who was standing further up watching the whole scene to then come and place his unwanted umbrella over my head and start running his own bullshit spiel, “oh did those guys piss you off man, yeah sorry they’re new, but why don’t you come for a drink at my club?”. Told him clearly that I was turning left up Kuyakusho dori to the station and he wasn’t welcome to join me.

So, yeah, those pricks are still there!
 
Speaking of pushy touts, one of these pricks gave me a good hard shove in the back when I ignored his pestering while coming out of Golden Gai a few weeks ago.

That is exactly the reason why I don't go to Shinjuku or Roppongi anymore. I am not at all sure I would have been able to stop myself punching him in the face leading to all kinds of trouble. Neither of those places are totally not worth risking it.
 
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