Something Went Wrong in Kabukicho: Who to Call and What to Do First

If something has gone wrong — a bill far beyond what you were told, pressure to pay, a situation that suddenly feels unsafe — the useful information is short and you probably want it immediately. Here it is.

Do not pay the entire amount on the spot in a hurry. Keep whatever evidence you have. Call the right number.

Everything below is an expansion of those three sentences.

The numbers

Use the one that matches your situation. Getting these right matters more than anything else on this page.

Situation	Where to call	Number
You are in danger right now — threats, violence, being prevented from leaving	Police, emergency	110
Not an emergency, but you want police guidance	Police consultation line	#9110
A billing or contract dispute	Consumer hotline	188
You need medical advice and are unsure how urgent it is	Medical advice line	#7119

110 — emergency

For situations where there is immediate danger: you are being threatened, physically restrained, or prevented from leaving. This is not a number to be shy about. If you are weighing whether the situation is “serious enough,” it is serious enough.

Do not let language worry stop you. Say your location — “Kabukicho, Shinjuku” — and stay on the line.

#9110 — police consultation

This is the line for “I am not sure whether this is a crime, but I want to talk to the police about it.” It handles guidance on how to respond, and questions about filing a report. It is not an emergency line, so use 110 instead if anything is happening right now.

188 — consumer hotline

Dial 188, no area code, and it connects you to a local consumer affairs center. This is the correct line for pricing and contract problems: an amount you believe is unjustified, charges you did not agree to, a dispute about what was disclosed. If your problem is fundamentally about money rather than danger, this is the line.

#7119 — medical advice

If someone in your group is unwell and you are unsure whether it warrants an ambulance, #7119 gives medical guidance. For a clear medical emergency, call 119.

First response: three principles

Whatever went wrong, the opening moves are the same.

1. Do not pay it all on the spot. If the amount does not match what you were told, ask for an itemized breakdown and for the pricing you were shown before you sat down. Paying in full under pressure, in the moment, closes off most of your options for afterwards. This is the single most consequential decision in the whole sequence.

2. Keep the evidence. The itemized slip, the receipt, a photo of the posted prices, the venue name and address, the time, and a quick note of what was said and by whom. These are what make any later conversation productive rather than a matter of your word against theirs.

3. Call the right number. Do not try to resolve it alone in a confrontation you cannot win. Move somewhere public first if you can — a main street, a convenience store, a station — and call from there.

One override on all of the above: if you feel physically unsafe, safety comes first. Do not stay to argue, do not stay to photograph the slip, do not stay to negotiate. Leave, get somewhere with people, and call 110. Evidence is replaceable. Nothing else on this page outranks that.

Things that make it worse

• Paying in full immediately under pressure just to end the situation. Understandable, and it is the choice that most reduces what can be done afterwards.
• Throwing away the slip or receipt. Keep everything until the matter is closed.
• Trying to handle it entirely alone. If a conversation is escalating rather than resolving, stop and call someone.
• Waiting because you are not sure it is “bad enough.” The consultation lines exist precisely for the ambiguous cases. That is what they are for.

A note on what these lines can and cannot do

These are advice and mediation channels, not enforcement arms that recover your money. Whether an amount was lawful, whether you were obliged to pay it, and whether anything can be recovered depend heavily on the specific facts. Sometimes you will be referred onward to a lawyer or a specialist body.

This page is a general orientation, not legal advice. For any actual case, the public bodies listed above are the ones qualified to assess it.

Preventing the call in the first place

Knowing these numbers is worth much less than not needing them. Two habits do most of the prevention:

• Do not follow street touts. Under Shinjuku City’s ordinance on touting, touting is prohibited, and venues are separately prohibited from admitting customers brought in by touts. A venue that seats you anyway has already shown you something. Detail: why you should never follow a street tout.
• Check the fee structure before you sit down. What the set fee covers, how long the set is, what costs extra, whether tax and service are included. Detail: how to avoid getting overcharged.

Both of those come down to the same thing: keeping your decisions in the place where you can still verify them. If a venue will not state its terms clearly at the entrance, you are allowed to turn around and walk away, and doing so is not being difficult. It is the earliest and cheapest point at which you can avoid ever dialling any of the numbers above.

The broader preparation is in staying safe on a night out in Kabukicho, and the language side is in what to expect when you do not speak Japanese.

Who is telling you this

This guide is published by VISION GROUP (Vision Bank Inc.), which has operated clubs in Kabukicho since 2007. We are not a neutral directory. We publish these numbers because they are the ones that matter in this district, and we would rather a visitor have them before the night than after it.