If you’re planning a trip to Tokyo, gentlemen–watch out! You might wake up on the street somewhere sans your wallet. So says the U.S. Embassy in Japan, which has advised Americans to stay away from nightclubs and bars in central Tokyo’s Roppongi nightlife area due to a rise in drink-spiking incidents.

According to reports, victims are given drinks spiked with Rohypnol, also known as roofies. The victims then wake up after several hours in either the bar or the street, usually missing their credit cards. Large sums of money are generally charged to the cards, or the loot and cards are stolen outright.

Roppongi is popular for it’s hostess bars, where men pay beaucoup bucks to drink and chat with women. It has been a popular area for tourists and businessmen looking for cheap drinks and casual sex. But reports have drink-spiking incidents happening at eleven different establishments, eliciting the warning. No formal claims have been filed, though.

As with travel to any foreign land, practicing caution is critical. Although one never expects to be drugged in a legit establishment, I guess anything can happen. In 2004, four businessmen died and twelve others fell ill after snorting cocaine when Roppongi dealers secretly cut heroin into the mix. And in 2000, Briton Lucie Blackman, a hostess at a Roppongi gentlemens’ club, was murdered and her body mutilated and abandoned by a wealthy Japanese businessman. Her killer was a regular patron at the club in which she worked.

If you are traveling to Japan any time soon–be careful!

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