Rip-off
ぼったくり · bottakuri
Also known as: bottakuri
Charging far more than was displayed or explained; the trouble that most often follows a tout into a venue.
Bottakuri is getting a guest in without stating the prices properly and then presenting an outrageous bill. The classic case is a venue a street tout talked you into with the promise of a cheap all-you-can-drink set, where expensive bottles you never heard of, service charges and extension fees have been added. Some local governments, Tokyo among them, have ordinances that require prices to be displayed and ban improper solicitation and collection.
The basics of avoiding it are not to follow touts, to check the price list before entering for how the total is built (set fee, nomination fee, service charge, tax), and to ask the price each time you order. Venues listed on this site publish guide prices; if you are charged differently from the listing, tell us through the content report form.
If you are handed a bill you cannot accept, do not fight it physically. Ask for an itemised bill, hold off paying, and call 110 or go to the nearest police box.
When you'll encounter this
You meet it in reviews calling a venue a rip-off, on warning signs in entertainment districts, and in information about the ordinances.
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