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The story
YouTuber Hikaru (35) posted an update on his official channel revealing that he was “ripped off” by a taxi while traveling in Korea with his girlfriend, influencer Kagura Kato. The fare came to over 10,000 yen, with Hikaru grumbling, “Feels like we got ripped off,” while Kato was reportedly shocked as well. Reactions on 5ch were mixed: some offered the practical tip that airport taxis should always be approached with caution, others pointed out that rip-offs happen all over the world, not just in Korea, while still others found it odd that a guy known for flaunting his wealth didn’t make much of a show of it this time around.
Hikaru reports getting “ripped off” by a taxi in Korea: “Are they targeting us just because we’re Japanese…?”
YouTuber Hikaru (35) updated his official YouTube channel on the 12th, including a segment where he reported being “ripped off” by a taxi he rode in Korea.
Hikaru had traveled to Korea with his girlfriend, influencer Kagura Kato. After taking a taxi there, he remarked, “Feels like we got ripped off.” Kato was shocked too, saying, “We seriously got ripped off! It came to just over 10,000 yen!”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
You're fine if you ride with a Korean friend though.
He knows exactly what he's doing — classic manufactured drama for content (setting the fire himself just to put it out).
Probably just juggling debts to stay afloat in reality.
Public safety's bad enough that nobody's cracking down on drivers running without a meter.
People get ripped off like this all over the world.
It's just that everyone's gotten poorer and can barely afford to travel overseas anymore, so you hear about it less lol
Just get a friend to drive you around.
This one's a guy, right?
It's confusing.
Did he go without doing any research at all?
And 10,000 yen? For a guy like him, isn't that basically worth what 100 yen is to a regular person?
It's not like this is a Korea-only thing anyway.
Background and Key Points of the Discussion
Taxi fare disputes in Korea have long been reported among foreign tourists visiting the country, with drivers not using the meter or simply naming their own price being a recurring complaint. What split opinion in the thread was how to read Hikaru’s unusually low-key reaction this time, given how openly he usually flaunts his wealth — some found it surprising that he didn’t play up being rich, while others sympathized with it as “the kind of trouble that can happen to anyone traveling abroad.” The thread also referenced a case in Kabukicho where a bar scamming foreign tourists was raided, with damages reaching as much as 9.63 million yen, suggesting that rip-off schemes crop up on both sides — targeting tourists visiting Japan as well as Japanese visiting Korea. A common misconception worth flagging is the idea that this kind of scam is unique to Korea; as commenters in the thread note, targeting travelers via airport taxis or exploiting a language barrier is a tactic seen worldwide, regardless of country.
※This article was compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “Hikaru reports getting “ripped off” by a taxi in Korea: “Are they targeting us just because we’re Japanese…?”“.
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