pickpocketing common?

my wallet has just been stolen in shibuya! i think i was pickpocketed today - the crowds were huge and the weather was bad as well.

is pickpocketing common or was i just unlucky?

Unfortunatelly, pickpockets are getting more common lately, especially on busy trains. Chinese and Korean gangs seem to be the main offenders.

It happens and is particularly easy in the big crowds in Shibuya. Like everywhere else: store your valuables safely, don't carry too much money on you, don't carry all your cards in the same wallet and keep the phone numbers to report the cards lost and stolen also separate.

Japan is a safe country but there are bad eggs even in Japan.

First make sure it didn't fall out or was misplaced before the assumption that it was pickpocketed. Picket pockets do happen, but I would still say its generally safe. However if we're speaking about Shibuya here, I've seen people walk around with fat wallets bulging out.

However, with that, I would backtrack to the nearest police koban (many in Shibuya) make a report.

i actually kept it in my bag and not in my pocket so i also find it quite hard to believe that it was stolen from me. I usually keep my bag zipper closed but for just that 10 mins after leaving the shop where i used it, i forgot to close it. and then within that half an hour, i realised it was lost. i am pretty sure i did not drop it somewhere...

i did go to the shibuya station but i doubt much can be done given that i am already flying home today. the report was made yesterday and they need a few days to process the report or something like that.

luckily i had less than 1000yen in that wallet. i kept my money seperately. still, my identification card was inside. im just afraid it might be used for identity theft.

Joanne, I don't know how it works in your country, but if you apply for travel insurance in Japan and have your wallet stolen during your travel overseas, you can make a police report and then later get your wallet money back from the insurance company using that police report.

I had a whole luggage stolen in Europe and got loads of money from the insurance company. Unfortunately my old favorite T-shirts and undeveloped photo negatives won't come back.

I hope you have contacted your embassy too (and if necessary any bank accounts if your ID has anything to do with it). If your wallet with ID gets back to the embassy, you might be able to get it back by corresponding through email.

I hope your last day here is a good one. Come back again soon for better memories!

An open bag is easy; you've must been unlucky that someone spotted it. Still it is good idea to report it stolen. I had my wallet stolen in France once and 2 days later I got my empty wallet with ID card back via the police.

I do not know if there are some bad guyes in your country. i think there would be some. don't point all bad evil things to chinese. pls thinking abou Iraq.

To Syc
Please read the Japanese news paper and you will find your answer. There is a certain Chinese syndicate who were responsible for "pickpocketing" according to Police reports. And it gives bad image to there fellow chinese who lives in Japan.

Akihabara. I caught some guy trying to pick pocket my cousin and he ran off. Reported to the cops but I don't know what happened to the guy.