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This article was published on August 4, 2016

Japanese Olympian racks up $5,000 roaming fee playing Pokémon Go in Brazil


Japanese Olympian racks up $5,000 roaming fee playing Pokémon Go in Brazil Image by: Rick McCharles / Shutterstock

A Japanese gymnast racked up a staggering 500,000 yen (approximately $5,000) bill trying to catch ’em all while in Brazil. The Olympic gold medal winner (at the 2012 London Olympic Games) is the reigning world champion in artistic gymnastics and racked up the massive bill after downloading the app once in Sao Paulo.

Before arriving in Sao Paulo to train, Kohei Uchimura had never played Pokémon Go, but quickly got hooked after giving it a try during breaks.

Uchimura said he “couldn’t believe his eyes” when he saw the bill, which is probably an understatement.

Luckily, this story has a happy ending. After phoning his carrier, they let him off the hook with a flat daily charge of around $30, which is a significant improvement over the original bill but still not as cheap as just buying a new pre-paid SIM while in Brazil.

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via The Verge

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