TAXIS
Taxi
TAXIS
There are nearly 50,000 taxis that operate in Tokyo. The maximum number of passengers per one small- or medium-size taxi is four persons. You can take one from a taxi depot at the airports and most train stations. On the street, you can catch a cruising taxi when you let the driver know by raising your hand and the car is also vacant. To tell whether the car is vacant or not, look for the red “vacant” (or 空車 sign) on the car’s windshield or see if the lamp on top of the car is on.
The starting fare is ¥710 (which covers the first 2 km. of travel) and goes up by ¥90 for each additional 288 meters (950 ft.), or 40 second of waiting time in heavy traffic. You make a payment as indicated by the fare meter when the car arrived at the destination. Credit cards are accepted by some taxies and the types of acceptable credit cards should be posted inside the car. Remember that not all taxis accept the credit card, and even when they do, it may require certain conditions such as the payment has to be at least 5,000 yen, etc.
Because many taxi drivers do NOT speak English, it may be best to have your destination written in Japanese (if possible). Because of such language barriers, some travelers may feel more comfortable calling for an English-speaking driver in advance (especially if visiting on business). Here are some of these taxi services:
Hello Tokyo: +81(03) 5653 7921
Kokusai Motorcars: +81 (03) 3503 6001
Kyowa Taxi: +81 (0120) 38 1313
Nihon Kotsu: +81 (03) 5755-2336
Outech: +81 (03) 6880-1290
Tokyo MK Taxi: +81 (03) 5547 5551