Travelling by Taxi in Japan

Japanese taxies provide high-quality service for everyone who ride, but it’s also known for the high cost. Anyway, it is an indispensable vehicle in Japan that won’t let you down.

How to Catch a Taxi in Japan

Beckon from the Roadside

A Taxi on the Street in Tokyo

You can catch a taxi at the roadside by waving your hand to the driver.
The symbols in a taxi of Japan:
• “空車” Usually in red, an empty cab available
• “賃走” maybe in green; Occupied, having taking a passenger
• “回送” in orange, which is not in service
• “迎車” in orange, which means the taxi is unavailable for it is proceeding to pick up a guest.
• “支払” in orange; the passenger is paying the fare. Waiting a moment, you can catch it after the payment.
• “予約車” in orange, the taxi has been reserved.
• “割増” indicates a taxi running at night and charging a night fee particularly.

The colors might vary from region to region, or from company to company.

Queue Up at a Taxi Stand

A taxi stand is usually situated at an airport, railway station, bus station, hotel, or near a public bus stop. Don’t worry about getting a taxi at the taxi stand, for all the taxies are available there. You need to queue up for the taxi only; it’s easy to find the queue if there have been people waiting for it. As soon as the previous one leaves, the next taxi would cover the position. The queue moves fast especially in an airport or large station.

Online Taxi-Hailing

Online taxi-hailing is also available in cities in Japan, you can download a local taxi-hailing App on your smart phone, and call a taxi following the instructions. As you set up your pick-up point and destination, the taxi nearby will take order and come to pick you up. The fare may be determined on the taxi type you choose, and you may estimate the fare if there is an estimator on the App or the official website.

GO, S.RIDE, Uber, and DiDi Taxi will provide English service, which make the taxi-hailing easier. Apart from standard taxies, there might be some other types of car, especially, Uber provides comfortable chartered cars.

Fares for Taxi Trip in Japan

In Japan, the taxi fare is usually counted by the distance you travelled, with a basic flag-down fare within some distance. In a few case, some taxi companies may count the fare depending on the time consumed. Also, if you take a taxi to/from the airport, the taxi fare is often fixed.

Methods of Charging

The fare varies in different cities in Japan. Going beyond the distance of starting fare, an amount of fee is added every some distance. The taximeter will show you the fare in real time.

City	Flag-down Fare	Additional Fare for the Excess Distance	Time-Distance Combined Fare
Tokyo (23 Wards)	JPY 500 for the first 1,096m (1,199 yards)	JPY 100 for every 255m (279 yards)	JPY 100 per 1min 35s
Osaka	JPY 600 for the first 1,300m (1,422 yards) / JPY 500 for the first 1,040m (1,137 yards)	JPY 100 for every 260m (284 yards)	JPY 100 per 1min 35s
Kyoto urban area	JPY 500 for the first 1,000m (1,093 yards)	JPY 100 for every 279m (305 yards)	JPY 100 per 1min 45s
Nagoya	JPY 500 for the first 1,011m (1,105 yards)	JPY 90 for every 232m (254 yards)	JPY 90 per 1min 25s

Car of Online Taxi-Hailing Services

Note:

The time-distance combined fare is charged when the speed is lower than 10 km/h (6.2 mph) off the expressway, in the cases such as traffic jams, waiting for the traffic lights, or on standby when the passenger asks a stopover for bathroom, convenience store, etc.

The highway toll fee is included in the taxi fare if it runs on an expressway.

Night surcharge is the 20% of the fare in the daytime, if you take a taxi between 22:00 and 05:00 the next morning. That’s to say, it is 20% more expensive during the period.

A winter surcharge of 20% is required in Hokkaido and Tohoku (northeast Honshu) regions from the late December to February, as it’s frequently covered with heavy snow in winter.

Some taxi companies may charge a pick-up fee when the passenger reserve a picking up service.

Fixed Fare

A fixed taxi fare is applied when travelling to/from an airport mainly, or major attractions. The fixed-fare taxi need to be reserved in advance as required by some taxi companies. The expressway toll fee or the fee of other toll roads is paid by the passengers additionally.

To/From Narita Airport, Tokyo:

Area	Via Keiyo Road	Via Bayshore Freeway
Edogawa, Katsushika, Adachi	JPY 19,500	JPY 22,500
Koto, Sumida, Daiba of Minato, Higashi-yashio of Shinagawa	JPY 23,500	JPY 23,500
Chuo, Chiyoda, Taito, Bunkyo, Arakawa	JPY 24,500	JPY 26,000
Shinjuku, Toshima, Nakano, Shibuya, Meguro, Minato (excluding Daiba), Shinagawa (excluding Higashi-yashio), Ota	JPY 26,500	JPY 27,500
Itabashi, Kita, Nerima	JPY 28,500	JPY 30,500
Setagaya, Suginami, Mitaka, Musashino	JPY 30,000	JPY 32,500

To/From Haneda Airport, Tokyo:

Area	Edogawa	Taito & Sumida	Shinjuku	Shibuya	Bunkyo	Chiyoda	Nakano	Arakawa
Fare (JPY)	8,200	8,400	8,300	7,800	8,600	6,900	9,100	9,500
Night Surcharge (JPY)	+1,500	+1,500	+1,500	+1,400	+1,400	+1,400	+1,700	+1,700

Tips

The door of a taxi is controlled by the driver. Thus, you needn’t to open/close the door when getting on/off; the door in the back will automatically open and close for you.

Many taxi drivers in big cities like Tokyo and Osaka can speak English, you can tell them the address directly. Otherwise, you may show the written address in Japanese or the address on a map, paper or electric one, to the driver.

For safety, please fasten the seat belts as you boarding.

There is no need to tip the driver in Japan.

Please collect the receipt, which is printed with the taxi company name, phone number and other information on, in case of call consultation for forgotten items.