Taxi taxi

Some basic facts and figures about taxis in Japan (which you can also find via googling):

• Its has one of the most expensive fares in the world

• Most of us cannot afford to take a cab from Narita airport to Tokyo (except fat and rich CEOs) . It would probably set your budget back by 10,000 円 (about S$200)

• Boarding fees = 660 円 (1st 2km), after that its 80 円 for every 274 m.

• Because of that its handy for short distance travel. I usually take it from a JR station near my apartment to go home, just about 660 円, especially after grocery shopping.

• Because of that, there’s lots of cabs around, even in heavy rain (unlike Singapore)

• Cab ride from Shinjuku back home (about 20 minutes by train) after midnight is about 3,300 円. The rates go up by 20 % between 11 pm and 5 am.

• The door opens automatically for you and shuts automatically too. So don’t go banging the door closed on your way out. That’s not a good way to test the construction of the cab. Also they usually have the right door locked, so you only enter by the left door.

• The front seat passenger door does not open automatically, manual intervention is required.

• Most taxi driver uncles speaks only Japanese, so don’t go to places that you cannot direct. So get a map with Japanese words for the place you want to go and point to it. If not you can get them to drop you off some prominent places like a train station (but then you need to know the names of the train stations).

• Red light in front of the taxi means its empty.

• You can hail for a cab almost anyway along the road, not just taxt stands.

• Lastly, thank the taxi driver on your way out.