Value Village ／ Before you come to Japan
This answer is a draft. It stays unpublished until legal review and source verification are complete.
Japanese taxis are clean, honest and expensive by Asian standards, and they have quirks — the door that opens itself, the driver who may not know your hotel, the late-night surcharge — that repeatedly surprise visitors. Ride-hailing exists, but differently.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Fares (Tokyo, from 20 April 2026) | ¥500 for the first 1 km, then ¥100 per 232 m; +20% from 22:00 to 05:00 |
| Payment | Cash, credit card, IC card, QR in almost all Tokyo cabs; rural areas cash-heavy |
| Doors | Rear left door opens and closes automatically — driver-operated. Do not pull or slam |
| Hailing | Street hail (red light 空車 = vacant), taxi stands, or apps (GO, S.RIDE, Uber — which dispatches licensed taxis) |
| Tipping | Not practised |
| Destination | Show the address in Japanese or a map pin; hotel names in English are often not recognised |
| Ride-hailing | Private-car ride-sharing was limited until 2024; "Japan-style ride-share" now allows taxi companies to use private drivers in limited areas and hours |
| Trains stop | Roughly 00:00–00:30; taxis are the way home after |
[Verify] Fare figures with the Tokyo Hire-Taxi Association and MLIT fare notices; ride-share rules with MLIT's 2024 announcements.
For 3–4 people on a 2–3 km trip, the fare (¥1,000–1,500) is comparable to train tickets and door to door. Late at night they are the only option.
The rear left door is automatic; the driver opens and closes it. Grabbing it can damage the mechanism and irritates drivers more than anything else.
Drivers know districts and landmarks, not every hotel name in English. Show the address in Japanese or a map pin; the hotel card from reception is ideal.
In Japan, Uber dispatches regular taxis at regular fares in most cities. Use it for the hailing convenience and card payment, not for savings.
No. Round-up is sometimes refused. Say "arigatō gozaimashita" and take your receipt (レシート) — useful if you leave something behind.
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https://www.mlit.go.jp/jidosha/
https://www.taxi-tokyo.or.jp/english/
https://www.japan.travel/en/plan/getting-around/
⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.
What we share here are ideas and everyday practices passed down among people living in Japan, together with general information drawn from public sources. They are not official recommendations, and they are not professional instruction. Practices vary between households and regions.
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