200,000 viewers thread
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Ya lor , our famous Kinwashi Tour Japan Thread . 4071 posts . . . hitting 200,000 viewers . Congrats for hitting that 200,000 mark for some quality contributions.
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200,000 viewers knn . . . who so free always peep here peep there? Basically someone is peeping it everyday for some tour japan tips . but incredible , its contributed not by tour agency , but someone like us , driving a taxi as a living . Incredible.
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facts is . . . knn no fight . No other taxi thread can beat that . other forum mai kung . . . kung this forum.
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i for one , dun bother to open that thread , where got time ? busy leh . . . only once in every 3 years until today , i open see got chaos inside ? no leh , peace like in japan peh.
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i believe this thread has got many fans . Daily routine to see whats new ?
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only thing i like about japan is their taxi fare from ap to tokyo city , huat type .
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Only thing I dun like about japan is one fried rice S$20
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Originally posted by Poolman:
only thing i like about japan is their taxi fare from ap to tokyo city , huat type .
Different kinds of taxi cars in Tokyo, Japan
A black Prius or a turquoise Crown? The choice is yours...
There are a number of taxi cab companies in Tokyo as well as some privately owned cabs. The taxi cars are often Toyota Crown "Super Deluxe", or similar. Lately, a lot of Toyota Prius hybrid cars have started appearing as taxis too (let's hope they've gotten the brakes fixed!). Depending on the taxi company, location, etc, taxis have different colors. The most common color is black, but they can be turquoise, green, orange, yellow, white, or a number of other colors as well. The good thing is that it doesn't matter - any taxi cab will do just as well as the other here in Tokyo. -
How to find and hail a taxi cab on the street in Tokyo
You don't have to look very far!
In Tokyo, taxi cabs cruise around the streets looking for people to pick up. So all you need to do is stand close to the street, look for an unoccupied car, and wave your arm around a bit. If the taxi driver sees you, he (for it is almost always a he) will often turn on the hazard warning lights and steer towards you. When the cab gets up to you, the rear left door (the one facing the sidewalk, since Japan drives on the left) will open automatically by hydraulics. You get in, and when everyone's safely inside the car, the door closes automatically. Same for when you get off. Thus, you never need to bother opening/closing the rear door.
In Tokyo, if you turn on your hazard lights you're allowed to do anything, break any traffic rule, block traffic, and just be generally completely irresponsible. So don't worry if you hail a car that is far away and needs to cross a large number of high-traffic lanes, including bus-only lanes and pedestrian lanes, to get to where you are - for he'll do it. The same is true for when getting off. -
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Getting a taxi outside a major station in Tokyo
Look for the taxi queue...
Outside stations you'll most often find a dedicated taxi waiting area with a line of taxi cabs queuing up to pick up passengers as well as passengers queuing up to get on the taxis. Queuing in Japan is usually quite orderly, but beware of old people who think they have all the rights in the world to cut in front of youngsters. If you see one of these queuing areas, there will most likely be no point in trying to hail another taxi in the station traffic area, since the taxis drivers are cooperative about who gets the customers. It's always the taxi at the front of the taxi queue that gets to pick up customers.
This can mean that if you're at a large station (and there are huge stations in Tokyo!), sometimes you might have to walk quite a bit to reach the front of the line of taxis queuing up, even though there are empty cars all along the sidewalk. Usually each major exit of a station has its own taxi pick-up spot. So if you're at a busy station, it might actually make sense to get out through a smaller exit and pick up a taxi in a small alleyway instead. -
Getting a taxi outside a major station in Tokyo
Look for the taxi queue...
Outside stations you'll most often find a dedicated taxi waiting area with a line of taxi cabs queuing up to pick up passengers as well as passengers queuing up to get on the taxis. Queuing in Japan is usually quite orderly, but beware of old people who think they have all the rights in the world to cut in front of youngsters. If you see one of these queuing areas, there will most likely be no point in trying to hail another taxi in the station traffic area, since the taxis drivers are cooperative about who gets the customers. It's always the taxi at the front of the taxi queue that gets to pick up customers.
This can mean that if you're at a large station (and there are huge stations in Tokyo!), sometimes you might have to walk quite a bit to reach the front of the line of taxis queuing up, even though there are empty cars all along the sidewalk. Usually each major exit of a station has its own taxi pick-up spot. So if you're at a busy station, it might actually make sense to get out through a smaller exit and pick up a taxi in a small alleyway instead. -
Communicating with a Japanese taxi driver
How to ensure the driver takes you where you want
Beware: taxi drivers in Japan essentially never speak any English, at all! (Unlike in my native Sweden, but same as New York - or so I've heard.) Nevertheless, they are usually quite friendly towards foreigners. Since all taxi cabs in Tokyo have GPS navigation, the best way of making sure you get to where you want to go is to bring the address written downin Japanese and show it to the driver. Even if the driver doesn't know the place, the GPS navigation system will. He will most likely first set off in the general direction of where you want to go, then input the location into the navigation system when stopping for red lights or traffic jams. I would not recommend bringing a map and pointing to where you want to go, since for some reason map reading skills are, in my experience, extraordinarily bad in Japan.
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Getting the driver to stop, and paying for your ride
Fortunately, this is quite easy
If you want the driver to stop at the current location, the following phrase can be used: koko de tomete kudasai, which means "please stop here". If you're in a hurry and/or find that hard to remember, just saying koko de, koko de ("here! here!") will surely get the message across as well. When reaching your destination, the driver will quite likely want to confirm with you that this is where you wanted to go, the same phrases can be used in that situation too.
Paying for a cab ride is easy! When the car has stopped, the driver will tell you the final price (in Japanese), that you can also see on the meter, and print out a receipt. There is no tipping in Japan, ever! You pay the exact amount displayed on the meter. So you can safely hand over a large bill if you're out of small change, or just too hurried to start counting. You do not have to worry about being short-changed in Japan. The driver will then push the button that automatically opens the back left passenger door, by hydraulics. Just say thanks (d�mo is a common, short way of saying thanks in Tokyo) and get out. The door will close automatically. If you have baggage in the trunk, the driver will get out and fetch it for you. -
hello friend , dun tell me u r continuing your next 200,000 views here , no lah , go back there , pls .
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Arigato .
Pls dun continue , this thread is to compliment you , not for u to continue from that thread .
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Sent him to japan lah, then maybe he will start posting about Singapore from there...
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ya , kenteolk sms me to tell him to migrate to Japan , LOL .
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another sms me to want me to tell kinwashi to marry a Japanese woman LOL .
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Ok ok go back there . . . dun disturb .