Confessions of a Tokyo Taxi Driver

Being a cab driver in Tokyo is no easy feat. The last taxi I took there was driven by a twenty-something year old newbie who picked me up in front of my parents' house. It was pure coincidence that he drove by—it's a quiet residential neighborhood and he was lost, trying to get back on the main road. I raised my hand, he stopped, the automatic door swung open, and I plopped down on the lace-covered backseat. He was facing forward, both gloved white hands on the steering wheel. "I am a newbie!" he said out loud. "Would that be okay?" I said that was fine. I was just going to the office, and I could direct him there.

"But you have a GPS," I asked. "Doesn't that help you?"

The newbie replied that the GPS was provided by the taxi company, and was at least a few years old. The road map had changed significantly since, and it sometimes brought him more trouble than good. To pass taxi driver school, he was tested on a map of Tokyo—but like most cases of rote memorization, things only linger in your head while you need them.

Driving taxis in Tokyo is a lonely job. Once, when I was in high school, a drunk girl friend discovered that the fifty-ish cab driver who was driving us home from the club was a virgin. (She offered to kiss him, but he said no.) In a survey conducted several years ago, cabbies responded that the top three things they liked to hear from customers were: Good night. Thank you. and Keep the change. Now I make it a point to say those things whenever I can, because they deserve it.

"Why did you decide to become a cab driver?" I asked the young newbie. Most cab drivers are old dudes. This guy looked like he could be in a boy band if he lost a few pounds and dyed his hair chestnut brown. Newbie said that while he was from a suburb, he had always dreamed of getting a job in the city. His older brother was a cab driver in Tokyo, too—so he applied to cabbie school and finally passed. It was his second week, and he'd already had customers storm out when they found out he was new, and customers who got drunk and passed out in the backseat while poor newbie wandered on and off the expensive Shuto expressway trying to figure out whether that little side street that wasn't on his GPS really existed.

Cab drivers in Japan are very courteous. They all wear white gloves and speak politely and their cars are always polished and spotless. A company called MK Taxi even has drivers who get out of the car and open the door for you, like a private chauffeur. But they may also seem high maintenance to those customers who prefer to just give them an address and then kick back. They'll always ask you which route you want to take and since Japanese streets don't have names, you have to point out each right or left turn they need to take. It's probably very hard and frustrating for those who don't know the roads or the language.

I can't remember what else newbie and I talked about, but I reassured him a lot that he was an excellent driver and that he'd have a great career. And thank you for the ride.

I just hope he doesn't stay a virgin til 50.

Comments

[Moogly_bear]

The only time I caught a cab by myself in Japan was one of the most surreal things about the trip! We gave the driver the address of our hotel, he didn't know where it was, so spent about 10 minutes seemingly yelling on the phone to the manager of the hotel, then offered us sweets. It was so weird...

[vagrant]

I use a taxi regularly in Japan, but the bus and trains more often.

Streets aren't bad in Kyoto, it's laid out pretty good, but Tokyo is...oh so funky. All drivers have been courteous and I always say thank you and tip the difference instead of getting change.

I think I used an MK cab once 'cause the guy got out and I wondered WTF was he doing.

As for GPS, even when it tells you where the house is, sometimes the streets are one way and they have to fish around. Once they're close enough, I have them stop, unless I know where I'm going and just give directions. (Learned that really quick.)

One guy had a GPS system thing where he was able to punch in the phone number of my friends house and it gave him directions.

A few were quite courteous and asked if they could answer their mobile phone. With one guy, I thought it might be safer than having him continue to watch is portable TV on the dash.

One thing I used to do, because I would get drunk, was type out the Kanji for the address and laminate the card and keep it in my wallet. When asked where to go, I'd hand that to them and they'd get me close enough.

For those staying in a hotel, I'd suggest your grab a business card, because there may be more than one of that particular hotel.

[Rog]

Last time I came back from a night out in Chiba, visibly inebriated, the taxi driver lugging my sorry ass home asked me if I wanted any company.

It took me a few minutes to twig that he was not in fact hitting on me, and that he was pimping as a sideline out of his taxi.

Give me my scooter anyday.