Comments on: A Frustrating Taxi Ride in Tokyo

By: daijobu

daijobu — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:41:38 +0000

I’ve had similar incidents in the past. I’ve tried the “stoppu” and other stranger combinations, and most of them didn’t work any better than body language (e.g. waving and looking panicked) to get the taxi driver to stop. The strangest I’ve experienced was with the taxi driver screaming at me looking like a tomato about to burst. I vaguely remember what I’d tried to say in Japanese to get him to drop me off, and asked a japanese friend if that made sense (just to see if the cab driver was giving me a hard time playing dumb). After my friend heard what I said, she couldn’t stop laughing for a few minutes… when she stopped laughing, she told me what I’d said actually meant, “Tell me NOW!”

No wonder the guy was screaming at me.

By: April’s Japan Blog Matsuri | 世論 What Japan Thinks

April’s Japan Blog Matsuri | 世論 What Japan Thinks — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 13:39:40 +0000

[...] Shane at The Nihon Sun shares a slightly painful experience of trying to talk a Japanese taxi driver into stopping at the right place. [...]

By: Shane Sakata

Shane Sakata — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:16:39 +0000

Danielle;

Twitter wasn’t in existence when this happened and we didn’t have keitei (cell phones) either! My language ability and confidence level have both improved in the intervening 10 or so years though…

Long haul taxi rides are expensive in most cities and Tokyo is no exception. For short hops I rarely pay more than the Y1,400 that you mentioned.

By: Danielle

Danielle — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:39:56 +0000

Aww … don’t you have twitter on your phone LOL I bet you’d have got an answer! We flapped and said koko a lot for months till my ear attuned to the navi in our car and I copied “Molly”’s phrases which seem to work fine (most of which are in your list) I find …hoko very useful as in migi hoko or hidari hoko which apparently means left or right direction so makes the change in direction clearer (again, this is from Molly hehe)

We actually don’t find taxis expensive here at all, at least no more than a taxi should be – I have heard two stories about foreigners being taken for long winding rides which cost almost 10,000en but that’s only two (and how malicious it was I couldn’t guess.) Staying at the Westin in Kyoto recently we taxied all over the city (we were still recovering from influenza) and never paid more than 1000en for a trip barring the 1400en from and to the shinkansen.

By: Shane Sakata

Shane Sakata — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 22:30:32 +0000

Hao, I would have said “Tomatte kudasai!” had I had the vocabulary…but it didn’t

Theo, your photo is a perfect fit for the story and it a great image alone as well – the lighting is perfect. Thanks for taking it and taking the time to stop by and comment.

By: Théo la photo

Théo la photo — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 22:09:57 +0000

Excellent story, and well written – it reminds me of my stay in Japan a year ago, althought I didn’t take any cab, but heard about the fact that taxidrivers don’t know the whole city.

I’m glad you used my picture as an illustration, it fits perfectly your note.

By: Hao

Hao — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:06:06 +0000

That was pretty scary! I guess travelers should also know that taxis are a bit on the expensive side in Japan (a friend took a taxi from Kansai Int’l Airport to the other end of the bridge and paid $100 — roughly what you need for Shinkansen from Osaka to Tokyo).

If I had been you Shane, I would’ve shouted “Tomatte kudasai!” (please stop!!), though you would’ve bumped your head anyway so…

By: Shane Sakata

Shane Sakata — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 22:32:35 +0000

Overall the taxis are great in Japan but I’m sure glad I’m not the only one who has had such an experience

Nick – at least I didn’t have to walk halfway across Nagoya

By: billywest

billywest — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 10:00:37 +0000

Amusing indeed. A friend of a friend was kicked out of a cab one time for getting flustered and panicking the driver. She said she ended up further away from her hotel than she had been at her original starting point.

By: Billy

Billy — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 08:53:55 +0000

I can sympathize with you. I had the same problem in Miami…but I was speaking English.