Tokyo Taxi

Tokyo is home to thousands of taxis that chauffeur 14 million residents and visitors all over the sprawling city. Yet a taxi in the Japanese capital is not the icon it might be in London or New York. It’s also not a particularly common mode of transport in Tokyo. With trains that have earned global renown for punctuality and speed, many prefer public transport.

In the event that you do hail a cab, look out for the color of their license plates and lights: Licensed taxis use green plates (as opposed to the white and yellow plates of privately owned cars). Vacant vehicles display the characters 空車 (kuusha, “empty car”); if occupied, you’ll see 賃走 (chinso, “running the meter”).

There is no standard color or design for a taxi- cab; the largest companies distinguish themselves by hue. The cars of Tokyo Yonsha and its subsidiaries are all either lemon yellow with a red stripe or black with globes for lights. The Green Cab group, with some 60 subsidiaries, have the peppermint-colored body seen here. The Tokyo Musen group are green with orange stripes; Checker Cabs are orange with a checkered white stripe; and Kojin are white with yellow lights that look like snails.