Today is National Taxi Day in Japan, a date chosen to commemorate the start of the country’s first cab service in 1912. As it happens, this month Suntory is making Japan’s notoriously hospitable taxis even more so, by giving passengers a complementary bottle of iced tea.
Partnering with Nihon Kotsu Taxi, Suntory is wrapping three of the company’s Toyota Crown Comforts in a unique livery, turning them into “Iemon Hospitality Taxis”. When customers get in, they will be greeted with a noren, the curtains typically seen on old school Japanese restaurants and shops.
![Suntory Tea Taxi noren Suntory Tea Taxi noren](https://i1.wp.com/JapaneseNostalgicCar.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Suntory-Tea-Taxi-noren.jpg?w=449&h=275&ssl=1)
![Suntory Tea Taxi lemon Suntory Tea Taxi lemon](https://i2.wp.com/JapaneseNostalgicCar.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Suntory-Tea-Taxi-lemon.jpg?w=183&h=275&ssl=1)
The customer will also get a complimentary bottle of iemon tea to help combat Tokyo’s sweltering summers. They’ll also receive a traditional uchiwa fan and a pair of slippers in a drawstring bag as souvenirs of their trip.
Now that’s service above and beyond Japan’s immensely clean and quiet cabs. If you happen to be in Tokyo this month maybe you’ll be lucky enough to hail one. The The promotion runs from August 4 to 23.
Images courtesy Suntory, Nihon Kotsu.
It’s green tea of a brand called “Iemon”, starting with a capital i. Not lemon tea as in the citrus fruit.
Ah, you’re right. Corrected!
A couple of years ago we went over to Japan for the new years car show and racing at Fuji Speedway. The show was great but the rain was unrelenting and it was an outside show with racing so we bailed after a few hours of getting soaked… We met a very nice Japanese gentleman there who as it turns out owned a terrific Indian restaurant in Gotemba not too far away from the train station. We wound up taking a taxi from the track to go to the Indian restaurant. We gave the cab driver the name of the restaurant, who had no idea where it was, he very politely called his dispatcher and in Japanese told them he had these silly Gaijin in his cab that wanted to go to some Indian restaurant, not realizing that we understood what he was saying, we all broke up laughing not offended in the slightest but seriously amused. When he realized we understood he actually became quite friendly albeit somewhat embarrassed. We did eventually find the Indian place and had a wonderful meal prior to going back to catch our train. It is nice to see that the very neat and tidy drivers over there also have a sense of humor. .
Very surprised that the driver didn’t know the restaurant! The average Japanese taxi driver must at the least come in second to “The Knowledge” ability of the London taxi driver! That and their ability to make right hand turns in narrow alleys without slowing down.