Taking a taxi in Fukuoka

• Taxi drivers are very unlikely to try to rip you off (unlike many other countries)
• They are usually nicely dressed with a uniform and smart white gloves
• The taxis are clean
• They are reliable
• They use meters
• You can usually find them waiting outside train stations

• They are expensive
• Most taxi drivers don’t speak English
• It’s difficult to find a taxi at busy periods
• Taxi drivers often get lost
• They may not want to stop for foreigners

Because Japan has a weird system of house numbering. For example #1 may be far from #2 or #3. Often houses or buildings in a street will be numbered based on the order they were built instead of numerical order. This means your driver may need to drive around and around to find the correct place. Hint: if you know the telephone number of the hotel or restaurant you are going to the driver can probably put it into his SatNav. This should help him find the address more easily.

Probably like your country you will pay a fixed fare at the start of your journey and then additional fees. These prices are updated for 2023:¥580 for the first kilometerThen additional fare depending on distance travelled:

¥325 for each additional kilometer

Waiting time per hour:¥2450 per hourSee below for information about taking a taxi from Fukuoka Airport.

Above costs are all approximate and subject to change. If you find this information is out of date please let everyone know in the comments below.

These fares are for standard 4-person taxis. Note that they don’t have huge space for luggage. Four people with luggage may need two taxis. Larger ‘jumbo’ taxis are sometimes available for higher cost.The fare will increase for waiting time or driving slowly in a traffic jam. You’ll pay additional fees for things like ordering in advance or late-night hours. Toll fees will be added to your bill but you probably won’t encounter tolls in trips around the city center.

No (this isn’t Bali or Thailand).

You can flag taxis down in Japan. Look out for a red light on top. This means the taxi is ‘available ’ whereas green light means ‘ unavailable ’ (intuitively this seems the wrong way round, I know). If you prefer you can queue at a taxi rank instead of waiting for one to randomly pass by. If you want to take a taxi from your hotel you can ask the hotel staff to order one for you (better do this in advance). Be aware that because of the strict no-drink-and-drive laws here taxis can be hard to find at boozy times like Friday and Saturday nights.

Update 2023: many drivers left the taxi business during the COVID-19 pandemic and have not returned. It has become increasingly difficult to find a taxi. If you need a taxi for an urgent trip ~ for example early morning transfer from your hotel to the airport ~ we strongly recommend you ask your hotel to book your taxi in advance. We even have clients reporting that when they tried to book a taxi the night before for an early morning trip the next day, no taxis were available. Luckily the subway from central Fukuoka city to the airport is incredibly convenient; it’s literally a 5-6 minute ride! Of course struggling with all your suitcases may not be much fun.

Taxis wait outside the international terminal at Fukuoka Airport. You can see them as you exit the arrival hall. Usually there are enough taxis but at busy periods you may need to wait. It’s better you show the taxi driver the name of your hotel written in Japanese. You can get this information from your hotel website or Google Maps. From Fukuoka Airport to Hakata the taxi fare is around ¥2,500. It is less than 4 KM and takes 10-15 minutes.

Yes you can but don’t expect the driver to speak English. The clue is in the name. The driver is a driver not a guide. For a 4-hour tour expect to pay around ¥50,000. The price depends on distance but it usually comes to about ¥10,000 per hour. This is for standard taxi with capacity for 4 passengers and space for some luggage (but not a lot). For larger vehicles the price is more expensive.

Contact us for a quote for a taxi sightseeing tour or long-distance taxi trip. Unfortunately we cannot help arrange short taxi trips within Fukuoka city (for example hotel to airport).

We help arrange a rental car for lots of our guests. In fact, it’s more popular than train travel. There are a lot of advantages of renting a car. You can see a lot of places in a limited time. You have more freedom. You aren’t restricted to timetables. Less planning is required for a journey. Kyushu may be a better place to rent a car than other parts of Japan. The travel distances are shorter. The roads are less crazy. The traffic jams are less. Also it’s a more rural island. This means train coverage can be less extensive. There are though disadvantages of renting a car for your holiday. Some people might find self-driving less relaxing than travelling by train. Navigating may be a headache. Parking fees and the costs of tolls can soon add up. If you request Kyushu Journeys to plan your itinerary we will advise whether rental car or train is most suitable.

Really expensive. For a small bus you can expect to pay around ¥150,000 per day. That’s just the fee for bus, driver and gasoline. You usually need to pay parking fees and toll road fees as additional cost. You also can’t expect the driver to speak English or act as a guide. This is why most of our clients (60%) use rental car self-drive for their Kyushu trip. The remaining 40% use trains and bus. We only use bus for large groups.

Contact us for a quote for minibus sightseeing trip and/or long-distance minibus journey from A to B. Unfortunately we cannot help arrange short trips within Fukuoka city (for example hotel to airport).

These days most taxis (but not all) take payment by credit card. If you don’t have any cash check your credit card is accepted before starting the trip. Also check if you only have a ¥10,000 note to pay with. Why is it taxi drivers worldwide never seem to have enough change?

Whether you pay by cash or by card there is no need to tip. You can leave some small change if you pay by cash but it’s not expected. The driver already earned his/her money with the hefty fare.

The left-side back door opens and closes automatically. Don’t do what most foreigners do and try and yank it open or closed.

Yes. Starting 2023 Uber is now available in Fukuoka, details here.

Grab is similar to Uber. It’s available in many countries in Asia but not in Japan. Anyway Grab recently bought Uber (South East Asia) so probably both won’t continue to operate. The price will probably increase too, right? Watch this space.

We hope you found this information about taking a taxi in Fukuoka useful. If you have any extra tips, information or advice about Fukuoka taxis share it in the comments section below. If we got anything wrong let us know.