1. Most importantly, shop around. Check the rear left passenger door window. There will be a price between 500 and 660 yen. This is the price for the first 3 kms, but the mileage ratio after this is also similarly varied. This adds up to a big saving. A taxi home in a 500 yen cab will cost me around 2,200 yen (about 20 U.S. dollars). A taxi home in 660 yen cab will cost me around 3,800 yen (about 35 U.S. dollars). It makes quite a difference quite quickly...
2. This may sound sarcastic (especially given the rest of my pages) but seriously, check the front seat of the cab. If there's a half empty bottle of whisky on the seat it's probably not a good idea to get in. If the bottle is empty, it's definitely not a good idea! You'd be surprised the number of times I've seen this...

