Kojin Taxi

Two kojintakushi in one day. That was a first. The term translates literally as an 'individual taxi'. After working ten years for a taxi company, it's possible to apply for a kojin taxi license. That gives the driver freedom over his working hours and a higher commission. Generally, they still work through a dispatch center.

The first guy had worked for 20 years. He works late at night in general and takes weekends off - Saturdays and Sundays. It sounds like a relatively civilized life. The company drivers work crazy shifts, changing from night shift to day shift twice a week and engaging in manic 23 hour shifts. Nothing like independence really.

He does pretty well, it seems. Tonight was Friday and that's his busiest night. He makes an average of 40,000 yen uriage on a Friday night. His car was in good shape. I don't know the first thing about cars, but it seemed like a fancy one. I asked him if he has ever gone overseas. This is a rather obvious question, and one of my standards. It's a good follow-up to the almost invariable 'what country are you from'. In general, I ask it as a mild provokation. Most taxi drivers haven't been overseas except for their homeymoon in Hawaii. That doesn't really count. He had been overseas. In fact, his son works as a pilot in the United States in Utah. I can imagine him spraying crops and batting off over-eager Mormons. The father goes to America once a year. He doesn't like it much. The reason is the food. They don't know how to cook well in America. They make big plates, but Japan is the only country with really good food, don't you think.

The second driver thought that 40,000 was brilliant and reckoned that the first guy was working really hard. Of course, the second driver was annoyed because I was going in the opposite direction to his house and he wanted to be heading home at 1am. That's early on a Friday night.
I asked him for a receipt because I've vowed never to lose things in taxis again. He said that his customers never forgot anything because he always checked thoroughly. He was right. After passing me my guitar, mandolin, amp, amp stand, several bags of cords and other miscellaneous stuff, he left another brown bag on the ground. It was only when he had driven off that I realized that it was a bag with a towel and other personal things in there. I'll call him tomorrow to tell him that I've got his bag. I'm glad that I got a receipt.