Calling a taxi on the spot

I never used taxis much in Japan before, and when I did it was always from a train station where there were available cabs waiting. But on my next trip I expect to be using cabs more, and I may want some pickups in places where I can’t easily hail one on the street.

I really like the way you can get an Uber or Lyft ride in the US just by opening their apps and they automatically find your location and send a driver (or make it easy to schedule a ride for later), but I won’t use those services in Japan. Is there by any chance some sort of equivalent functionality for taxis in Japan? I saw an app called JapanTaxi on the Apple and Google stores, but it got mixed reviews. A search in Japanese brought up something called Go, but it seems to be connected to JapanTaxi and I didn’t really look at all the details. (And the App Store wouldn’t let me access it from the US anyway.)

Alternatively, can I open Google Maps on my phone and do a local area search on “taxi” or “タクシ” to bring up phone numbers of local cab companies? My Japanese speaking skills are rudimentary especially on the phone, but in a pinch I could probably handle the conversation in Japanese. I do a little better with the written language, though, so something like an app (it could be in Japanese) might be easier for me. Of course, if there’s a way to do it in English I can handle that, and others might be interested in something like this. I will mainly be in major cities but they all seem to have different regional cab companies.

Thanks!

Although it is Japanese information, it is written about a taxi dispatch application.
Try using translation software to read it.
https://p-chan.jp/taxi/column/taxi-app-ranking
After reading this article, it seems that Japan taxi has been integrated into GO.
Taxi companies vary by region, so I can't give you a phone number.
There used to be a phone book (town page,タウンページ) in the phone box, so I searched for "taxi,タクシ−" and found the phone number. (Depending on the location, it may still be there)
If you ask at the front desk of your hotel or the tourist information center, they will give you the phone number.

If you take a taxi to reach a remote location, you can ask for a business card from that taxi driver. And when you need a ride from that remote location call the number on the card. That worked well for me several times.

Alternatively, can I open Google Maps on my phone and do a local area search on “taxi” or “タクシ” to bring up phone numbers of local cab companies?

Yes, you can do that too, except that it's タクシー with a "ー" at the end. Be sure you can explain the exact location you need to be picked up, such as a rough address and a landmark or the exact name of a crossing signal. The company will make sure whether you're calling for a taxi or not and whether you need the taxi now or for another time.

Thank you so much for the helpful input (and for correcting my spelling of タクシー !).

Hi Forum,

How about Taxi with car seat? I could not find any good services. These guys offer bit do only pre booking https://www.taxibambino.com/family-taxi-airport-transfer-car-seat-toky...

Thanks for the help!

Ted

If you are talking about a taxi with a child’s seat, you probably won’t find any. The police don’t require taxis to have car seats for small kids. I’ve lived in Tokyo for many years, have small kids, and have frequently used taxis, I have never seen one with a kid’s seat. Even going home from a Tokyo hospital with a newborn, MK Taxi (Tokyo’s best taxi service) didn’t have anything with a baby seat.