How do you hail a cab in japan?

It might be a dumb question idk but i just wanted to know how can we hail a cab in japan since we need to take 2 or three cabs druing our stay in osaka and kyoto this july. is it like in new york city where you just put a hand out or flag them down or do you have to call a cab dispatcher like where im from. a lot of cities that ive been to the cabs don't pick up street hails you have to call a hotline or go to a cab base.

By standing close to the street and holding up you hand, while looking at the taxi.

In some popular locations and in front of many stations there are taxis stands where taxis line up.

The best way is to go to a station area or department store and catch one of the many taxis that will be waiting out front. Otherwise, just stand on the side of the street for the direction you want to go, lean as far out from the curb as you can safely, and wave your hand at available taxis.

The same as in US. There are plenty to flag down. http://gojapan.about.com/cs/transportbustaxi/ht/ht_taxi.htm

Check to make sure the cab is available to be waved. They have lamps that illuminate the cab's status:
空車 kuusha "empty"
賃送　chinsou "occupied"
実車　jissha "occupied"
支払 shiharai "stopped to receive fare" (this should change to kuusha)
回送 kaisou "going home" ("not in service")

Sometimes you'll taxi drivers standing outside their cabs smoking or napping - 50% of the time I ask for a lift, they claim to be on lunch break or quittin' time.

I am from the US - my wife and I (mixed white and asian couple) tried to get a cab in Kyoto on a Saturday afternoon - they just kept passing us by!

As mentioned in the link that Amazinga pointed out, if you have a problem fetching cabs from the street or taxi stands, you always have the option to phone a taxi company in advance. You need to pay a little extra, but that way you will never be rejected. On the other hand, at crucial ages, I've even went over to the best hotels and had the door man assist me, but cabs just went away the minute they saw me standing there.