Catching a taxi in central Tokyo is not so hard.
There are about 50,000 taxis operated in Tokyo.
The maximum number of passengers per
standard size taxi (sedan) is 4.


HOW TO CATCH A TAXI

Major stations or hotels, they have cabstand.
If you go to the main street, you will be able to
catch one quite easily.  (at night with rain, right after
the pay-day (most of people get paid on the 25th or
15th for government worker),  and the time after the
last train sometimes hard to catch one.)

First, you look for a taxi with the top lights on,
also with red sign says 'Kusha'. (*see the sign below)
ku=empty sha=car; means vacant




Then just raise your hand. 
(Look at the driver like you really want him to stop!)

The minimum fee starts from 660 yen for the first 2km.
(some private taxi companies only charge 650 yen.)
After 2km, the charge will be added 80 yen per 1km.

There will be 20%-30% extra charge after 11pm until 5am,
it is called 'shinya warimashi ryokin.' (late-night-charge).  
And the sign looks like this:



 
*So if you are looking for a taxi after 11pm,
you'll see this sign.

*Please click here to check new taxi fare & rule.


OTHER TAXI SIGNS

1. Chinsou - no vacancy




2. Kaisou - out of service




3. Geisha or Yoyakusha - reserved, on a way for pick-up




4. Kashikiri - reserved for certain amount of time





TAXI CONVERSATION
When you get in a taxi, you will be asked:

Driver: "Where would you like to go?"
              Dochira made?

You: "Please take me to Roppongi 3-chome".
         Roppongi san-chome made onegai shimasu.

Driver: "Ceretainly."
            Kashikomari mashita.

Giving directions

You: "Please turn left at the next corner."
         Tsugi no kado wo hidari ni magatte kudasai.
        (or Tsugi no kado hidari desu.)

        "Please stop just before the traffic lights."
         Shingou no temae de tomete kudasai.

        "My apartment (house) is right on the next corner."
        Watashi no apato (ie) wa tsugi no kado desu.

        "Please stop here."
         Koko de tomete kudasai.

        "How much?"
        Ikura desuka?

        "Please give me a receipt."
        Ryoshusho wo kudasai / Reshiito wo kudasai.

WORDS
        Right: Migi
        Left: Hidari
        Straight: Massugu
        Turn: Magaru
        Stop: Tomaru
        Here: Koko
        There: Asoko
        This: Kore
        That: Are
        It: Sore
        I'm in a hurry: Isoide imasu.
        Please drive faster: Isoide kudasai.


TAXI RESERVATION

You can reserve a taxi in English with these companies: 

1. Nihon Kotsu
    Reservation: 03-5755-2336
    24hours, 365 days on line in English       
http://www.nihon-kotsu.co.jp/en/taxi/ephone.html

2. Tokyo MK Taxi
    Reservation: 03-5547-5551
    Credit card accepted.  Larger size taxis available.
http://www.tokyomk.com/eng/index.html

3. Hello Tokyo Taxi
    Reservation: 050-3160-0601 (8am - 8pm)
    or 03-5653-7921 (Japanese only)
    Larger size taxis available.
http://www.hello-tokyo.co.jp/english/index.htm 

How to count in Japanese -PART 3-
(Getting sick of this?) 

We'll take a break tomorrow
so let's learn a bit more today!

How to count in Japanese -PART 2-

Yesterday we gave you 2 common examples
to count things in Japanese.

Today, another couple of examples:

*They sometimes change slightly for easier
  pronunciation.


(Example)

I have 2 chihuahuas.
  Watashi wa chiwawa wo ni-hiki katte imasu.

I saw 3 elephants at Ueno Zoo.
  Watashi wa Ueno Doubutsuen de zou wo san-biki
  mimashita.

*Also use 'hon' (bon/pon) for something long or 
  look like a stick such as tree, branch, banana,
carrot, cucumber, umbrella, pencil.........
   

(Example)

Can I have a glass of water?
  Mizu wo ippai itadakemasuka?
  (or you can say 'Mizu wo kudasai.')

Please get me 2 bottles of coca-cola from seven-eleven.
  Sebun irebun de coca-cola wo ni-hon katte kite* kudasai.

*Katte kite: Katte=Please buy (kau=buy)
                   Kite=Please come
 Literal translation:
   Please buy coca-cola and come back.

That's it for today.  More to come tomorrow.

HOW TO COUNT - PART 1-

It's a bit complicated when you count things in Japanese.

Counting just numbers in Japanese is not so hard,
but there are various suffixes used as type counters.
(And they sometimes change slightly for
easier pronunciation.)

It's not easy to give you all of the major
examples in just one page, so today,  
we give you 2 common examples
and more to follow in a couple of day....

*Please also check this for counting numbers.

Staff at ticketing booth: "How many of you?"
      Nan-nin desuka? (or Nan-mei sama desuka?)
You:  "2 adults and 3 children."
     Otona futari to kodomo san-nin desu.


Please try when you go to the restaurant or
Tokyo Disneyland next time

When we ask foreigners if they know any
Japanese words, many people say
'Konnichiwa!', 'Sayonara!', 'Sushi', 'Tempura',
'Karaoke', or 'Geisha'.....

But the word 'Teriyaki' is well known by foreigners
especially among the people who love Japanese food.

Teriyaki is the name of cooking with Teriyaki sauce.

So what is Teriyaki sauce??
It's quite easy to make.  All you need is soy sauce,
mirin (sweet sake; you can purchase from any Japanese
supermarket) , and cooking sake (Ryori-shu).
















CHICKEN TERIYAKI RECIPE

TERIYAKI SAUCE:
Mix 3 parts mirin, 2 parts soy sauce, and
2 parts sake.
*If you like sweeter sauce, add some sugar.

Marinate chicken for about 1 hour.
Grill, basting occasionally with sauce.
Be careful not to scorch.

For Tofu Teriyaki, first sprinkle with starch
and brown in a frying pan, taking care not to
crumble.  Then add the sauce, covering the
Tofu well and boil down.

Tea ceremony is based on the spirit of Zen and
focuses on pursuing the Japanese 'wabi' aesthetic,
a simple and calm state of mind.

The spirit of tea ceremony is represented by the
phrase of 'icigo ichie' which means,
'Treasure every meeting, for it will never recur'.

It indicates that the encounter of the host and
the guests in a tea ceremony is a special occasion
which occurs only once in a lifetime.










Another delights of Tea Ceremony are
Japanese style confections (called wagashi)
imitating flowers and so forth as they change
from season to season.  Eating them prior to
drinking the slightly bitter powdered teas (matcha),
brings out and intersifies the taste of the tea more.









Some first-class hotels hold tea-ceremony demonstration
in special tea-ceremony rooms.  Reservations are
required, because they're aften booked by groups.


SEISEI-AN (Hotel New Otani, Tower 7th Floor)
http://www.newotani.co.jp/en/tokyo/Tel: 03-3265-1111









CHOSHO-AN (Hotel Okura Tokyo, 7th Floor)
Open Hours: 11:00-16:00 Monday to Saturday
Tel: 03-3582-0111


TOKO-AN (Imperial Hotel)
Open Hours: 10:00-16:00 Monday to Saturday
Tel: 03-3504-1111















MUAN (Happoen Hotel)
http://www.happo-en.com/english/banquet.htmlTel: 03-3443-3111

It's St. Valentine's Day tomorrow.

Yes, Japanese do celebrate St. Valentine's Day
but it's a bit different way compare to other countries.

It is the day for girls to present chocolates to their
sweethearts.  This is called 'Honmei-choco'.
Honmei means favorite.  They normally give chocolate and
something else like necktie to their true love.

But they also give some chocolates to their male friends or
co-workers as well, that's called 'Giri-choco.'
Giri means 'obligation'.  The average cost of
Giri-choco will be much lower than
'Honmei-choco' of course.

So girls only give and get nothing??

Not really.  They deserve to get something back too!
March 14th is the day called 'White Day' and boys
who received either Honmei-choco or Giri-choco,
they should return the favor by giving the person
some lollies.

(If it is a Honmei-choco, you really should give her
a Honmei-lollies and extra something!!)

So if you get some chololates tomorrow,
doesn't matter if it's Honmei or Giri, don't forget
to give some lollies back in one month!

Have a sweet St. Valentine's Day

The word Sake is sometimes used for alcoholic beverages
in general, but usually it means Japanese rice wine.

Sake is made by adding water and malted rice to
steamed rice and letting it ferment.
Its alcohol content is about 16 percent.

In addition to nationwide brands, there is also
local produced 'Jizake'.
Sake has various degrees of dryness and sweetness.

More information about sake, please visit:
http://www.japansake.or.jp/sake/english/index.html


TOKKURI AND OCHOKO
Tokkuri (sake bottle) Ochoko (cup for sake)

Sake is drinkable both hot and cold.
You can keep it in a fridge for cold sake,
or you can put sake in Tokkuri bottle 
and heat it up.
























Normal Tokkuri holds 1-go (=180ml.) .


OLD SAYINGS

KAKETSUKE SAMBAI
   When someone comes late to a party,
   often he is made to drink three glasses of sake or
   beer in a row (=kaketsuke sanbai).
   Supposedly this is punishment for having come late,
   but probably it is also a kind of welcome.

SAKE WA HYAKUYAKU NO CHO
   =Sake is the best medicine
   A moderate amount of sake is thought better for the
   health than medicine.

SAKE NI NOMARERU
   Let the Sake Drink You
   This means drinking too much and becoming
   unruly or damaging one's health.

Coming Sunday (11th) is National Foundation Day in Japan.
So Monday (12th) is substitute holiday.

Have a nice long weekend and
SAKE NI NOMARERU NA
(DON'T let the sake drink you!)