A chauffeur service in Tokyo, licensed, insured, and willing to show you the number plate.
Every car I arrange carries a green number plate and a chauffeur holding a Class 2 licence, which is what Japanese law requires of anyone paid to carry passengers. That sounds like a technicality until the day something happens on the expressway, when it becomes the only thing that matters. Hourly, by the day, airport, or a week of meetings, with the price fixed in writing before you book.
5.0 · 13 Google reviewsWhat's included
- A green number plate, every time: the licensed commercial plate. If a car arriving for you carries a white plate, it is not a legal chauffeur service and you are not insured in it.
- A Class 2 licensed chauffeur: the professional passenger licence, not an ordinary driving licence with a suit on top.
- Insurance that covers you as a passenger: commercial cover on a commercially registered vehicle, which a private car used for hire does not carry.
- Your language, agreed in writing: English, Italian, Spanish, French or Japanese, confirmed at booking. If the match is wrong you are refunded in full.
- One price, no meter: tolls, parking and fuel inside it, the figure agreed before you travel and nothing to settle on the day.
- On board: a private minibar with chilled water, soft drinks, tea and coffee, candies and chocolates, and refreshing orange scented towels.
How to tell a legal chauffeur from an illegal one, in three seconds
Look at the number plate. In Japan a vehicle paid to carry passengers must wear a green plate with white characters. A private car wears a white plate with green characters. That is the whole test, and it works at the kerb before you put a bag in the boot. Illegal white plate work is common enough that tourist sites post warnings about it, and it is sold openly on the large international booking platforms, sometimes by operators who run a few legal cars alongside the rest. If a company cannot tell you, in writing and before you pay, that your car is green plated and your chauffeur holds a Class 2 licence, that silence is the answer.
Why the cheap quote is the expensive one
Ask around and you will be quoted forty to seventy thousand yen for a day with a driver, against two to three times that for a licensed hire car. The gap is not service, it is legality. A green plate means commercial registration, commercial insurance, a driver who passed the Class 2 examination and an operator answerable to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. An unlicensed car saves all of it, and passes the saving to you until the morning there is an accident, at which point the insurer declines because the vehicle was being used for a purpose it was never registered for. You are then a passenger with no cover, in a foreign country, with a claim against a company that has stopped answering.
What I actually am, said plainly
Driven Tokyo is a booking intermediary. I do not own the cars and I do not hold the transport licence: I arrange licensed operators who do, and I stand between you and them for the whole journey, in your language. That structure is deliberate and it is stated on every quotation, because an intermediary pretending to be an operator is the first warning sign of the thing this page is about. You can ask me for the operator's licence number before you pay, and you will get it.
Chauffeur service rates (indicative, from)
| Vehicle | Best for | From |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Toyota Alphard | 4+1 passengers, 3–4 luggage | ¥16,000/h |
| Hiace Toyota Hiace | up to 9 passengers, 8+ luggage | ¥17,000/h |
| GranAce Toyota GranAce | 4+1 passengers, 4 luggage | ¥17,000/h |
| Exclusive Mercedes-Benz S 500 | 2+1 passengers, 2 large + 2 small luggage | ¥19,000/h |
Hourly, with a minimum that is stated before you book. A full day of eight hours starts at ¥126,000 for the Standard class. Expressway tolls, parking and fuel are included. Hours worked between 22:30 and 06:30 carry a night supplement, declared in advance. Billed in JPY.
What people ask about chauffeur services in Tokyo
How much does a chauffeur service cost in Tokyo?
From ¥16,000 an hour for the Standard class, a Toyota Alphard, with a minimum number of hours stated before you book. Eight hours starts at ¥126,000 and a ten hour day out of the city at ¥157,500. Expressway tolls, parking and fuel are included, and the figure is confirmed in writing.
What is the difference between a chauffeur and a taxi in Japan?
A taxi is hailed, metered and takes you one way. A chauffeur is booked in advance for a period of time, stays with you between stops, and is paid for the hours rather than the distance. Both must carry a green plate, and a chauffeur is usually a Class 2 licence holder on a hire car licence rather than a taxi licence.
Is it legal for a private car to be hired with a driver in Japan?
Only if the vehicle is commercially registered with a green plate and the operator holds the relevant transport licence. A private white plate car driven for payment is illegal, the passenger is uninsured, and the practice is widespread enough that tourist authorities warn about it.
Can I ask to see the licence before I book?
Yes, and you should. I will give you the operating company and its licence number in writing before you pay anything, on any booking.
Do you serve cities other than Tokyo?
Yes. Tokyo and Yokohama are daily work, and full day journeys reach Hakone, Nikko, Mount Fuji, Karuizawa and Kyoto. Longer routes are quoted as a day charter because the vehicle and the chauffeur are committed for the whole day.