As a salesman in Japan, I get in a taxi about 6 times a week.
Even when I go somewhere remote, there are usually one or two waiting at the closest station. The cabs are often like extensions of the cabbies themselves.
Some have the A/C on full blast, and feel like refrigerators on wheels. Sometimes you sit down to find the right leg of your suit getting warmed up by a plastic bag with the driver’s warm Macdonald’s fries in it.
They are however very professional.
As soon as the sales team gets in, it’s as if we were in another meeting room, and everyone seems to breathe a sigh of relief, as they spill the beans on whatever important business thoughts they were holding on to. I bet the cabbies who are (albeit involuntarily) privy to this information know a lot more about what’s going on in the Japanese business world than we do!
Just like the English “cabby” the Japanese also have a nickname “un chan” (pronounced “oon chan”) for the cab drivers.
It sounds like something you would call a pet in Japanese, as pets are also often given the “chan” suffix.
This is a mysterious coincidence, as there are also people who add “y” to the end of our pets’ names when they call to them in English E.g. “Doggy”, “Tessy” etc.
Not that you would ever call out “cabby” to your cab driver when you want them to come to you. Lol.
