Ride-hailing apps in Japan

Before you land

1. Step 1

   Decide whether you already have an app that works

   If you use Uber at home, that same account works in Japan. If you use the China version of DiDi, that works in Japan too. Otherwise you will be installing a Japanese app — GO covers the whole country, S.RIDE is strongest in Tokyo.

2. Step 2

   Install and register before you fly

   Sign-up needs a phone number and an SMS code, so do it while you are still on your home network rather than in the arrivals hall. Note that S.RIDE states it cannot be used with numbers from some overseas carriers.

3. Step 3

   Set the app to English

   S.RIDE follows your phone's language setting, so set the phone to English before you open the app. The other apps carry English in their store listings.

4. Step 4

   Add a payment method

   GO states that international credit cards and Apple Pay work. Where an operator does not publish whether overseas-issued cards are accepted, carry enough cash for one fare as a fallback.

5. Step 5

   On arrival, book inside the app or use the marked taxi rank

   Both are licensed. What is not licensed is anyone who approaches you on foot in the terminal offering a ride.

A working data connection is what makes all of this possible on arrival — see our eSIM guide. Most travel eSIMs are data-only, so you keep your home number for the SMS codes these apps send.

The apps

Apps are listed by whether the app you already use works in Japan, then by number of supported languages. There is no overall recommendation here — the right app depends on which one you can actually sign into.

“Unverified” means we could not confirm it in the operator's own published material. We do not guess — see our verification policy.

The three things that trip travellers up

Signing up is where visitors get stuck, not the ride itself. These are the three checks worth doing before you are standing at the taxi rank.

The one to avoid: the tout in the arrivals hall

Japan's transport ministry says that, as visitor numbers have risen, touting by drivers at airports and similar places has been confirmed in large numbers. Carrying paying passengers in a private car without a licence — 白タク, a “white taxi” — is a criminal offence under the Road Transport Act. These drivers are not connected to any of the services on this page.

• They approach you — licensed drivers wait at the rank or come to the app's pickup point.
• They quote a flat price to central Tokyo in conversation, rather than through an app or a published airport flat fare.
• They lead you away from the marked taxi rank, often to a car park or an upper level.
• There is no meter, no receipt and no record of the booking anywhere.
• They describe themselves as a hire car (haiyā) waiting for you. Japan's transport ministry states that hire cars are strictly reservation-only and are not permitted to wait for or solicit passengers at taxi stands.

An app on your phone is not automatic proof

This is the part travellers get wrong. Japan's regional transport bureaux warn that illegal taxis booked through overseas ride-hailing apps have been increasing around airports and tourist areas. Having booked “through an app” is therefore not the test on its own — the test is whether the operator behind that app is licensed to carry passengers in Japan. The four apps on this page are; an app that dispatches private cars in your home country may not be.

So the practical rule is narrow and worth remembering: book through one of these four apps, or join the marked taxi rank. If a person approaches you on foot, walk away — whatever they show you on their phone.

Good to know

Can I use the ride-hailing app I already have?

If it is Uber, yes — Uber states you can use the app overseas without changing your account's country setting. If it is the China version of DiDi, yes since January 2025. GO and S.RIDE are Japan-only apps, so you install and register for this trip.

Do I need a Japanese phone number to sign up?

S.RIDE states that the app cannot be used with phone numbers contracted with some overseas telecommunications carriers, so check that one before you rely on it. The other operators do not publish a clear answer, and we will not guess — if you already have an Uber account you avoid the question entirely.

Are the cars I get through these apps licensed?

Yes. Every operator behind these apps holds a national transport licence, and most cars that arrive are taxis on green plates, which is what a green plate signifies in Japan. The Uber app also offers Private Car, Japan's legal ride-share, where a taxi company manages the operation but the driver may use their own white-plate car — also licensed.

Someone offered me a ride in the arrivals hall. Is that the same thing?

No. Drivers who approach passengers on foot at the airport are not operating under any of these apps. Japan's transport ministry reports that touting at airports has been confirmed in large numbers as visitor numbers have risen, and carrying paying passengers in a private car without a licence is an offence under the Road Transport Act. Book through one of the four apps on this page, or join the marked taxi rank.

I have a ride-hailing app from home that is not on this list. Can I use it?

Check whether it actually operates in Japan before you rely on it. Japan's regional transport bureaux warn that illegal taxis booked through overseas ride-hailing apps have been increasing around airports and tourist areas. Booking through an app is not proof of a licence on its own — what matters is whether the operator behind it is licensed to carry passengers in Japan.

Do I need mobile data for this to work?

Yes — you need a connection to book, and to receive the SMS code if you are signing up. Most travel eSIMs are data-only, so your home number keeps receiving SMS codes while the eSIM carries the data.

Sources

Every statement above is taken from the operators' own published material, checked 2026-07-19. Services change — the operators' pages are authoritative.

• Uber — using your account overseas: https://help.uber.com/en/riders/article/change-country-setting?nodeId=64e3898c-81c6-4a41-b9a6-0850a412bc0a
• Uber — airports served in Japan: https://www.uber.com/jp/en/airports/
• Uber — about Private Car: https://help.uber.com/riders/article/about-uber-private-car?nodeId=34f6de69-08e5-4001-9c4e-4b24919f7e13
• DiDi Mobility Japan — China-version app usable in Japan (January 2025): https://didimobility.co.jp/info/20250120/
• GO — payment and coverage: https://go.goinc.jp/en/
• S.RIDE — overseas carrier numbers and SMS codes: https://faq-en.sride.jp/Unable%20to%20receive%20authentication%20code%20via%20SMS%20(short%20message)-652e179748a44e001c453347
• S.RIDE — English support since version 2.1.0: https://www.sride.jp/en/list/20191121/
• Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism — unlicensed taxis and touting at airports: https://www.mlit.go.jp/jidosha/jidosha_fr3_000069.html
• MLIT Kinki Transport Bureau — illegal taxis booked through overseas ride-hailing apps: https://wwwtb.mlit.go.jp/kinki/tetsuzuki/taxi/illegaltaxi.html
• MLIT Kyushu Transport Bureau, guide to the Road Transport Act — green plates for licensed passenger transport: https://wwwtb.mlit.go.jp/hokushin/content/000104019.pdf