I have a phobia about taxis. Not being terribly fond of cars in general, I don’t like trusting a stranger to drive me around town.
Maybe you can imagine how I was feeling when I was deposited at Ikebukuro at 1:15 am on the last train around the Yamanote line. I had a difficult decision: walk for an hour to get home along a route that’s not too familiar to me, or hop into a taxi and be home in 10 minutes. I chose quick petrification over lengthy hiking.
Lots of other people wanted taxis, too, so it was about 20 minutes before I managed to flag one down. Thankfully, my driver was skilled and we even conversed in Japanese about the crowds after the last train, the weather, and my occupation.
I felt triumphant when I arrived home. I still hate taxis, but every positive experience makes the phobia a little less difficult.
