A taxi serving coffee freshly brewed inside the vehicle for free has gained popularity among passengers since it began operating in the southwestern Japanese town of Arita, in the prefecture of Saga late last month. The nine-seat “Barista Taxi” is equipped with a coffee machine beside the driver’s seat, and its driver serves all-you-can-drink coffee in local specialty Arita porcelain cups inside the vehicle.
On Jan 29 the country’s first ‘barista taxi’ made its maiden voyage between Saga Airport (Kyushu) and Arita.
Inside, passengers can enjoy freshly brewed coffee from one of those fancy Nescafe Barista gizmos (in the picture, Arita Taxi President Shigetoshi Mieda demonstrates the “Barista Taxi”).
And when we say ‘inside’, we mean the thing is actually inside the cab (fitting snuggly into that space between driver seat and passenger seat).
Not only is this an all-you-can-drink deal, but Nescafe’s finest is served in cups made from Arita’s finest porcelain (for which the town is famous).
Some sources say that it’s the driver who’s doing the serving, which begs the question; Are these drivers a wiz at multitasking, or do they have to stop the cab every time you want a hit?
The Saga Airport – Arita run seems to be aimed at tourists rather than knackered salary persons in need of a pick me up on their way to work.
Fares are 2,000 yen (one-way), or US$17.5. Driving from Saga Airport to Arita looks to take around 70 – 80 mins for a standard drive (provided there’s no need to make stops for milk and sugar), so calculate how many cups of coffee you could get through in that time.
That said, the service run by Arita Taxi has drivers double up as guides to introduce the area’s history with pottery, and other attractions.
