How much is a taxi in Tokyo late at night?

Start from ¥500 for the first 1.0 km, then ¥100 for every 232 m in the 23 wards, and add 20% between 22:00 and 05:00. A Shibuya–Shinjuku hop works out around ¥2,160 on distance alone; slow traffic and a dispatch fee add to that.

When does the late-night taxi surcharge start in Tokyo?

22:00, and it runs until 05:00. That's earlier than most last trains, so a taxi taken at 23:00 is already charged at the night rate.

Do Tokyo trains run 24 hours?

No. Services generally stop between roughly midnight and 1am and resume from about 05:00, with the exact times differing by line and direction. Check the last departure for your specific line rather than assuming a single citywide time.

Is it cheaper to take a taxi or stay somewhere until morning?

It depends on the group size. A ¥3,240 night taxi split three ways is about ¥1,080 each, which usually beats paying for a bed; alone, a capsule hotel or overnight café package is often the cheaper choice.

Can I sleep in a Tokyo station until the first train?

No — stations close overnight and staff will move you on. Head to a 24-hour café, capsule hotel or karaoke box near a major hub instead, and be back at the station shortly before the first train.

Missed the Last Train in Tokyo? 2026 Night Options & Costs

Updated: 2026-08-25

Miss the last train in Tokyo and a taxi is usually the fallback, with fares starting at ¥500 for the first 1.0 km, then ¥100 per 232 m, plus a 20% surcharge between 22:00 and 05:00. Rates are the official Tokyo Hire-Taxi Association figures, checked August 16, 2026.

What a Tokyo Taxi Costs After Midnight

Tokyo taxi fares are set by area, not by company, so hailing a different cab won't get you a better rate. The 23 wards, Musashino and Mitaka share one table; the Tama area is slightly different.

	Tokyo 23 wards / Musashino / Mitaka	Tama area
Initial fare	¥500 (first 1.0 km)	¥500 (first 1.0 km)
Distance charge	¥100 per 232 m	¥100 per 211 m
Slow-traffic charge	¥100 per 1 min 25 sec below 10 km/h	¥100 per 1 min 20 sec below 10 km/h
Late-night / early-morning	+20%, 22:00–05:00	+20%, 22:00–05:00
Long-distance discount	10% off the portion above ¥9,000	10% off the portion above ¥9,000
Dispatch fee	Set by each operator	Set by each operator

Working the meter backwards gives you a usable estimate before you get in. These are metered distance only — traffic time and a dispatch fee push them higher:

Approximate trip	Distance	Metered fare	With the 22:00–05:00 surcharge
Shibuya → Shinjuku	~4 km	¥1,800	~¥2,160
Roppongi → Shinjuku	~6 km	¥2,700	~¥3,240
Shibuya → Ikebukuro	~9 km	¥4,000	~¥4,800
Shinjuku → Kichijoji	~13 km	¥5,700	~¥6,840

The surcharge starts at 22:00, well before the last train — a 23:30 taxi is already priced as a night fare.
Splitting is the real saving. Three people sharing a ¥3,240 ride pay about ¥1,080 each, which is competitive with almost anything else on this list.

Taxi, Bus, Bed or Wait: The Four Options Compared

The right answer depends on how far you are from your bed and how many of you there are.

Option	Available	Rough cost	Best when
Taxi	All night	¥2,000–¥7,000+ for central trips	You're within a few km, or splitting between 2–3 people
Late-night bus	Limited routes, roughly the hour after the last train	Higher than a daytime bus fare	Your destination happens to sit on one of the surviving routes
Capsule hotel	Check-in usually until late; often full on Fridays	Cheapest of the paid beds in most areas	You want a shower and a few hours of real sleep
Manga café / internet café	24 hours	Priced by the hour or in overnight packs	You need somewhere warm, not somewhere comfortable
Karaoke box	Many branches run overnight	Overnight free-time packages are common	You're in a group and nobody wants to sleep anyway
Wait for the first train	Service generally resumes from around 05:00	Free	It's already 03:30 and you're near a major station

Capsule, manga café and karaoke rates vary widely by area and by night, so treat the ranking above as relative and confirm at the door.
Late-night bus coverage has shrunk and routes change; don't build a plan around one without checking the operator's timetable for that night.
Compare each option against the taxi number for your route. If the taxi is ¥2,160 split two ways, paying for a bed usually isn't the cheaper choice — it's the more comfortable one.

If You're Waiting for the First Train

If you're waiting it out, position matters more than money. Major hubs — Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, Ueno — have the most 24-hour options within a short walk, and they're where first trains start.

Don't sleep on the street or in a station. Stations close overnight; you will be moved on, and it's neither safe nor legal to settle in.
Charge your phone before you commit to waiting. Ride-hailing, timetables and your hotel's address all live on it, and a dead battery at 03:00 turns a cheap night into an expensive one.
First trains generally start running from around 05:00, but the first train on your specific line and direction may be later. Check the actual departure rather than assuming 05:00.
If you're heading to the airport rather than a hotel, the timings are different again — see Narita & Haneda to Tokyo.

How Not to Miss It Next Time

The cheapest night-transport plan is not missing the train, and in Tokyo that takes one specific habit.

Look up the last train for your line and direction, not "the last train." Terminal-bound and suburb-bound last departures can differ by 30–40 minutes from the same station.
Set the alarm for the last connection, not the last train. With a transfer, the connecting service is the binding constraint and usually stops earlier.
Know your walk-home radius. Anything under about 3 km is walkable in 35–45 minutes; that's often faster than queueing for a taxi outside Shibuya at 00:30.
Keep enough on your IC card for a full fare home so you're not topping up at a machine with two minutes to spare — Suica vs ICOCA vs Pasmo covers which card to hold.
Skip the station taxi rank. Walking two blocks to a main road, or using a ride-hailing app, is usually faster after midnight.

The Cheapest Night Plan Starts in the Afternoon

Late-night costs are avoidable in a way daytime costs aren't — a ¥3,000 taxi is almost always the price of a plan that didn't account for the clock.

A day planned around passes and pre-booked entry times naturally ends earlier: you're not queueing for tickets at 16:00 and compressing dinner into the last two hours. A subway pass covers the hopping that makes an early evening viable, a rail pass handles intercity legs, and a working data connection keeps the last-train lookup honest. Current observed platform prices are below.

Compare prices for related tickets

FAQ

How much is a taxi in Tokyo late at night?
Start from ¥500 for the first 1.0 km, then ¥100 for every 232 m in the 23 wards, and add 20% between 22:00 and 05:00. A Shibuya–Shinjuku hop works out around ¥2,160 on distance alone; slow traffic and a dispatch fee add to that.
When does the late-night taxi surcharge start in Tokyo?
22:00, and it runs until 05:00. That's earlier than most last trains, so a taxi taken at 23:00 is already charged at the night rate.
Do Tokyo trains run 24 hours?
No. Services generally stop between roughly midnight and 1am and resume from about 05:00, with the exact times differing by line and direction. Check the last departure for your specific line rather than assuming a single citywide time.
Is it cheaper to take a taxi or stay somewhere until morning?
It depends on the group size. A ¥3,240 night taxi split three ways is about ¥1,080 each, which usually beats paying for a bed; alone, a capsule hotel or overnight café package is often the cheaper choice.
Can I sleep in a Tokyo station until the first train?
No — stations close overnight and staff will move you on. Head to a 24-hour café, capsule hotel or karaoke box near a major hub instead, and be back at the station shortly before the first train.