Originally Posted by
freecia
I was walking around Ginza on a weekend night and noticed several nicer model sedans with drivers inside waiting at the curb without the taxi lights. Some had a little antenna with a blue light on front bumper, another had the white seat covers. They didn't have the uber signs I'm used to seeing in front windshield, either. Are these some sort of town car service waiting for their patrons inside Ginza hostess clubs or other upscale venues? Or do the really upscale (venues or households) also keep in-house drivers?
Most likely what you saw is a service called “haiya” (ハイヤー) by Roma-ji. It is a kind of taxi service but aimed at VIP service. I think limousine service in the U.S. is what comes to closest. In Japan corporate upper managements and some politicians use ハイヤー service. Yes, back alley of Ginza where expensive clubs which are frequented by those types of people is a place in Tokyo you see a lot of ハイヤー. Also Yakuza (Japanese gangsters/mafia) uses ハイヤー. If you see ハイヤー pulls up and somebody coming out of a car then you know that person is somebody very important or somebody very questionable…
Originally Posted by
freecia
I also saw more women in kimono walking down the street than usual around 8 pm. Some were probably below mid-thirties but others were not. A few were probably women returning from a day of shopping or dressed up for a nice dinner but I did see one nodding at a club tout on the street before going into a combini. Were a majority of these traditionally attired women on their way to work?
Yes, many hostesses who work at upper scale clubs at Ginza (well, many not be upper scale in terms of service and décor of clubs, but sure those are damn expensive place!) do wear kimono. It is possible that they were hostesses going to work. 夜のお仕事。
