- The taxis run from Saturday 31 October 2026 to Wednesday 31 March 2027.
- They will mainly operate in Tokyo’s 23 wards and in the cities of Musashino and Mitaka.
- Up to 50 cars, increasing in stages. The vehicles are JPN TAXI cabs of the Nihon Kotsu group.
- Each car has a Tunku Tunku wrap on the body and a three-dimensional Tunku Tunku figure on the roof.
- The promotion is run by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), which says it wants to raise awareness in Tokyo as well as in Yokohama.
- You cannot request one of these cars when booking a taxi.
Our take
These cabs are not something you can plan to ride. The ministry says they cannot be requested, and they will drive around Tokyo rather than Yokohama. Their job, we think, is to put the name and face of the Expo in front of Tokyo residents who have not yet thought about it.
The Association’s wrapped shinkansen, launched in September, also runs far from Yokohama, on the Tohoku and Joetsu lines. This adds a second promotion aimed at people outside the host city, this time from the national government.
The period runs past the opening on 19 March to 31 March, so the cabs stay on Tokyo’s streets through the first two weeks of the Expo. Fifty is the upper limit of a staged increase, and the announcement does not say when the fleet will reach it.
Tips for visitors
- If you spot one, only hail it when it shows it is free. When taking photos of a moving car, stay off the road.
- Other places to meet Tunku Tunku, including wrapped vehicles, are listed in our Tunku Tunku feature. The wrapped shinkansen is covered in our six-months-to-go news.
Our take
These cabs run in Tokyo, not Yokohama, putting the mascot on Tokyo's streets in addition to the host city. You cannot request one; whether you ride one is down to luck at a rank or on the street.