What's the soundtrack to the most crowded, wealthiest and most seismically unstable capital city on the planet? After 36 years of experimenting with thousands of songs, Tokyo cab driver Toshiyuki Anzai believes he knows: Frank Sinatra, Wagner and Deep Purple.
Throw in a little Abba, Louis Armstrong and Natalie Cole to liven up the mix and steer clear of anything Japanese. Take along a bottle of bubbly, just in case. The mood-setter, though, is Bobby McFerrin's 1988 iconic megahit Don't Worry, Be Happy.
'See, guys get into the cab without telling their girlfriends what's happening, so the girls sit there in the back seat looking all nervous and unhappy,' says the 67-year-old music lover. 'I stick on that song, and they begin to relax a little. Then we're off.'
In a city teeming with more than 50,000 taxi drivers, most of whom seem to grumble about the perilous state of their trade, Anzai sells a popular and unique service. For 12,000 yen (HK$970), he ferries customers at night around Tokyo's streets on an 80-minute tour of its greatest landmarks, signposted with his own handpicked mood music.
Despite the hefty price tag and the souring economy, Anzai says he has never been busier. 'People come to my website because they've read or heard about me' he says over the sound of Enya's plaintiff Celtic warbling. 'They know they're going to get something special.'
As the car cruises in a loop from Tokyo Station around the bay area and back into the city centre via Tokyo Tower, he explains every twist of the road, and the music that accompanies it. The soundtrack is altered to suit the mood of the people in the back seat, who include retirees, businessmen and lovers of all ages. 'Ok, so we're approaching what I call 'Little New York',' he shouts over the sound of Sinatra. 'This is where I bring people who want to get married. It looks like Manhattan, no? Very romantic.'
