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20 Essential Japanese Phrases for Travelers to Japan

If you’re visiting Japan and a little worried about the language barrier (or you simply love languages), we’ve got you covered with these essential Japanese phrases for travelers.

In our guide to what we believe are the most important Japanese phrases for travel, we’ll introduce you to a selection of key words and phrases — and explain why the Japanese language barrier is not as worrisome as you might think.

The truth is, you do not need to speak any Japanese to have a successful, wonderful trip to Japan (and if you’re looking for travel inspiration, check out our favorite destinations in Japan ). However, learning a few key Japanese phrases can make your trip just that much better. So let’s get into it!

Download our Free Japanese Phrasebook:

Originally written in 2014, this post was updated and republished on November 1, 2019.

The Most Essential Japanese Words & Phrases for Your Trip to Japan

Learning Japanese can seem daunting, but don’t worry. You don’t need to learn any of these words or phrases to have a great time (see why we love Japan ).

However, as any seasoned traveler knows, making a little linguistic effort can go a long way, and it can be helpful to learn even a little of the local language for your travels. We’ve narrowed it down to a small selection of key words and phrases, divided by category:

• The Basics: Key Japanese Words and Phrases
• Food and Drink: Eating Your Way Around Japan
• Now or Later: Time-Related Phrases in Japanese
• Getting Around Japan: Transportation-Related Phrases

Here is a quick look at the words and phrase you’ll find below:

Top 20 Essential Japanese Travel Phrases:

• Konnichiwa (こんにちは) – Hello
• Arigatou Gozaimasu (ありがとうございます) – Thank you
• Sumimasen (すみません) – Excuse me
• __ o Kudasai (__をください) – I would like __, please
• __ wa Doko Desu ka? (__はどこですか) – Where is __?
• Itadakimasu (いただきます) – An expression of gratitude for the meal you’re about to eat
• Omakase de (お任せで) – Used to order chef’s recommendation (often for sushi)
• O-sake (お酒) – General term for alcohol
• Nihonshu (日本酒) – Japanese sake
• Kinen Seki (禁煙席) – Non-smoking seat
• Ima Nanji Desu ka? (今何時ですか) – What time is it now?
• Nanji ni? (何時に？) – At what time?
• Asa (朝) – Morning
• Kyou (今日) – Today
• Ashita (明日) – Tomorrow
• __ ni Ikitai (__に行きたい) – I want to go to __
• Tomete Kudasai (止めてください) – Stop, please
• Kippu (切符) – Ticket
• Shinkansen (新幹線) – Bullet train
• Dono Densha? (どの電車？) – Which train?

If you’re concerned about memorizing all this Japanese, or want to learn even more words and phrases, download Boutique Japan’s Tiny Phrasebook for free.

And for an introduction to how to say these words and phrases, see our bonus video to help you practice your Japanese pronunciation .

Basic Japanese Words and Phrases

Let’s start with a few of the most basic-yet-essential Japanese words and phrases. Even if you only remember how to say hello or thank you , you’ll find that Japanese people will be appreciative of your efforts!

1. Konnichiwa (こんにちは) – Hello

Let’s start with one you’ve probably heard before: the word for hello is konnichiwa .

Konnichiwa is typically used during the day, and there are other phrases for good morning and good evening ( ohayou gozaimasu , and konbanwa , respectively). But when you’re starting out it’s best to keep things simple, and if you simply learn konnichiwa you can use it throughout the day to say hello !

2. Arigatou Gozaimasu (ありがとうございます) – Thank you

In Japan, etiquette is no joke, and chances are you’ll be saying thank you a lot (learn more in our guide to Japanese etiquette ).

The word for thank you in Japanese is arigatou gozaimasu (in Japanese, the u at the end of some words is barely pronounced to the point of being nearly silent). You can usually simply say arigatou , which is a little more casual but usually perfectly fine. In Japan, where politeness is such a key part of the culture, you’ll be saying arigatou gozaimasu a lot!

3. Sumimasen (すみません) – Excuse me

Excuse me is an important expression in any language, and Japanese is no exception.

The word for excuse me in Japanese is sumimasen . Chances are you’ll also be using this one quite a bit, so if you can try and memorize it! It’s a doubly useful word, as it can be used both to get a person’s attention, and also to apologize.

For example, use sumimasen at an izakaya (a Japanese-style gastropub) to get a waiter’s attention. At izakaya , it’s often called out as sumimaseeeeee~n ! On the other hand, if you accidentally walk onto a tatami floor with your shoes on (something you’re likely to do at some point) you can use sumimasen to say I’m sorry .

4. __ o Kudasai ( をください) – I would like , please

Now that we’ve covered three basic essentials, we can move onto two key sentences that will hopefully help you a lot.

First is I would like __, please . This is useful in a variety of situations: at restaurants, in stores, and on many other occasions you’ll encounter while traveling. In Japanese, it’s __ o kudasai (simply fill in the __ [blank] with the item of your choice).

To get the most out of this phrase, you may want to learn a few vocabulary words, such as water (mizu), beer (biiru) , sake , and others you think you may need.

5. __ wa Doko Desu ka? ( はどこですか) – Where is __?

Last but not least, we think it’s quite useful to be able to ask Where is the __? This is useful even if you can’t understand the answer, because once you ask, people will be able to point you in the right direction, or even help you get to where you’re going!

In Japanese, it’s __ wa doko desu ka? (simply fill in the __ [blank] with the place you’re trying to reach, such as the Ghibli Museum ). One key vocabulary word that often goes along with this phrase for travelers is eki , which means station (for example, Shinjuku eki is Shinjuku station ).

Eating Your Way Around Japan: Food and Drink Phrases

For many travelers, Japanese food is a top priority! From classic Tokyo sushi restaurants to the legendary food culture of Okinawa , there’s a lot to take in. For alcohol afficionados, Japan also offers sake , Japanese whisky , shochu , and other traditional beverages.

While you don’t need to speak any Japanese to enjoy eating and drinking in Japan, these key words and phrases will help you make the most of your culinary experiences.

6. Itadakimasu (いただきます) – An expression of gratitude for the meal you’re about to eat

Certainly not required, but if you say itadakimasu before you begin eating, whether in a restaurant or at a person’s home, they will surely be impressed with your manners.

Essentially, this phrase expresses humility and thanks for the meal you are about to enjoy. The website Tofugu does a very nice job of explaining the meaning of itadakimasu .

7. Omakase de (お任せで) – Used to order chef’s recommendation (often for sushi)

If you’re a passionate sushi enthusiast, you probably already know the meaning of omakase .

When you tell a chef omakase de , you’re letting them know that you’re placing the meal in their hands. Especially for travelers with adventurous palates, this is the best way to experience a meal at a Tokyo sushi shop , for example.

However, the phrase is not only used at sushi restaurants, and can often be used at other types of establishments as well.

8. O-sake (お酒) – General term for alcohol

Technically osake , this word has tripped many a non-Japanese speaker up! While in English the word sake means, well, sake , in Japanese the word sake — more politely, osake — refers to alcoholic beverages in general.

( Sake and osake are virtually interchangeable; the “o” is what is known as an honorific prefix, but unless you’re studying Japanese in more depth, you really don’t need to worry about this!)

So if you’re looking for sake (which in Japanese is called nihonshu) , it’s best to ask for nihonshu (see below). If you’re simply looking for an adult beverage (such as nihonshu , shochu , or Japanese whisky ), the catchall term sake will do the trick.

9. Nihonshu (日本酒) – Japanese sake

See above for the distinction between sake and nihonshu !

10. Kinen Seki (禁煙席) – Non-smoking seat

Encountering cigarette smoke is somewhat of an unavoidable aspect of traveling around Japan. This being said, most of our travelers are quite averse to smoke, and fortunately it’s possible to travel around Japan without smoke becoming too much of a nuisance.

In some places, such as restaurants, you may have a choice between the smoking and non-smoking sections. Kinen means non-smoking, and seki means seat : put them together and you’ve just conveyed that you’d like to be seated in the non-smoking area!

Time-Related Phrases in Japanese

Time-related phrases can be extremely helpful in certain travel situations, and below you’ll find a few of the most practical Japanese words and phrases on this topic.

11. Ima Nanji Desu ka? (今何時ですか) – What time is it now?

Chances are you’ll have a watch or cell phone on you, but once in a while you may need to ask a stranger for the time.

The basic phrase is simply nanji desu ka? which means, What time is it? People also commonly say ima nanji desu ka? which simply means, What time is it now? ( Ima means now.)

12. Nanji ni? (何時に？) – At what time?

This is a particularly useful phrase while traveling. It can be helpful when purchasing rail tickets (see more on getting around Japan below), making meal reservations, or arranging tickets to events.

Sure, you could just ask nanji? ( what time? ) and hope your point gets across, but by adding the preposition ni you can be assured of much more clarity!

13. Asa (朝) – Morning

This one is fairly self-explanatory: asa means morning . While it’s no surprise that a food-loving culture like Japan has multiple words for breakfast , one of the most common is asagohan ( gohan literally means rice , but is more generally used to mean food ).

14. Kyou (今日) – Today

Words like today and tomorrow can be particularly useful when buying train tickets, for example. For more on transport, see the transport-related phrases below.

15. Ashita (明日) – Tomorrow

When pronouncing the word for tomorrow, ashita , the i is virtually silent, so it ends up sounding more like ashta . If you need to express the day after tomorrow, the word is asatte .

Getting Around Japan: Transportation-Related Phrases for Travelers to Japan

For some travelers, one of the biggest concerns about not speaking the language is the prospect of getting around the country, navigating the trains, and trying to avoid getting lost.

Fortunately, Japan has an incredibly efficient and easy-to-use rail network, and you can read all about it in our guide to train travel and getting around Japan . And here are some key Japanese words and phrases to help you on your way.

16. __ ni Ikitai ( に行きたい) – I want to go to __

On its own, ikitai means, I want to go .

To express that you’d like to go somewhere, use the phrase __ ni ikitai (simply fill in the __ [blank] with the place you’re trying to reach). For example, Kyoto ni ikitai means, I want to go to Kyoto .

17. Tomete Kudasai (止めてください) – Stop, please

Tomete means stop , and is particularly useful in taxis. The kudasai here means please , and makes the phrase much more polite ( tomete on its own would come off as quite brusque).

18. Kippu (切符) – Ticket

Kippu means ticket (as in train tickets). As you can easily imagine, when purchasing rail tickets it can be very useful to be able to tell the ticket agent that you’d like a ticket to a certain place!

Made means until or to (in this case, to your destination). For example, Osaka made means to Osaka . Thus, Osaka made no kippu means ticket to Osaka . Put it all together with kudasai (for politeness) and you have Osaka made no kippu o kudasai .

19. Shinkansen (新幹線) – Bullet train

Ah, the shinkansen . One of the utter joys of traveling around Japan is the world-famous shinkansen (bullet train).

Whether you have the well-known Japan Rail Pass or not, if you’re doing any domestic travel within Japan, chances are you’ll end up on the incredible (and incredibly pleasant) shinkansen for at least one if not more of your journeys. Enjoy, and grab a bento and some nihonshu (see above) for the ride!

20. Dono Densha? (どの電車？) – Which train?

Wondering which train you need? Imagine you’re in Kyoto Station, headed for Tokyo. You’re on your shinkansen’s departure platform, but you see two trains.

You show your ticket to a friendly Japanese person, and ask, dono densha? They take a look at your ticket and the two trains, and point you to the right one. And you’re on your way – happy travels!

Download our Free Japanese Phrasebook PDF

For those of you who want to learn even more Japanese for travel, we’ve created the Boutique Japan Tiny Phrasebook.

Our Tiny Phrasebook features carefully selected Japanese words and phrases designed to help you get the most out of your trip to Japan. You’ll find all of the words and phrases featured above, and many more!

The phrasebook is a beautifully designed PDF (it may take a few moments to load depending on your internet speed).

Simply save it to your smartphone, tablet, or computer. We suggest using an app like iBooks (or another PDF reader) so you can search for words and navigate easily.

Bonus Video: Practice your Japanese Pronunciation

One of the best things about Japanese is that it’s surprisingly easy to pronounce. Unlike several other languages throughout Asia, Japanese is not a tonal language.

In the video below, we go over basic pronunciation for some of the most useful Japanese words and phrases for your trip to Japan.

Do you need to speak any Japanese to travel around Japan ?

Absolutely not. You can travel to Japan without learning any of these words and have a great time.

People ask us about the Japanese language barrier all the time, with common questions such as, Do Japanese people speak English? How much (or how little)? The language barrier is a common myth that shouldn’t get in your way. Most of our travelers don’t speak a single word of Japanese, yet come back with testimonials of how much they love Japan .

The truth is that most Japanese people speak at least a little bit of English. These days, all Japanese students study English for a minimum of six years in secondary school, and many students — as well as adults — also take English-language classes after school or on weekends.

English-language fluency is not widespread, so most people you meet probably won’t be fluent in English, but almost everyone you meet will know at least a few English words – and many will know anywhere from hundreds to thousands.

Sometimes you may find that the people you meet are hesitant to try their English on you, but you’ll likely find that you can communicate in basic English in a huge variety of situations while traveling around Japan.

The Japanese Written Language

You may also be worried about the written language. The good news is that you don’t need to be able to read or write Japanese to enjoy Japan.

Japanese people don’t expect you to be able to read the Japanese language, and you’ll find English-language signage throughout the country. This is especially true in places frequented by travelers, such as sightseeing spots, shopping areas, train stations, airports, and often even on the street.

As for at restaurants, though it’s not always the case, in some cases you will find English-language menus. When English-language menus are not available, photos are often included to make pointing and ordering possible.

Despite Japan’s travel-friendliness, every visitor to Japan at some point finds him or herself in a situation in which linguistic communication is simply not possible, and sign language and gesturing are required.

Getting lost in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language is a fear of many would-be travelers, but if you had to pick a country in which to get lost, you couldn’t do much better than Japan! Japan is by far one of the safest countries in the world, with crime rates that are astonishingly low compared to places like the US and most of Europe. And Japanese people will often go to surprising lengths to help tourists.

Back when I first moved to Japan I spoke very little Japanese, and on my first visit to Kyoto I accidentally took the wrong train and ended up wandering around a neighborhood with no idea how to get where I wanted to go. Luckily, an older gentleman with his wife spotted me looking confused and came up to me with perhaps one of the only English phrases he knew: “ Are you lost? ” I said yes and showed him the name of the place I wanted to go.

If he had simply pointed me in the right direction it would have been helpful, but instead he started walking me in the right direction. After a few minutes of walking his wife split off, presumably to go home, and we continued. After 15 minutes of walking he had dropped me off at exactly the spot I needed to be, and – as is typical in Japanese culture – expected nothing in return. I thanked him profusely and we had a good laugh despite our inability to communicate linguistically.

Why Learn Any Japanese if You Won’t Need it?

Almost everyone who has visited Japan has a similar story of a random act of kindness and generosity from a Japanese stranger (or a tale of a camera or passport left on a train being miraculously returned). So you can rest assured that even if you forget all of the words and phrases we’ve shown, you’ll be in good hands with the wonderful people of Japan.

But aside from the fact that it’s a rich and fascinating language, learning even just one or two Japanese words or phrases will help endear you to the Japanese people you meet during your trip, and enhance your overall travel experience.

Japanese people tend to be extremely appreciative of visitors who take the time to learn even just a word or phrase or two, and if you try then chances are you’ll be greeted with oohs and aahs of encouragement.

We hope you’ve found our guide to Japanese words and phrases for travelers helpful. Arigatou gozaimasu!

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Japanese Phrases for Tourists: 116 Essential Phrases for Your Japanese Vacation

Before I traveled to Japan for the first time, everyone assured me that “Everybody speaks English there,” and I wouldn’t need to use Japanese at all.

But in reality, most of the people I encountered in Japan had a fairly elementary level of spoken English .

For a better travel experience, you should learn some basic travel words and phrases in Japanese.

Greetings and Basic Japanese Phrases

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Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

I’ll provide the hiragana, kanji and romaji for each word, and will explain the use of certain Japanese phrases for tourists in context.

1. Hello — konnichiwa

2. good morning — ohayou gozaimasu, 3. nice to meet you — hajimemashite, 4. goodbye — sayounara, 5. please — onegaishimasu, 6. thank yo u — arigatou gozaimasu, 7. you’re welcome — dou itashimashite, 8. excuse me/sorry — sumimasen.

This is definitely one to memorize. I say すみません at least 30 times a day in Japan. It’s a magical word.

It helps you push through a crowd, get attention from a waiter, ask for directions or be excused for basically any touristy blunder.

Simply saying すみません and gesturing is a pretty good way to express that you need help, but don’t speak Japanese.

9. Yes — hai

10. no — iie, 11. let’s eat/ “bon appetit” — itadakimasu .

Similar to the French “ bon appetit” , this is what Japanese people say before they eat. It doesn’t have a literal translation in English, but it’s a way to give thanks for a meal .

You should also remember this phrase’s pair: ごちそうさま (gochisousama) or ごちそうさまでした (gochisousama deshita). These phrases are used at the end of a meal and translate as “What a good meal,” or “Thank you for the meal,” the latter being the more polite form.

12. I don’t understand — wakarimasen 

13. i don’t speak japanese —   nihongo o hanashimasen, 14. do you speak english — eigo o hanashimasu ka , 15. can you please repeat that — mou ichido itte kudasai, 16. can you please speak slowly — yukkuri hanashite kudasai, 17. what is your name — onamae wa nan desu ka, 18. my name is… — watashi no namae wa…, 19. what is this — kore wa nan desu ka.

これ and それ literally just mean “this” and “that.”

20. How much does this cost? — kore wa ikura desu ka? 

If you’re pointing at something that you can’t reach, you say それは いくらですか？

21. Can you please help me? — tasukete moraemasuka ?

Japanese airports aren’t just places to land: they’re an entire cultural showcase on their own. For example, at the Narita Airport , you’ll see pet hotels , gacha machines , the (in)famous smart toilets and even a Pokémon Store !

22. Welcome, please come in — yokoso, o-hairi kudasai

23. please show your ticket — chiketto o misete kudasai, 24. please show your passport — pasupooto o misete kudasai, 25. what is your reservation name — yoyaku-mei wa nan desu ka, 26. the flight is delayed — furaito chien shiteimasu, 27. the flight has been canceled — furaito kyanseru saremashita, 28. baggage claim is this way — baggeji kureimu wa kochira desu, 29. we have arrived at … airport — … kuko ni tochaku shimashita, 30. we will depart for … airport — … kuko e shuppatsu shimasu, 31. there is a delay in the flight — furaito ni okure ga arimasu, 32. there are restrictions on carry-on baggage — kinai mochikomi no nimotsu niwa seigen ga arimasu.

33. Please tell me how to get to the airport — kuko e no ikikata o oshiete kudasai

34. is this a departure flight — korewa shuppatsu-bin desu ka, 35. is this an arrival flight — korewa tochaku-bin desu ka, 36. where is the boarding gate — tojyo-guchi wa doko desu ka, 37. i’ll check my baggage — tenimotsu azukemasu, 38. please call a taxi — takushii o yonde kudasai, 39. i’d like to rent a car — rentakaa o karitai desu, 40. where is the gate for the connecting flight — noritsugi-bin no geeto wa doko desu ka.

Asking for directions is sort of daunting, especially when the person answers in a whole stream of fast-paced Japanese.

But you’ll find that Japan is one of the best places to be a lost and hopeless tourist. There’s always someone nearby who’s more than happy to help. I’ve even had people take time out of their days to walk me where I needed to go!

Simply say wherever it is that you want to go followed by どこですか？ — doko desu ka? (Where is …?).

41. I want to go… (here) — (koko) ni ikitai desu 

Say ここ if you have an address written down or a point marked on a map of where you want to go.

If you know the name or address of the place where you want to go, simply say the place name followed by に行きたいです . For example, if you want to go to Shinjuku station, you simply say 新宿駅に行きたいです   — Shinjuku eki ni ikitai desu . (I want to go to Shinjuku station.)

42. Where is the…? — …wa doko desu ka?

43. can you please show me where we are on the map — watashitachi ga doko ni iru no ka, chizu de oshiete kudasai.

This might seem like an odd question (and a bit of a mouthful), but it can be a lot more helpful than asking for directions from someone who doesn’t know English.

44. Is it near? — chikai desu ka?

45. is it far — tooi desu ka.

46. Go straight ahead — massugu itte kudasai 

47. turn left — hidari ni magatte kudasai, 48. turn right — migi ni magatte kudasai.

In Japan, public transportation is how most people get around. If you’re not used to taking the bus, train or anything similar, better keep the following phrases handy!

49. Take me to this address, please — kono jyusho made tsureteitte kudasai

50. what is the fare — ryoukin wa ikura desu ka, 51. stop here, please — koko de tomatte kudasai, 52. does this bus go to (street name) — kono basu wa … ni ikimasu ka, 53. does that train stop at … — sono denshya wa … de tomarimasu ka, 54. a map, please — chizu o onegai shimasu, 55. this hotel — k ono hoteru, 56. the subway — chikatetsu , 57. the train station — denshya no eki, 58. the bus stop  — basutei, 59. the taxi stand — takushii noriba, 60. the exit — deguchi, 61. the entrance — iriguchi, 62. the bathroom — toire.

Like other service-oriented businesses in the country, Japanese hotels subscribe to the concept of omotenashi , which roughly translates to pouring your whole heart into service. That means you can expect employees at Japanese hotels to go above and beyond when it comes to making you feel welcome.

63. I have a reservation under the name of … — … no yoyaku o shiteimasu

64. i would like to check-in — chekkuin shitai desu, 65. what time is check-in — chekkuin wa nanji desu ka, 66. is breakfast included — choshoku wa fukumareteimasu ka, 67. where is my room — watashi no heya wa doko desu ka, 68. please give me a wake-up call at …  — … ni weikuappu kooru onegaishimasu., 69. where is the nearest convenience store — ichiban chikai konbini wa doko desu ka, 70. can you recommend a good restaurant nearby — chikaku no oishii resutoran o shokaishite moraemasu  ka, 71. what time is check-out — chekkuauto no jikan wa nanji desu ka, 72. where can i store my luggage — nimotsu wa dokoni azukeraremasu ka, 73. is there wi-fi in the hotel — hoteru ni wa wai-fai ga arimasu ka, 74. where is the nearest atm — ichi-ban chikai atm wa doko desu ka, 75. i’d like to have some extra towels, please — yobun no taoru o kudasai., 76. what time is breakfast served — choshoku wa nanji kara desu ka, 77. excuse me, i need an iron and ironing board — sumimasen, airon to iron-dai ga hitsuyo desu..

Like Japanese hotels, Japanese restaurants also practice omotenashi. Here are some of the more common phrases you’ll hear from Japanese restaurant staff.

78. Welcome — Irasshaimase

79. how many people in your party — nan mei sama desu ka, 80. this way, please — kochira e douzo, 81. certainly (in response to your order) — kashikomarimashita, 82. thank you for waiting — omatase itashimashita.

The best restaurants in Japan are the authentic ones that don’t cater to tourists. But these are also the places that have no English menus, and sometimes no English-speaking waitstaff.

Luckily, it’s very common for Japanese menus to feature photos of all the dishes. And many places have models of their dishes on display, so you likely won’t be going in completely blind.

Use these phrases , and you should be in and out of a restaurant without too many hiccups.

83. A table for two, please —  futari you no teeburu o onegai shimasu

You can also replace futari with the number of people who you need to have seated:

• one — hitori ( 一人 )
• three — sannin ( 三人 )
• four — yonin ( 四人 )

If you’re confused about Japanese numbers and counters, don’t despair. You can just do as the locals do and indicate the number of diners by holding up your fingers.

84. The menu, please — menyu o onegai shimasu

85. what are today’s recommendations — kyo no osusume wa.

If everything on the menu looks appetizing and you’re not quite sure what to order, use this phrase.

86. Water, please — mizu o onegai shimasu

87. two beers, please — biiru o nihai onegai shimasu, 88. can i please have (one, two) of this — kore o (hitotsu, futatsu) onegai でdekimasu, 89. do you have a vegetarian dish — bejitarian youno ryouri ga arimasu ka.

I’ve traveled in Japan with vegetarians twice, and this question usually draws quite strange looks. Vegetarianism basically doesn’t exist in Japan, although Japanese cuisine is generally quite vegetarian-friendly.

It might work better to say これは肉ですか？ — kore wa niku desu ka? , to say “is this meat?” Follow up with 私は肉を食べません — watashi wa niku o tabemasen,  which means “I don’t eat meat,” if you want to make yourself understood.

90. Is … in it? — … wa haitte imasu ka?

Alternatively, you can also ask if specific ingredients are included in your food, so you’ll know whether you should order it or not.

91. That’s okay — daijyoubu desu

You can also use this expression to ask someone if they’re okay. Just add the question particle  ka to the end: 大丈夫ですか ？ — daijyoubu desu ka? 

92. The check, please — okanjyou o onegai shimasu 

Say the above, or you can do as the locals do and catch the waiter’s eye (with a smile!) and draw a clockwise circle in the air with your index finger pointing towards the roof.

In some restaurants, you need to bring the check to the cash register which is usually located by the restaurant’s doorway.

93. Cheers! — kanpai!

94. it was delicious — oishikatta desu, 95. water — mizu, 96. wine — wain, 97. beer — biiru , 98. tea — ochya, 99. coffee — coohii, 100. juice — juusu, 101. meat — niku, 102. chicken — toriniku , 103. pork — butaniku, 104. beef  — gyuniku , 105. fish — sakana , 106. rice — gohan, 107. bread — pan , 108. vegetables — yasai  , 109. fruit — kudamono.

When you’re met with cries of いらっしゃいませ！, you’re not really expected to respond to this greeting. As for me, I just smile and say こんにちは which means, of course, “hello.”

Walking into a department store is particularly surreal, with each assistant taking cues from the others, so that every time a customer walks in, いらっしゃいませ bounces around the entire floor.

110. Are you looking for something? — nani ka osagashi desu ka?

111. is that all — ijyou de yoroshii desu ka, 112. here it is / here you go — hai, douzo.

113. I would like this — kore o onegai shimasu

114. i would like one of those — sore o hitotsu onegai shimasu, 115. i would like to pay in cash  — genkin de onegai shimasu, 116. i would like to pay by credit card — kurejitto kaado de onegai shimasu.

The only real challenge with ordering meals in Japanese is the use of counters.

We have counters in English, too (for example “sheets” of paper, “glasses” of water, “blades” of grass), but not as many or as complicated as in Japanese.

Luckily Japanese has a “universal” counter, つ ( tsu ), which you can use for anything, including food.

The numbers one to four as つ counters are pronounced 一つ ( hitotsu )、 二つ ( futatsu )、 三つ ( mittsu ) and 四つ ( yottsu ). You can use this counter for drinks too, and the waiter will understand you.

However, if you want to be a little more impressive, you can use the drinks counter: 杯 ( hai/bai/pai depending on the number used with it). The numbers one to four using this counter are 一杯 ( ippai )、 二杯 ( nihai ) 、 三杯 ( sanbai ) and 四杯 ( yonhai ).

If you want to learn more about counters, this post explains them  in more detail.

All the examples I’ve given are in the polite, neutral form of speech . You basically can’t go wrong speaking this way in Japan, so you don’t need to worry about making any social faux pas!

Some notes on pronunciation:

• Avoid turning vowels into dipthongs (vowel sounds that run into each other, like the oi in “coin”). Pronounce each vowel on its own even when there are two vowels next to each other. Onegai is read as “o-ne-ga-i,” not “o-ne-gai”
• The sound  ou and repeated vowels like ii and  ee are exceptions: they show an elongation of the sound.  Ohayou is read as “o-ha-yoh,” not “o-ha-yo-u.”
• Treat ん (n)  as its own syllable.   Konnichiwa is read “ko-n-ni-chi-wa,” not “ko-ni-chi-wa.” It’s subtle, but it makes a difference!
• Repeated consonants are pronounced. For an example of how to do this, just read the word “bookkeeper” out loud.
• The small kana っ like in いって signify a break between the sounds —”it-te,” not “i-te.”
• Small y- kana like ゃ in おちゃ add the  y sound to the preceding syllable —”o-chya,” not “o-chi-a.”
• は (ha)  as a particle is pronounced wa,  and を (wo)  as a particle is pronounced  o.

The beauty of Japanese is that it’s an extremely phonetic language, so if you say the words exactly as you read them, you can’t really get them wrong.

Having said that, people will probably struggle to understand you if you speak in a strong non-Japanese accent, so it might pay to listen to some spoken Japanese before you start practicing pronunciation.

The most important thing to remember is that, unlike English speakers, Japanese speakers don’t put emphasis on the second or third syllable of a word—there’s some emphasis on the first syllable, but it’s subtle.

Some ways that you can listen to Japanese being spoken is by watching Japanese films , television programs , anime or YouTube clips .

The Japanese language program FluentU has a little bit of everything in the media, with interactive subtitles and customizable flashcards for a well-rounded learning experience.

Maybe this seems like a lot, but learning Japanese travel phrases for tourists will make your trip run more smoothly, and the people you meet will appreciate your effort.

Speaking the local language tends to get people on your side. They’re less likely to try to rip you off, and often will want to become your best friend.

I like to make little phrasebooks for myself when I travel, so I can have these Japanese travel phrases and vocabulary always on hand.

I’ve been treated to tea and dinner in people’s homes, and once was driven around a city with a personal guide/impromptu friend all day, just because I struck up conversations in the local language.

Don’t be scared! Give it a try!

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Learn Japanese

I want to learn Japanese!

If you follow the instructions in this over the top, step-by-step guide, you will reach your goal of Japanese fluency.

However, this journey is going to take a lot of effort and hard work on your part. Anyone who tells you learning a language is going to be easy is either misinformed or trying to sell you something. And eventually, after the honeymoon phase of learning wears off, progress feels slower. You burn out. Sh*t hits the fan. If you've ever tried learning something new, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Instead, you need to do things the hard way (i.e. the correct way) right from the start.

Just because we're doing it right doesn't mean it has to be inefficient.

This method for learning Japanese starts at the very beginning. I assume you have zero knowledge of the Japanese language and guide you through each step. I'll cover reading, writing, speaking, and listening. And we explain what you should use, when, and why.

This should be everything you need to progress, that way you don't use all of that fresh enthusiasm you're feeling on planning how to learn, and instead spend it on actual learning.

Make like those famous shoes and just do it.

Our goal is to reach Japanese fluency as directly as possible. Unlike a teacher or a textbook, we have the freedom to be ruthless in the path we take to get there.

There are no tests or quizzes to take. You don't have to move at the speed of the slowest learner in your group. All you need to do is follow each step, do the work, and progress.

Just keep in mind that because of this, some steps may seem counterintuitive. They may even seem slow compared to other methods, but everything has been carefully selected to get you to the finish line faster and more efficiently. We'll talk more about that later.

A bit of housekeeping first: This is a living document, meaning it will be updated from time to time. Check back, subscribe to our email list , or follow us on Twitter to know when these updates happen. And, if you already have experience with Japanese, I still recommend you give it a read. There's a good chance you'll find something important to help you on your own Japanese language journey.

Table of Contents

Learn to read hiragana, basic japanese pronunciation, learning to type hiragana in japanese, understanding the concept of "kanji", beginning kanji & stockpiling kanji knowledge, learn to read katakana, learning to type katakana, learning to type kanji, 1. collecting vocabulary, 2. processing, 3. adding the words to your srs, beginning japanese grammar, a beginner's japanese textbook / program, answering your japanese language questions, order of learning, fact checking / cross referencing, do the work, sometimes, you'll just get stuck, optional: finding a japanese language tutor, suggested books and resources, intermediate level japanese, zero knowledge of japanese.

Welcome to learning Japanese! This section is for the true beginner. You know little-to-no Japanese. Maybe a "konnichiwa" here and a "baka" there. These first steps you take are especially important because they're going to set a foundation you can build off of.

The more deliberate your steps, the easier everything that follows will be.

Carefully completing this section is going to be necessary if you want to avoid the thing that takes down most learners: the intermediate wall. Instead, take your time on these foundational steps. What feels slow now is actually speed later on.

Estimated Time: 1 day to 1 week

Hiragana is Japan's version of the alphabet. It is one of three Japanese writing systems you need to learn to be able to read. The other two are katakana and kanji, but hiragana is where everything starts.

The ability to read hiragana is going to be a prerequisite for most beginner Japanese textbooks and resources. It's the first thing you learn in a traditional classroom. Surprisingly, I agree with everyone else. This is a good place to start.

Most Japanese classrooms spend an entire month learning how to read and write hiragana. That's too long! Instead of writing out each hiragana character over and over to memorize them, use the guide below and you may be reading hiragana later tonight. It uses mnemonics and worksheets that are designed to help you learn and be able to recall hiragana faster than you thought possible.

Do it: Learn How to Read Hiragana

It's important to note that this guide is going to teach you how to read hiragana and not how to write it. This has a purpose! While it is important to learn how to hand write Japanese eventually, right now it will slow you down immensely with very little payoff. Typing covers 99% of modern day writing so you will learn how to type hiragana (and katakana and kanji) instead.

This, in combination with mnemonics and worksheets, will allow you to learn how to read hiragana in a day or two instead of a month.

Remember: You're not in a class. You don't have to move at the speed of the slowest 10%. There is no speed limit .

In order to complete this section and move on, you need to get to the point where you can read all of the hiragana. Even if you're slow, as long as you can recall each character, as well as the contractions, without cheating, that's enough. You're about to get plenty of practice and your reading speed will naturally increase over time as you move on.

Note: Read "Japanese Pronunciation, Part 1" (below) before you start learning hiragana.

Estimated Time: n/a

Good pronunciation starts with hiragana. While hiragana alone won't teach you everything, it is the key to understanding how and why Japanese words sound the way they do. It will also help you get the foundation you need for a native-sounding accent. At the very least, hiragana will get you 80% of the way there.

For the remaining 20%, we wrote a guide covering the basics of Japanese pronunciation. Before you begin learning how to read hiragana, you should read up to the "Japanese Sounds and Your Mouth" section.

Once you've finished learning how to read hiragana, go though that section again, but this time read about "Important Differences" as well. This section will cover all of the sounds that don't exist in English, giving you a head start. Make sure you can pronounce all of the hiragana characters correctly before moving on.

Read: Basic Japanese Pronunciation Guide

With pronunciation, it's best to put the time and work in now, at the beginning. Don't ignore it because it's hard. When things get more difficult, it's very important that you've spent time speaking and hearing these sounds so that you can learn about all the differences and exceptions headed your way.

Okay, now go ahead and get back to learning how to read hiragana . Get to the point where you can read and recall everything, then move on to the next section.

Estimated Time: 1-2 days (or less) Prerequisite: Able to read hiragana

Now that you can read and pronounce hiragana (remember, slowly is okay!) it's time to learn how to type it on your computer or smartphone.

First, you need to install a Japanese keyboard. Luckily, you don't have to buy a special piece of hardware or computer to do this thanks to a type of software called an IME (input method editor). You can add an IME onto almost any kind of computer, phone, or operating system. Just follow the instructions in this guide to add them to your devices:

Read: How to Install a Japanese Keyboard

After you’re done installing, it’s time to learn how to actually type. Use the following guide, and only focus on the hiragana portion (since that’s all you know how to read right now):

Read: How to Type in Japanese

Assuming you are able to read hiragana, typing in hiragana is surprisingly straightforward. Once you feel confident in your typing abilities, including trickier things like contractions, small tsu, and dakuten, move on to the next section. It's time to talk about the elephant in every Japanese learner's room: kanji.

In our Japanese learning method, you're going to learn to read kanji characters very early. As soon as you can read and type hiragana it's time to start tackling kanji.

Here is our reasoning:

The most difficult thing about learning Japanese is kanji. At least, that's what people say. But trying to save it or brush it off until later isn't going to help you learn Japanese. Almost everything uses kanji, making it one of the most important aspects of learning this language. Your learning quality of life will drop drastically if you choose to ignore it.

A lot of a beginner’s time when using a textbook is spent looking up kanji and vocabulary. This takes your focus away from the grammar you're trying to learn and makes progression slow and frustrating. Learning (some) kanji and vocabulary first makes learning grammar a lot faster and, more importantly, easier. Think of it this way: you're losing a little time now to save a ton of time later.

Kanji leads to vocabulary, vocabulary aids communication, and grammar is like the glue that holds vocabulary together. Without vocabulary there's nothing for the grammar glue to stick to and everything gets messy. It makes grammar abstract and difficult to learn, when it doesn't have to be.

Like hiragana, we have a way for you to learn kanji that's way more effective than the traditional methodology (rote memorization). Thanks to that, it won't be as difficult as everyone says. It may even *gasp* be a pleasure to learn! Maybe.

This kanji-vocabulary-first route will get you to the point where you can use Japanese quickly. It feels slow at first, but soon you will rocket past your fellow Japanese learning compatriots. You'll also be able to get over that "intermediate wall" easier and quicker than if you were to use a traditional method. This lowers your chances of burnout and giving up all together.

If you're on board with this philosophy, you need to start at the very beginning: understanding what kanji is and how it's used. For that, we have another guide for you to read:

Read: On’yomi vs. Kun’yomi: What’s the Difference?

Once you understand how Japanese kanji readings work, you’ll be ready to learn some actual kanji.

Estimated Time: 1-3 months

Important note about this section: You should start to learn katakana (the next section) at the same time as this step. "Beginning Kanji & Stockpiling Kanji Knowledge" will take 1-3 months. In fact, you can complete all of the steps up to "The Beginner of Japanese" while you work on this one!

Okay, so it's time to actually learn kanji. Let's define what "learn kanji" means before you get started. That way you know what is expected of you.

When I say "learn kanji" I mean learn the kanji’s most important (English) meaning(s), and their most important (Japanese) reading(s). As you know from reading about on'yomi and kun'yomi, some kanji have a lot of readings. And, unfortunately, English meanings are just translations and can't always match the Japanese meaning one-to-one. That means there can be many correct English meanings for a single kanji that you'll need to deal with. We'll narrow those down so you only learn the most important meanings and readings first—the ones used 80-90% of the time. The remaining meanings and readings will come via vocabulary and other practice.

As you learn kanji you will also learn vocabulary that use those kanji. Not only will this help solidify those kanji concepts in your mind, but it will also be where you learn the remaining kanji readings. Plus, as you know, this vocabulary will be used to give you something to glue together with grammar later.

By the end of this guide, your goal is to know around 2,000 of the most important kanji as well as 6-7000 vocabulary words that use them. With this groundwork you should be able to read almost anything—or at least have the tools to easily decipher the rest on your own.

Your goal should be to learn 20-30 kanji and ~100 vocabulary words that use those kanji (and only those kanji) each week. If that seems like a lot, don't worry: there is a method for memorization that will speed things up considerably. Please read up on the Radicals Mnemonic Method. As a bonus, you will learn some important foundational knowledge about how kanji works in here as well.

Read: Learn kanji with the radicals mnemonic method

In this guide you will learn how to narrow down kanji meanings and readings to the most important ones. You will learn how to use radicals and mnemonics and how to create an effective routine.

You should be able to use these techniques to create a weekly study plan on your own for free, as long as you put in the work. But, if you would like all of the above (and then some) in one, complete package, we recommend the kanji learning program, WaniKani .

We'll be referencing it going forward, but just know that creating your own content and schedule is totally fine and doable. You'll just need to make sure you maintain your pace to keep up. Or, for some of you, make sure you slow down so you don't burn out!

Once you begin learning vocabulary in WaniKani (or your own system) read the Basic Japanese Pronunciation Guide from the Pronouncing Vocabulary section all the way through to the end. You will learn about long and short vowel sounds, double consonants, dropping sounds (all common stumbling blocks for beginners), and more. You will also learn about pitch accent. Although it may be difficult now, just knowing pitch accent exists and how it works in Japanese will give you a leg up.

Okay! Make sure you get started now. Do the work, don't just plan to do it! Sitting down and starting is the hardest part.

Estimated Time: 2 days to 2 weeks Prerequisite: Able to read hiragana

Learning katakana is about the same as learning hiragana, with a few Shyamalanian twists. We have yet another mnemonic-based guide for you, and chances are you'll be able to read katakana within the next few days if you're willing to put in the work.

You should get to the point where you can read all of the katakana, however slowly, by the time you start unlocking vocabulary in WaniKani (or by the time you start vocabulary in your own kanji method). Although katakana words won't show up a lot right from the start, there are enough to make it worthwhile. It's also a good way to spend your extra time while the number of kanji you're learning is still quite low.

Do it: Learn to Read Katakana

Note: Katakana tends to give learners more trouble than hiragana. This is because it seems to be used less than hiragana and kanji, especially at the beginning stages. Later on, katakana will appear more frequently, but for now simply being able to read katakana is enough. There will be plenty of opportunities to get better at it—just know that reading katakana may not come as quickly as it did with hiragana. And that's okay. Hiragana and kanji are just more useful right now, so spend your limited time and energy there.

Once you can read each katakana character—no matter how slowly—move on to the next section about typing katakana.

Estimated Time: 1-2 hours Prerequisites: Able to type hiragana, able to read katakana

Katakana is similar to hiragana in many ways, and thanks to this, learning how to type it should be fairly easy. There are a few differences to figure out, but you will be able to apply your hiragana knowledge to it and progress quickly. Jump to the katakana section of our typing guide and get started.

Read: How to Type Katakana

Note: Make sure you keep working on your kanji! If you’re using WaniKani, just do your reviews as they become available. It's important to make this a habit. Because WaniKani is a spaced repetition system there must be spaces between reviews. Longer and longer ones, in fact (though it will depend on how well you're doing). Do your reviews on time and you’ll get through this initial "slow" phase in a week or two. That's a drop in the bucket compared to your entire Japanese-learning career, so try to be patient. The waiting time is critical to testing your ability to recall information.

Estimated Time: 1-2 hours Prerequisite: Able to read 20-30 kanji

Before starting this step, make sure you can read a handful of kanji. Twenty or thirty will do just fine. If you're using WaniKani, this is when you start unlocking vocabulary or are around level 2.

Okay, are you done?

Typing in kanji is a little more complicated than typing in hiragana or katakana, but it still follows similar rules. Learn how to type in kanji using the kanji section of our guide then read to the end. There are some additional tips and tricks in there (punctuation, symbols, etc.) that may come in handy.

Read: How to type kanji

Now you know how to type everything there is to type in Japanese (that is, unless you count kaomoji )! If you can type in English, typing in Japanese is surprisingly easy. With practice, you'll be able to type it as naturally as you type in your native language.

To continue using this typing knowledge, you'll need to know more kanji and vocabulary. Once you get there though, you'll be ready for "The Beginner of Japanese" section!

Before moving on, you should reach level 10 on WaniKani (or around 300 kanji and 1,000 vocabulary words using your own method).

This is an important time in terms of pronunciation too. Make sure you consciously mimic the vocabulary audio. Think about pitch accent as you do it. This work will prepare you for sentences later.

With this kanji knowledge (and good pronunciation, to boot!), grammar is going to come quickly to you. You won't be spending your grammar study time looking up every other word. Instead, you'll be able to focus solely on grammar, and you'll know the contents of 80% of every sentence you see for the first time. When you say these sentences out loud, you won't be tripping over your tongue because you'll already be intimately familiar with Japanese sounds and pronunciation. The time you put into kanji, vocabulary, and pronunciation will begin to pay off.

Put your head down, trust in this, and do the work each day.

Go on, get to it, and come back here when you're done.

The Beginner of Japanese

Being a beginner of anything is great. Everything is new, everything feels like real, tangible progress, and even if you're bad at something, you can't really tell because you don't know enough yet anyway.

Enjoy it while it lasts.

At this point, you have a strong base of kanji and vocabulary. If you are using WaniKani , you should be at level 10 or above. If you are doing kanji on your own, or using another resource, you should know the most common meaning and reading of around 300 kanji and 1,000 vocabulary words. If you are using a resource that only teaches you the meaning of a kanji (and not how to read it), that doesn't count . You need to be able to do the whole thing, not just the easiest 20%.

With this assumption about your knowledge in place, we're going to go through some options for how you can learn Japanese grammar. This includes using a textbook as well as creating your own grammar program from scratch. We offer some of our own material as well. Most likely, you'll end up doing a hybrid of the above. No matter what you choose, your foundation of kanji, vocabulary, and pronunciation will make everything much easier. Without it, even the best Japanese textbook will be a frustrating experience.

Using a Spaced Repetition System For Vocabulary

Estimated Time: 2-4 hours + ongoing

You will learn a lot of vocabulary purely from your kanji studies. As long as you have a good kanji system in place, you shouldn't worry too much. However, you will definitely need to learn all of the words that do not use kanji too. In the beginning, this will largely be grammatical things, and words that don't use kanji, from your textbook. Later it will be vocabulary you pick up from signs, manga, and other real life sources.

It's time to learn how and when to introduce vocabulary words from outside your kanji studies into your study routine. The most important thing is to have a good system in place.

You need to be able to record and store these words so that you can study them later. You also need a good system to handle and process these words. It's a waste if you record them once and never look at them again.

At your currently level, most of the new words you encounter will probably be hiragana or katakana-only words. Once you start reading more and more Japanese, the number of new words you encounter will increase, so being able to keep track and add these to your routine becomes even more important. For now though, your goal is to develop a habit of collecting, processing, and studying vocabulary that is unfamiliar to you. This should become second nature.

Most likely, you will find most of the vocabulary that you want to learn in your Japanese textbook (we'll cover that really soon!). As I mentioned earlier, these might be words that don't have kanji, or maybe they're words that you didn't learn in WaniKani. There are a lot of words out there and no one resource will teach you all of them.

Once you've found some words that you want to learn you need to collect them. How you do this doesn't matter as much as actually doing it. Put them in a spreadsheet, a tool like Evernote or OneNote, or just write them down on a piece of paper. Make sure wherever you put these new words is easily accessible and make a trigger for yourself that essentially says " if I see a vocabulary word I want to learn, then I add it to my list."

There are plenty of list-apps and pieces of paper out there, so it's going to be difficult for me to say what you should use. I'm partial to Evernote and have my own processes built up there. And Airtable is a great spreadsheet app for people who don't think in math. But maybe you like physical pocket-sized notebooks, to-do lists, your smartphone camera (with a special folder for future processing), or something else.

Whatever you use, make sure it's easy for you . Figure out what makes sense and make it work. If this step doesn't happen, everything else will fall apart.

The next step is processing. I'd recommend you create a habit where every day, week, or month (it depends on how much new vocabulary you want to introduce to your routine) you go through this list and put them into your SRS of choice. What is an SRS? I'm glad you asked.

If you've been using WaniKani, you've been using a "Spaced Repetition System" (a.k.a. SRS) this whole time! But you'll want to use something else for the vocabulary you find out in the wild. For this, we wrote a guide. In it you'll learn how to collect vocabulary and add them to your SRS.

Read: Spaced Repetition and Japanese: The Definitive Guide

One additional piece of reading I'd recommend is this article on Keyword Mnemonics. For the non-kanji vocabulary you want to learn this is a surprisingly simple (and effective) mnemonic method which will allow you to learn more vocabulary in one sitting, and be able to recall it for longer.

Read: Keyword Mnemonic Method for Learning Japanese Vocabulary

As I said earlier, you won't be working with a ton of vocabulary at the start. For now, let your kanji studies give you most of your vocabulary. Then, when stray street vocabulary does start coming up, send it through the vocabulary process you've built.

Make this a habit.

Habit generally means 3-6 weeks of doing something regularly. And you should start now, because in six weeks you'll be needing to utilize this habit a lot more.

Estimated Time: It's a mystery

It’s (finally!) time to start learning grammar. If you followed this guide to the letter, you’re probably 2-4+ months into your Japanese studies. If it's more than that, don't worry about it. We all go at our own speeds and the important thing is that you kept moving forward. You should know around 300 kanji and 1,000 Japanese vocabulary words, and your pronunciation should be getting better, or at least you're being conscious about improving it. Now it’s time to kick Japanese grammar's butt.

Let's start by internalizing a philosophy. Carry this with you for the rest of your life:

When learning something new, you should already know 80% of it.

This means that each new thing you learn should be a 20% (or smaller) incremental step. A +1 from where you are, rather than a +20 or +100.

Most people go into a textbook with zero knowledge and wind up spending a large chunk of their time looking up words they don't know. How much of a sentence is vocabulary? Depending on the length, it's easy to answer "more than 80%."

So when you're learning grammar with a textbook, coming into it with prior vocabulary knowledge brings you to that 80%. Leaving you just the grammar, which you can then point your laser-like focus towards. Instead of constantly flipping to the index to look up a word or kanji and deal with context switching when you finally get back to the lesson, all you have to worry about is learning the grammar and nothing else.

That's the +1 we're talking about.

Let's assume for a moment that your Japanese vocabulary knowledge doesn't get you to 80% (or more). If that's the case, there are a few possible reasons:

You don't know enough vocabulary: If you don't know a lot of the words in a sentence before studying with it, then you don't understand 80% of the sentence before you start. In this case, go back to your kanji/vocabulary studies for a while and reconsider the level of the resource you're using. Another solution would be to pull the vocabulary from the resource, study them with your SRS method, and then come back once you've learned them.

You don't know enough grammar: Imagine you're looking at a sentence that contains three separate grammar points. If you're being taught one of the three, but you don't know the other two, you're dipping way below that ideal 80%.

The sentence is very short: If a phrase only has three parts (ex. "[vocabulary] + [particle] + [vocabulary]"), and you don't know one of them, you're going to be at 66%. In cases like this, you can make an exception. Knowing 66% of a three piece phrase, or 75% of a four piece phrase is acceptable. This will be very common in the beginning.

That's the philosophy we're working off of going forward, so double-check that you have that base of kanji and vocab before continuing with this guide. Your failure rate increases dramatically if this foundation is weak!

It's time to take our philosophy and apply it to a beginner textbook. All the things that would have normally tripped you up (the things teachers and textbooks have a tough time explaining, due to the curse of knowledge ) should now be less difficult to deal with. And with kanji and vocabulary already in your tool belt, learning grammar should be much more interesting. You won't be spending 90% of your time and energy on looking up kanji and vocabulary you don't know. Instead, you'll just be doing it.

With this base knowledge, choosing a specific textbook or program to follow becomes less important, but there are still many "good" textbooks and many "bad" textbooks out there. Most will teach you the same content one way or another, so pick one that you feel fits your learning style.

To help you with this choice, we wrote a guide:

Read: The Best Japanese Textbooks for Beginners

Whatever you end up choosing, get started right away. It's so easy for people to get trapped in a "preparation loop" where they spend all of their time planning and getting ready, only to stop before any actual work gets done.

At this point you will focus on working through your textbook of choice. Try to progress through the entire thing from beginning to end. Doing this will create a strong foundation of Japanese inside of you, something you can use to base other knowledge off of.

Once all of the basic, foundational grammar is in place you'll be able to really accelerate and work toward fluency.

It will take around 2-6 months to get through most beginner Japanese textbooks. Though, this does depend on how much time you have to spend on your studies and what grammar method you choose. You can even go through a couple different textbooks at the same time, if you want. What one textbook doesn't teach well, another probably does. That being said, if you don't feel like you understand a concept, or you want to know more, there's plenty of ways to get your questions answered. I recommend not skipping questions—instead, follow your curiosity! Learning is supposed to be fun, though school may have "taught" you otherwise.

Read the next section as you start your textbook studies. You'll eventually run into something you don't know that your textbook doesn't explain. You might as well be ready for it.

As you're going through your textbook, you're going to run into things you don't understand. Or, you'll find you don't know 80% anymore. It's not necessarily a failure of your textbook, it's just that many of them were designed for teachers to use in a classroom. They expect someone to be there to answer questions for you. Or, there just isn't enough paper in the world to cover everything.

Not to worry. When you run into something you don't understand you can look it up. No matter what kind of question you're asking or answer you're searching for, we wrote up a guide that will tell you how to find anything Japanese language related:

Read: How to Answer your Japanese Language Questions

Note: You should continue to use WaniKani (or whatever kanji learning method you chose) as you continue on. You should keep going until you finish, and/or you reach the end of this guide. It is important to keep your kanji-vocabulary knowledge ahead of your grammar knowledge at all times. If you don't, that 80% ratio will tick down until your studies no longer feel sustainable or fun.

Alternative: Learning Japanese Grammar On Your Own

By gathering all that kanji and vocabulary knowledge you’re making it possible to learn grammar on your own. Learning grammar is easy comparatively. That being said, if you decide not to use a Japanese textbook as your main resource, there are some things you'll want to consider:

This is a topic we'll be writing a big guide on. But, it's quite complicated so I haven't gotten around to it yet. We'll fill in this section with that guide in the near future, but for now don't use my slowness as an excuse. Just get started. If you do, ordering will, for the most part, naturally fall into place if you follow the "know 80% of all new things" philosophy.

Don't just trust any ol' thing you read on the internet. The same goes for textbooks and teachers, too. When you learn a new piece of Japanese grammar, make sure to read explanations from multiple sources. Some will be complicated with hard linguistic language while others will be overly simplified. And a few here and there will be just right! Making a habit out of using multiple explanations and resources for one thing will feel like it's slowing you down at first, but it's much faster overall. We'll list some really good reference books at the end of the Beginning Japanese section, so make sure to take a look.

If you're studying Japanese grammar on your own, it's even more important to do the work . It's not hard to study and use what you've learned. It's hard to sit down and start . Even more so than a class or textbook, you'll need to make sure you actually sit down and make progress. Measurable progress, preferably, though you'll have to figure out just how to measure it.

With a textbook, you can just say, "I could answer all the questions," or, "I made it through twelve pages this week." Doing grammar on your own makes it harder to see and feel yourself moving forward. You are, but it's a bit hidden.

If this is happening a lot—and no amount of research gets you through it—you might want to consider finding a professional to help. Speaking of professionals…

This may be the time to consider finding a Japanese language tutor, especially if you feel like you're not able to answer your questions about Japanese on your own. With a foundation of kanji and vocabulary already in place, you will be able to focus on the things that a tutor can help you with the most: speaking, listening, and answering questions.

Keep in mind that focusing on kanji and vocabulary with a tutor tends to be a poor use of this time. Most teachers don't have any idea how to teach kanji (it's just, "go learn these kanji and vocab by next week") and many tutors try to promote rote memorization because that's how they learned as a child.

When using a tutor it's important to focus on things only a tutor will be able to help you with. Those include their ability to speak, think, and explain nuances that haven't been written about or studied (yet).

You're not required to get a tutor or a teacher at this point, but if you were really looking forward to this part, now is the appropriate time to do it. Everything from here on out won't rely on your having access to a teacher, tutor, or native speaker, so you can still progress without needing to complete this step.

As you're moving along, there's always going to be more to learn. Don't be afraid to stop moving forward to indulge your curiosity. These "slowdowns" will speed you up as you strengthen past knowledge and make connections between them.

For times like this, reference books are quite good. If you're only going to buy one, I'd recommend the "Basic" book from the Dictionary of Japanese Grammar series . It is the best Japanese language reference book out there, in my opinion.

Other than that, look through the "Reference Books" section of our Beginner Japanese Textbooks, Reference Books, and Dictionaries article. There are quite a few good ones!

Read: The Best Japanese Reference Books & Dictionaries

Note: With any skill, it's important that you focus on the things you're worst at. "Raise the floor, not the ceiling," so to speak. If you do that, you'll find everything else gets elevated, and you'll be less frustrated overall. You'll have more data to reference in your brain as more unknown ideas and concepts pop up. For example, if you're bad at verbs, pick up The Handbook of Japanese Verbs and just read through it. It might take you an afternoon, but every verb you see from that day on won't be a detriment to your progress. Instead, it will positively affect all other aspects of your Japanese.

Raise the floor, because no matter how high your ceiling, you'll still be down on the ground.

The "intermediate" level of Japanese is by far the worst. Most of the people who ultimately give up on learning do it here (assuming they made it past the first few weeks).

Available resources begin to dry up, in both number and quality, and learners get stuck or plateau. Without guidance, it can feel like progressing is an impossible task.

This is the intermediate wall.

The thing that makes the intermediate level the hardest, though, is what got you here: your competence.

The beginner section was your unconscious incompetence stage. That is, you didn't realize you were incompetent, so you never felt discouraged, overly embarrassed, or stupid. But now you know a thing or two, and it's just enough to know you're not actually amazing at this thing called the Japanese language. It hurts and it's because you are now consciously incompetent, which is no fun at all.

Thankfully, a lot of the pain most learners feel at this stage comes from poor learning or teaching methods from the beginner stages. Things that you, hopefully, avoided. And although everyone will experience conscious incompetence to some degree, some people can get through it quickly and some get trapped here for years. Most, unfortunately, can't make it through at all and give up.

Be the type of person that gets through this stage quickly.

The other side of this wall is extremely fun and rewarding, so don't give up and don't let your conscious incompetence get you down.

Here's how you do it:

Recognize this stage exists and know that you're supposed to feel these uncomfortable feelings. This helps a surprising amount. You don't have to feel dumb because you know that everyone goes through this exact same situation. It's all a part of the process and if other people made it out, you can too.

You've already been preparing for this moment. This guide has prepped you to get through this fairly quickly. You're at an advantage! Most people wallow in the conscious incompetence stage for a long time because they lack two things: kanji and vocabulary. But by this point, you know more kanji and vocabulary than any intermediate level Japanese language student ought to. This is why you spent so much time on WaniKani (or one of its alternatives). It slows you down in the beginning so that you can blast through this wall.

With all that in mind, it’s time to start on some intermediate material. Make sure you are good on 100% of the previous sections before moving on. This is, by far, the most difficult portion of your Japanese education. You must have a good foundation to jump off of. When you're ready, you can start browsing our Japanese articles and Grammar pages . Good luck! 💪🏻

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83 Must-Know Japanese Travel Phrases For Your Next Trip To Japan

If you're learning Japanese and considering a trip to Japan, you'll probably want to learn some Japanese travel phrases so you can make the most of your trip.

Getting a feel for which expressions will be most important to you can vary depending upon your specific interests and goals while traveling. But some vocab is particularly useful no matter what.

If you spend time learning any basic Japanese phrases and words, start with these 83 Japanese travel phrases so that you can head into Japan on the right foot!

Regardless of where you are or what you’re doing, two of the most important words you’ll need to know are arigatou gozaimasu and sumimasen .

Arigatou (gozaimasu ) means “thank you,” and it’s very polite; you can use it with anyone. Sumimasen means “excuse me” (when trying to get someone’s attention) or “I’m sorry” (if you’ve inconvenienced someone, such as by misunderstanding or taking up time).

Let's discover the other Japanese travel phrases that will be a must on your next trip to Japan.

By the way, if you want to learn Japanese fast and have fun while doing it, my top recommendation is  Japanese Uncovered  which teaches you through StoryLearning®. 

With  Japanese Uncovered  you’ll use my unique StoryLearning® method to learn Japanese naturally through story… not rules. It’s as fun as it is effective.

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At The Airport

So you have arrived in Japan, and you’re in the airport. Depending on how your travels went and what you’re planning on doing next, you might have multiple places you need to visit.

To start, review your vocab and see if any of these locations apply to you for your next stop:

#1 currency exchange ( ryougaejo 両替所) #2 toilet ( toire トイレ) #3 customs ( zeikan 税関) #4 immigration ( nyuukoku shinsa 入国審査) #5 information ( desksougou annaijo 総合案内所) #6 souvenir shop ( omiyageya お土産屋) #7 Seat ( seki 席) #8 Train ( densha 電車) #9 Taxi ( takushi タクシー)

These are the most likely places you’ll need to stop next once you arrive. If you need to locate a certain establishment or find where to go, you can always ask someone:

#10 Where is the ______? (____ ha doko desu ka? ＿＿はどこですか。)

After you conclude your business wandering around the airport, you’ll probably be heading out into the city. In order to do that, you’ll most likely need to take a train out of the airport. If you feel confident using the airport’s self-service ticket machines, you can buy your own ticket.

However, if you have a JR Pass or need to use special train services, or if you don’t know how to use the machines, you can approach the manned ticket counter and ask:

#11 Can I have a ticket to _______ please? (____ made no chiketto wo kudasai. ＿＿までのチケットをください。)

If you are concerned that you may have to change trains during the process, you can ask about this too by saying:

#12 Is there a transfer? ( Norikae ha arimasu ka? 乗り換えはありますか。)

Taking A Taxi

Taxis in Japan are much more economical options than people give them credit for, so if you’re overwhelmed about navigating by yourself, a taxi can be a great option. The vocabulary for taking a taxi is simple, and drivers typically go above and beyond to help you.

#13 Taxi ( takushi タクシー)

When you have located the taxis, you will see that they typically drive up in a line. Wait your turn, and when one drives up, approach. Remember: do not open or close the taxi doors yourself; the driver has an automated button to do this for you.

#14 I’d like to go to _____, please. (____ made onegaishimasu ＿＿までお願いします) #15 How much does it cost? ( Ikura desu ka? いくらですか。)

One important thing to remember is that Japan is a very cash-centric society . The use of credit cards is much rarer than you may be used to, so you should plan to carry larger than normal amounts of cash with you in general. This also means that you should be prepared to ask your taxi driver if he or she accepts credit cards at all.

#16 Is paying by credit card okay? ( Kurejitto kaado de ii desu ka? クレジットカードでいいですか。)

Checking Into Your Hotel

So you have taken a taxi or train, and you’ve arrived at your hotel. Hotels have a wide array of commodities that you can take advantage of, which means that you’ll also get to use a lot of unique vocabulary.

Check out some of the words you’re most likely to use:

#17 Key ( kagi 鍵) #18 Front desk ( chouba (but furonto desuku is more common) 帳場 (フロントデスク)) #19 Lobby ( robii ロビー) #20 Dining room ( shokudou 食堂) #21 Hall ( rouka 廊下) #22 Towel ( taoru タオル) #23 Soap ( sekken 石鹸) #24 Toothbrush ( ha-burashi 歯ブラシ) #25 Toothpaste ( ha-migaki 歯磨き) #26 Razor ( kamisori かみそり) #27 Television ( terebi テレビ) #28 Housekeeping ( kaji-gakari かじがかり) #29 Laundry ( sentaku 選択)

If you are looking to do laundry at a hotel, be aware that Japanese dryers are not as powerful as most countries’, so you may need to run the dryer multiple times or simply hang your clothes to dry.

When you are ready to check in, you can approach the front desk. Depending on what you need to do next, you can use phrases such as:

#30 I’d like to check in. ( Chekku in wo onegaishimasu .チェックインをお願いします。) #31 My name is _______. ( Namae wa _____desu .名前あ＿＿＿です。) #32 I’d like to make a reservation. ( Yoyaku wo shitai desu .予約をしたいです。) #33 Is there wifi? ( Wi-Fi ga arimasu ka? WIFIがありますか。) #34 What time is checkout? ( Chekku auto wa nanji desu ka? チェックアウトは何時ですか。`) #35 Can you hold my luggage for me? ( Nimotsu wo koko ni oite itte mo ii desu ka? 荷物はここに置いていってもいいですか。)

Japanese Greetings

Now that you have settled into Japan a little bit, you’ll probably enjoy going for a walk to see the sights. As you interact with other people, the phrases you’re most likely to hear them say are:

#36 Ohayou/konnichiwa/konbanwa

These are the “daily” greetings that mean “hello.” Ohayou (good morning) is typically used until about 11:30 or noon, then people switch to konnichiwa (good afternoon). At about 5pm, most people will switch to konbanwa (good evening).

#37 Itterasshai/Okaeri

When you leave and return for the day, you may be greeted with unique phrases. Itterasshai means “have a safe trip” or simply “goodbye for the day,” said as you leave. Your hotel staff may say this to you. They may also greet you with okaeri (welcome back) when you return.

#38 Irasshaimase

Whenever you enter a business, you’ll likely be greeted with irasshaimase , a very formal welcome. You are not expected to say anything in response; it’s sort of like the staff saying hello while also thanking you for shopping or visiting.

Buying Coffee

If you can’t go a day without your morning brew, take heart—Japanese coffee shops are everywhere, and the vocabulary is actually almost identical to what you may be used to ordering.

#39 Coffee shop ( kissaten 喫茶店) #40 Hot coffee ( hotto kohi ホットコーヒー) #41 Iced coffee ( aisu kohi アイスコーヒー) #42 Cafe latte ( kafe rate カフェラテ) #43 Drip coffee ( dorippu kohi ドリップコーヒー) #44 Soy milk ( soi miruku ソイミルク)) #45 Espresso ( Esupuresso エスプレッソ)

When it comes time to order your drink, you can specify what you want via the following format:

#46 I’d like to order [number] of [item]. ([item] wo [number] onegaishimasu .[item] を [number]お願いします。)

The [item] can be kohi, mizu (water), or any other item you would like to order. If you don’t know how to say what you want to order, you can point to a menu and simply say “kore” (this) in the [item] place. You can fill the [number] slot with the quantity you would like; the words hitotsu, futatsu , and mitsu mean one, two, and three, respectively.

For example:

• I’d like one hot coffee, please. ( Hotto kohi wo hitotsu onegaishimasu. )

After this, the waitress may ask what size you would like. You can typically choose from small (S), medium (M), and large (L).

Use the letter to indicate which size you would like:

#47 Size ( saizu サイズ) #48 Medium M ( saizuM サイズ)

In A Japanese Restaurant

If you’ve decided to stop by a Japanese restaurant instead of a café, you might need a wider variety of words to make sure you can get by.

The good news is that many restaurants—especially in large cities—have pictures on their menus, and no one will be upset if you point and simply say “this, please.”

To start, the vocabulary you’re most likely to need include:

#49 Fish ( sakana 魚) #50 Meat ( niku 肉) #51 Vegetables ( yasai 野菜) #52 Vegetarian ( begitarian ベジタリアン) #53 Beer ( biiru ビール) #54 Water ( mizu 水) #55 Tea ( ocha お茶)

As you enter a restaurant, you will likely be asked how many people are in your party. Using basic Japanese numbers 1-10, you can create the following sentence:

#56 There are [number] people. ([number] mei desu .___名です)

Once you have been seated, you may need to use some of the following phrases:

#57 Do you have an English menu? ( Eigo no menyu arimasu ka? 英語のメニューありますか。) #58 What is this [while pointing]? ( Kore ha nan desu ka? これは何ですか。)

When you have decided what you would like to order, you can simply state:

#59 [item] please. (____ onegaishimasu .＿＿お願いします。)

If you do not know the name of the item and would like to order just by pointing at the menu, you can use:

#60 I’d like to order [number] of [item]. ([item] wo [number] onegaishimasu .[item] を [number]お願いします。)

When your meal is over, your next step is to pay. Important phrases that can get you through this phase of the interaction include:

#61 Could we have the bill, please? ( Okaikei kudasai. お会計ください。) #62 Can I pay with a credit card? ( Kurejitto kaado de daijoubu desu ka? クレジットカードで大丈夫ですか。)

In A Convenience Store

If you don’t feel like stopping by a restaurant, or if you’d just like a quick bite to eat or other item, the thousands of convenience stores (called konbini , short for konbiniensu sutoa , “convenience store”) that appear on nearly every street corner are ready to serve you.

The easiest meals in terms of simplicity will be bento boxes, or small boxes (in the cold section) that serve as a whole meal. If you pick one of those up and stand in line, you will almost always hear the following three phrases (to which you can answer yes or no, which keeps things simple):

#63 Next in line, please! ( Otsugi no kata douzo! お次の方どうぞ。) #64 Do you have a point card [a rewards card for the convenience store]? ( Pointo ka-do ha omochi desu ka? ポイントカードはお持ちですか。) #65 Would you like your bento warmed up? ( Obento atatamemasu ka? お弁当温めますか。)

Getting Directions And Getting Lost

Almost inevitably, you’ll find yourself turned around once you start exploring. That’s not such a bad thing! Japan is full of small, tucked away secrets, and the people are eager to help you get back to a familiar place much more often than not.

If you need to ask directions, the phrases that will serve you best are:

#66 Where is [place]?( ____ ha doko desu ka? ＿＿ はどこですか。) #67 Can I ask you for directions? ( Michi wo kiite mo ii desu ka? 道を聞いてもいいですか。) #68 Can you help me? ( Tasukete kudasaimasen ka? 助けてくださいませんか。)

In response, Japanese people are likely to use the following words:

#69 Next ( totonari となり) #70 In front of ( mae 前) #71 Behind ( ushiro 後ろ) #72 Nearby ( chikaku 近く) #73 North ( kita 北) #74 South ( minami 南) #75 East ( higashi 東) #76 West ( nishi 西) #77 Right ( migi 右) #78 Left ( hidari 左) #79 Street/road/path ( michi 道) #80 Bridge ( hashi 橋) #81 Corner ( kado 角)

Thanks to the consistent presence of trains and other forms of public transport, you should feel emboldened to explore as much as you like. There will always be a train station or bus nearby where you can ask directions or head back to a familiar place!

Japanese Travel Phrases

So there you have it – 83 Japanese travel phrases to hit the ground running on your next trip to Japan. From the airport to the convenience store and from the hotel to Japanese restaurants these knowing these Japanese travel phrases will help you feel less like a tourist.

And who knows, maybe getting started with these Japanese travel phrases will be your gateway into learning the language.

By the way, if you'd like to learn some more Japanese phrases before your trip, make sure you check out this post on basic conversational Japanese for your first chat with a native speaker. You might also like this list of Japanese conversation starters.

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Japanese Phrases for Travelers (A Cheat Sheet)

When traveling through Japan, it is VERY helpful to have some Japanese phrases under your belt. On my visit there, I found that many people I encountered did not speak English, so I’m so glad that I took some time to a (little) bit of Japanese before my visit.

Keep reading for a list of the top Japanese phrases for travelers, as well as some general information on the language and tips on how to start learning on your own! Your trip to Kyoto , Tokyo , and beyond will be better because of it.

Table of Contents

The Top Resources for Learning Japanese

• iTalki : Practice with Live Teachers at a low cost
• LingoPie : Learn the language by watching videos in Japanese
• Writing Practice Book : Learn how to write in Japanese script

START LEARNING TODAY!

Japanese Language Overview

Language history.

The exact origins of Japanese are disputed by top linguists, as there is evidence that it could have originated from either the Polynesian, Chinese, or the Ural-Altaic languages. For a time, many scholars agreed that Japanese is part of the Ural-Altaic language family, which also includes Turkish, Korean, Manchu, and Mongolian. Japanese has been compared with Korean due to similarities in structure, use, and grammar, but the relation is still debated. Today, it the only major language whose origin is still unknown.

Get your free download!

Japanese phrases pdf.

This free download includes all the key Japanese phrases that you will need for your travels to Japan. In addition, get details on the best resources to improve your speaking and listening skills as well.

Japanese language history can be split into five main periods:

• Old Japanese (Prior to 8th Century)
• Late Old Japanese (9th – 11th Century)
• Middle Japanese (12th – 16th Century)
• Early Modern Japanese (17th-18th Century)
• Modern Japanese (19th Century – now)

Japanese has been a recognized language for the past 1200 years, from around the 8th century AD, where the earliest Japanese writings have been found. Some earlier evidence of the Japanese language has appeared in Chinese writings from as early as the 3rd century AD, but it is not known how long the language has existed on the island.

The Language Today

Today, Japanese is spoken by over 125 million people, most of whom reside in Japan. It is not the official language of Japan, but is the de facto national language of Japan. The standard form of the language is called hyojungo “standard Japanese or kyostugo “common language”. This is the variety of the language that is taught in schools and used in TV and official communications.

There are dozens of dialects spoken throughout Japan, as with many old languages. Some differences are more minor (e.g., changes to pronunciation or words used), while other dialects are so distinct from each other that they are mutually unintelligible. This is most often the case for dialects coming from peripheral regions, mountain villages, or isolated islands in the country.

I will also note, there are other languages spoken in Okinawa, as well as the Ryukyu and Amami Islands, known as the Ryukyuan languages. These languages are part of the Japonic language family, and some are considered endangered languages by UNESCO. Their decline is use is due to a shift in greater use of Standard Japanese and other dialects.

RELATED: Kyoto Travel Guide

Japanese Script

An interesting fact about Japanese that did not know until recently, is that Japanese has no genetic relationship to Chinese. Which was surprising to me because the language does use mostly Chinese characters in its written script. There have been two methods of using Chinese script – the first by using them as characters to represent an object or idea. The second method involves using the script to pronounce Japanese words phonetically – which is not widely done today.

Over time, the Japanese script has been modified from the traditional Chinese characters with the overall simplification of some characters. Additionally, there has been the incorporation of hiragana characters, which are also simplified and have a more rounded appearance.

Additional Observations on Japanese

For the true language nerds out here are a few interesting facts about Japanese:

• There are no diphthongs in Japanese, only monophthongs, demonstrating that all Japanese vowels are “pure”
• Word order is classified as subject-object-verb, but the only strict rule there is that the verb must be at the end of the sentence
• The culture in Japan is VERY polite, and that is also represented in the spoken language as there is an extensive grammatical structure to express politeness, formality, and even differing levels of social status

Basic Japanese Words and Pronunciation

Japanese greetings – formal.

Here are some basic formal greetings (hi / goodbye) that you’d use on a regular day.

• Hello/Good day – Konnichiwa (こんにちは今日は)
• Good morning – Ohayō Gozaimasu (おはよう ございます お早う御座います)
• Good evening – Konbanwa (こんばんは)
• Good night – Shitsurei shimasu (しつれい　します 失礼します)
• Goodbye – Sayōnara (さようなら)

Note, when greeting others in Japan be sure to accompany your words with a slight bow. This bow is often done again when saying goodbye as well.

Japanese Greetings – Informal

If you stay in Japan for a time and make friends, it may be appropriate for you to incorporate informal greetings into your vocabulary:

• Hi – Yā (やあ)
• Hey/Yo – Yō (よう)
• What’s Up? – Saikin dō? (さいきんどう最近どう)
• Bye – Jā / Jā ne (じゃあ　/　じゃあ　ね)
• See you soon – Mata ne (また　ね)
• See you again – Jā mata (じゃあ　また)
• See you tomorrow – Mata ashita (また　あした また明日)
• Be well – Genki De (げんき　で 元気で)

Top 30 Japanese Phrases

Outside of Japanese greetings, here are the top 30 phrases that you should learn before visiting Japan:

• Hello – Kon’nichiwa (こんにちは)
• Yes – Hai ( はい)
• No – Iie (いいえ)
• Thank you – Arigatō* (ありがとう)
• Excuse me – Sumimasen* (すみません) – This phrase is important when trying to get the attention of your waiter in restaurants, and when passing people in tight quarters.
• Please – O-negai shimasu (おねがいします)
• You’re welcome – Dōitashimashite (どういたしまして)
• I’m sorry – Gomennasai (ごめんなさい)
• Do you speak English? – Eigo o hanasemasu ka (えいごをはなせますか。)
• I only speak a little Japanese – Watashi wa nihongo ga sukoshi shika hanasemasen. (わたしは　にほんごがすこししか　はなせません。)
• What is your name? – O-namae wa nan desu ka. (おなまえはなんですか。)
• My name is __ – Watashi no namae wa ___ desu. (わたしのなまえは　かおりです)
• How are you? – O-genki desu ka. (おげんきですか。)
• I’m fine, thanks – Genki desu. (げんきです)
• I’m very glad to meet you – Oaidekite ureshī desu. (おあいできて　うれしいです。)
• I don’t understand – Wakarimasen (わかりません。)
• What did you say? – Nante iimashita ka. (なんていいましたか。)
• Can you speak more slowly? – Motto yukkuri hanashite kudasai. (もっと　ゆっくりはなしてください。)
• I understand you perfectly. – Yoku wakarimasu. (よくわかります。)
• How much is it? – Ikura desu ka? (いくらですか？)
• Do you have ___? – ______ wa arimasu ka? (はありますか)
• Help! – Tasukete (助けて。)
• I don’t need it. – Iranai (いらない)
• Great! / I’m glad! – Yokatta (良かった)
• Are you okay? – Daijoubu desu ka. (大丈夫ですか)
• What happened? – Doushitanda. (どうしたんだ)
• Welcome – Irasshaimase. ( いらっしゃいませ)
• How much does it cost? – Ikura kakarimasu ka? (いくらかかりますか？)
• It costs. .. – Hiyō ga kakarimasu (費用がかかります)

Note: I’ve put an asterisk by the phrases that I used the most while traveling through Japan.

Counting to 10 in Japanese

There are two methods of counting in Japanese: 1) Sino-Japanese and 2) Native Japanese. Sino-Japanese is used most often (by far), so this is what is demonstrated in the tabel below:

RELATED: The Link Between Languages and Travel

Pronouncing Japanese the Right Way

Check out this video from a native speaker that covers pronunciation for many of the phrases listed above. For best results, practice saying the words out loud so that you get used to speaking them.

Japanese Travel Phrases PDF

Keep your learning going by downloading this Japanese Phrases PDF. You will be able to practice as needed before your trip!

FAQs about Learning Japanese for Travel

Before your trip to Japan, some common phrases you should learn are “Arigatou gozaimasu” (Thank you very much), “Sumimasen” (Excuse me/I’m sorry), “Konnichiwa” (Hello), “O-genki desu ka?” (How are you?), and “Eigo o hanashimasu ka?” (Do you speak English?).

Japanese people often say “Ittekimasu” (I’ll go and come back) before leaving their home, which is a polite way of saying they are heading out. Similarly, upon returning, they say “Tadaima” (I’m back) to announce their arrival.

The Japanese word for travel is “tabi” (旅).

Some must-know phrases for Japanese travel include “Doko desu ka?” (Where is it?), “Ikura desu ka?” (How much does it cost?), “Eki wa doko desu ka?” (Where is the train station?), “Kudasai” (Please/give me), and “Osusume no o-sake wa arimasu ka?” (Do you have any recommended sake?).

Some cool Japanese phrases include “Yoroshiku onegaishimasu” (Please take care of it/Thank you in advance), “Kawaii” (Cute), “Oishii” (Delicious), “Ganbatte” (Good luck/Do your best), and “Natsukashii” (Nostalgic).

Learning Japanese for Travel | Final Recommendations

That wraps my list of essential Japanese phrases for travelers. Now that you know WHAT you need to learn, the next step is to take it into practice. I suggest that you do that by downloading the attached PDF of key Japanese phrases, and practice the phrases daily for at least a month before your trip.

To complement learning these phrases, there are a few additional resources that you may find helpful:

• iTalki – On this site you can practice with a tutor, formal teacher, or others just seeking to do a language exchange (for free!). The paid lessons have very cheap options, with some as low as $5 an hour. Check it out!
• LigoPie – Practice listening and reading Japanese with videos. You can make changes to the speed you are listening to as well. This is the best way to rapidly increase your comprehension skills!
• Japanese Pod – There are so many free resources on the website and through the podcast they offer. There are paid options as well.
• Duolingo – I don’t find this app useful for practicing spoken language, but it will help you remember key phrases through repetition.

Have you studied Japanese before? Let me know if you have any additional tips in the comments below!

Related Posts on Japan:

• 2 Days in Kyoto
• 4 Days in Tokyo
• Hakone Travel Guide
• The Best Samurai Experience in Kyoto
• Ninja Akasaka Review

Additional Travel Language Guides:

• Portuguese for Travel
• Spanish for Travel
• Italian for Travel
• Thai for Travel
• Greek for Travel
• Language and Travel

Don’t forget to pin this for later!

Christen Thomas is the founder of TravelWanderGrow, established in 2018. She has lived abroad and traveled extensively to over 30 countries. In addition, she is a certified Travel Advisor and is an expert in planning trips focused on city history and culture. As a frequent traveler, she also shares tips on how to prepare to travel well and how to save money while doing so.

Pinning this for later as we’re hoping to visit Japan in the next few years. Great breakdown of the common phrases. I had a Japanese roommate in high school so I’ve heard a lot of these phrases, but never knew how to spell them – so interesting!

Glad you have found the guide helpful, Emily! Hope you get to practice the phrases soon :).

I am Korean-American & can speak conversational Korean. I feel I would be able to easily pickup Japanese but they seem to talk so fast! Thanks for sharing this post! My husband & I hope to visit Japan later this fall…it will come handy!

Doesn’t it always seem that others speak so fast when you are learning a language? Hopefully you can put these to good use on your trip to Japan!

Very useful and interesting. Thank you! Keep it coming

Glad you found it helpful, Oliver!

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50 Essential Japanese Phrases for Travel

• Everything About
• The Alphabet
• Common Phrases
• Best Resource Books
• Reading Hacks
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• Pronunciation
• Guide to Particles
• How to Learn
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By OptiLingo • 5 minute read

You Need to Know a Few Japanese Phrases

Japan is a tourist hot spot . And a lot of Japanese people speak English. But, not all. So, if you want to make sure you can communicate with all Japanese people you meet, you need to know at least a few phrases. Or have them in your pocket in case you need them. These 50 basic Japanese phrases are the perfect sentences for any traveler.

Speaking a little Japanese can get you further than you think. Even with these sentences, you can ask for directions, get better opportunities, and show that you appreciate Japanese culture. Japanese people will definitely appreciate your effort, and they’ll probably give you better customer service. Discover Japan better than normal tourists, and see this beautiful country through the eyes of its locals .

50 Common Japanese Phrases

The trick to reaching japanese fluency fast.

These 50 phrases are the perfect start to speaking Japanese. That’s because they’re very common. Japanese people use them every day. And Japanese locals don’t actually use a lot of their vocabulary.

In fact, they only use 20% of the words they know for 80% of their conversations.

It’s called the Pareto Principle , and it’s the trick you need to use to become fluent in Japanese fast. By focusing on only the most common Japanese words and phrases, you can cut your study time significantly, and still partake in most conversations with locals. Less study time, more benefits.

How to Learn Useful Japanese Phrases

You could always have these 50 survival Japanes phrases on a piece of paper. But, if you want to really impress people, you should definitely learn them. Luckily, it’s not difficult at all to master these. Here are a few tricks that can help you commit Japanese words and phrases to memory.

• Space them out : don’t try to learn all 50 phrases at once. Learn 5-10 every day instead. You won’t overwhelm yourself, and you’ll remember more the next day .
• Review them often : of course, by the time you wake up the next day, you’ll have forgotten most of your lesson. No worries, just repeat them. Then again the next day. The more you review, the more you’ll remember.
• Say them out loud : You need to speak to reach fluency . So, with these Japanese phrases, the more you say them when you practice, the more comfortable you’ll be. By the time you’ll have to say them to a Japanese local, you’ll be confident.

Psst! Did you know we have a language learning app?

• It teaches you useful words and phrases.
• Presented in a natural, everyday context.
• Spaced out over time, so you absorb your new language organically.
• It’s kind of like learning the words to your new favorite song!

You’re only one click away!

Learn More Japanese Easily

These 50 phrases will definitely help you as you’re traveling Japan. And, who knows? Maybe you’ll fall in love with the people and the culture, and you’ll continue learning Japanese. If so, you need the most useful Japanese phrases to get you to fluency fast. Much like these ones. You can find them all on OptiLingo.

OptiLingo helps you get to Japanese fluency the fastest. This app won’t waste your time with unnecessary vocabulary. With guided pronunciation practice, OptiLingo can surely help you communicate with locals effortlessly. Achieve your dream of speaking Japanese by downloading OptiLingo !

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12 Tips to Master Japanese Pronunciation

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How Long Does It Take to Learn Japanese?

Many people believe they aren’t capable of learning a language. we believe that if you already know one language, there’s no reason you can’t learn another..

Japanese Travel Phrases for an Enjoyable Trip to Japan

Are you traveling to Japan and want to learn practical Japanese travel phrases? This article is designed to help you learn the most useful Japanese words for travel.

It’s always good to learn basic words when you travel to a foreign country. Not only does it make getting around easier, but it also allows you to enjoy communicating with the locals.

In general, Japanese people are not so good at speaking English , free wifi services aren’t very prevalent (especially outside of the central cities), and Japan is still more of a cash-based society than you may think. However, Japanese people are very kind; they’ll listen to you patiently and do their best to help. So just use these basic Japanese travel phrases to talk to Japanese people when you want to ask something.

When you speak even a little bit of Japanese, locals will appreciate your effort and will be more friendly. Here’s JapanesePod101’s list of practical Japanese travel phrases for your travels to Japan!

Table of Contents

• Greeting/Communication
• Asking for Directions
• Restaurants
• When You Need Help
• Conclusion: How JapanesePod101 Can Help You Learn More Japanese

1. Greeting/Communication

To begin our list of essential Japanese travel phrases, we’ll go over greetings and basic travel phrases in Japanese for solid communication. These simple Japanese travel phrases can make a world of difference in your conversations and overall experience in Japan.

• Romanization: Kon’nichiwa
• English Translation: Hello

In terms of must-know Japanese travel phrases, you probably already know that this is the most common Japanese greeting word . You can say this to anybody for any occasion during the daytime.

• Romanization: Hai / Iie
• English Translation: Yes / No

Hai is “Yes” and it’s pronounced like the English word “Hi.” In Japan, saying yes also means that you understand. Iie is “No” and it’s pronounced ‘EE-eh.’

3- ありがとうございます

• Romanization: Arigatō gozaimasu
• English Translation: Thank you

Arigatō gozaimasu is the polite way to say “Thank you” in Japanese, and you can use this for any occasion. In case of a casual situation, you can just say Arigatō , or even more casually, Dōmo (どうも) which means “Thanks.”

4- いいえ、いりません

• Romanization: Iie, irimasen
• English Translation: No, thank you.

It literally means “No, I don’t need it,” in Japanese. At a restaurant, say this phrase when a waiter offers to fill your glass of water and you don’t want more.

• Romanization: Sumimasen
• English Translation: I’m sorry / Excuse me

This word is usually used to say “sorry” or “excuse me” . Say this when you bump into someone in a crowd or when you ask someone for directions. Japanese people also use this to mean “thank you,” in some cases, such as when someone picks up something you dropped.

• Romanization: Onegai shimasu
• English Translation: Please

When you request something, it’s polite to say Onegai shimasu . When someone offers you something and says please, she/he would say Dōzo (どうぞ) in Japanese.

• Romanization: Watashi wa XX desu.
• English Translation: I am XX.

Watashi is “I,” wa is “am/is/are,” and desu is a present-tense word that links subjects and predicates; it’s placed at the end of a sentence. You can put your name, or your nationality, such as: Watashi wa Amerika-jin desu (私はアメリカ人です) which means “I am American.”　　

8- 私は日本語がわかりません

• Romanization: Watashi wa nihongo ga wakarimasen.
• English Translation: I don’t understand Japanese.

Nihongo is stands for the Japanese language, and Wakarimasen means “I don’t understand.” If you don’t know something, you can just say Wakarimasen meaning “I don’t know.”

9- 英語を話せますか

• Romanization: Eigo o hanasemasu ka
• English Translation: Can you speak English?

This is one of the most useful Japanese phrases for travelers. Eigo means “English,” Hanasemasu is a polite way to say “I speak,” and ka is a word that you add to the end of a complete sentence to make a question.

10- 英語でお願いします

• Romanization: Eigo de onegai shimasu
• English Translation: English, please.

This is another important Japanese travel phrase. De is the particle, and in this case it means “by” or “by means of.” The phrase literally translates as “English by please.” You can also say M saizu de onegai shimasu (Mサイズでお願いします) which means “Medium size, please.”

2. Asking for Directions

One of the most important Japanese travel phrases you should know are directions . Here are some useful vocabulary words and two Japanese language travel phrases you need to know!

1- Vocabulary

• 駅 ( Eki ) : Station
• 地下鉄 ( Chikatetsu ) : Subway/Metro
• トイレ ( Toire ) : Toilet
• 銀行 ( Ginkō ) : Bank
• 切符売り場 ( Kippu uriba ) : Ticket machine/Office
• 観光案内所 ( Kankō annaijo ) : Tourist information office
• 入口 ( Iriguchi ) : Entrance
• 出口 ( Deguchi ) : Exit
• 右 ( Migi ) : Right
• 左 ( Hidari ) : Left
• まっすぐ ( Massugu ) : Straight
• 曲がる ( Magaru ) : Turn
• 交差点 ( Kōsaten ) : Intersection
• 角 ( Kado ) : Corner

2- XXはどこですか

• Romanization: XX wa doko desu ka
• English Translation: Where is XX?

Doko means “where” and you replace XX with the name of where you want to go.

For example

• Toire wa doko desu ka (Where is the toilet?)
• Deguchi wa doko desu ka (Where is an exit?)

3- XX e wa dō ikeba ii desu ka (XXへはどう行けばいいですか) : How can I go to XX?

• Romanization: XX e wa dō ikeba ii desu ka
• English Translation: How can I go to XX?

Dō is “how,” e is “to,” and ikeba ii can be translated as “good to go.” When you want to know how you can get somewhere, replace XX with where you want to go.

For example:

• Eki e wa dō ikeba ii desu ka (How can I go to the station?)
• Ginkō e wa dō ikeba ii desu ka (How can I go to the bank?)

4- Other Examples

1. この道をまっすぐ行きます ( Kono michi o massugu ikimasu. )：Go straight on this street.

Kono michi is “this street” and ikimasu is the polite way to say “Go.” O is a Japanese postpositional particle which indicates an object (in this case, kono michi ).

2. 次の角を右へ曲がります ( Tsugi no kado o migi e magarimasu. )：Turn right at the next corner.

Tsugi no kado means “next corner” and magarimasu is the polite way to say “Turn.” E is another postpositional particle that indicates direction; this can be translated as the English word “to.”

3. 交差点を渡って左へ行きます ( Kōsaten o watatte hidari e ikimasu. )：Cross an intersection and go to the left (direction).

Watatte is a conjugated form of wataru which means “cross.”

3. Shopping

You’ll definitely love shopping when traveling in Japan, and some of the best Japanese phrases for travel are those related to this fun past-time. Knowing some useful Japanese words will make your shopping even more enjoyable.

1- XXはありますか

• Romanization: XX wa arimasu ka
• English Translation: Do you have XX?

When you’re at a store and looking for something, you can use this phrase by replacing XX with what you want.

• Romanization: Ikura desu ka
• English Translation: How much is it?

This is probably one of the most useful Japanese words for traveling and shopping. You can say Ikura desu ka in many situations, such as when you’re shopping, buying tickets, paying for a taxi, etc.

• Romanization: Menzei dekimasu ka
• English Translation: Can you do a tax exemption?

Did you know that, as a traveler, you can get a sales tax exemption when you purchase things greater than 5,000 yen? Menzei is “tax exempted” and dekimasu means “can do.” Don’t forget to say this when you buy something big!

• Romanization: Kore wa nan desu ka
• English Translation: What is this?

Kore is “this” and nan is another form of nani which means “what.” There are many unique foods, gadgets, and things which are unique to Japan, so when you wonder what it is, point to it and say this phrase.

• Romanization: Kore o kaimasu
• English Translation: I’ll buy this.

Kaimasu is the conjugation of the verb kau , which means “buy.”

6- カードは使えますか

• Romanization: Kādo wa tsukaemasu ka
• English Translation: Can I use a credit card?

Kādo is “card” and you pronounce it just like the English word “card.” Tsukaemasu is a conjugation of the potential form of the verb tsukau which means “use.” This phrase is useful when you want to use your card at small shops and restaurants.

4. Restaurants

Japan has an array of delicious foods, of which sushi and ramen are just the tip of the iceberg. Amazingly, Tokyo is the city with the most Michelin-starred restaurants in the world, for several consecutive years. Enjoy yummy food at restaurants with useful Japanese words for restaurants and easy Japanese travel phrases related to food.

• 英語のメニュー ( Eigo no menyū ) : English menu
• ベジタリアンのメニュー ( Bejitarian no menyū ) : Vegetarian menu
• 豚肉を含まないメニュー ( Butaniku o fukumanai menyū ) : Menu without pork
• 水 ( Mizu ) : Water
• 白/赤ワイン ( Shiro / Aka wain ) : White / Red wine

2- XXはありますか

When you want to ask if the restaurant has something you want, say this phrase (replacing XX with what you want).

• Eigo no menyū wa arimasu ka (Do you have an English menu?)
• Aka wain wa arimasu ka (Do you have red wine?)
• Romanization: XX o kudasai
• English Translation: Can I have XX?

This is another very useful phrase. Simply replace XX with what you want. You can also use this versatile phrase in various occasions, such as when shopping, choosing something, etc.

• Kore o kudasai (Can I have this?)
• Mizu o kudasai (Can I have water?)

4- お会計お願いします

• Romanization: O-kaikei onegai shimasu
• English Translation: Check, please.

O-kaikei means “check.” In Japan, people often cross their index fingers in front of their face as a gesture to indicate “check, please” at casual restaurants. However, when you’re at a nice restaurant, simply tell a waiter: O-kaikei onegai shimasu .

5. When You Need Help

Sometimes you get faced with unexpected emergencies while you’re traveling. Japan is famous for being one of the safest countries in the world, but you might fall very ill or be caught in a great earthquake.

1- Vocabularies

• 警察 ( Keisatsu ) : Police
• 病院 ( Byōin ) : Hospital
• 救急車 ( Kyūkyūsha ) : Ambulance
• ドラッグストア/薬局 ( Doraggu sutoa / Yakkyoku ) : Drug Store/Pharmacy
• タクシー ( Takushī ) : Taxi

2- XXを呼んでください

• Romanization: XX o yonde kudasai
• English Translation: Can you call XX?

When you’re severely ill or in case of emergency, let people know by using this phrase. Japanese people will kindly help you.

• Yūkyūsha o yonde kudasai (Can you call an ambulance?)
• Keisatsu o yonde kudasai (Can you call the police?)

3- どこでインターネットを使えますか

• Romanization: Doko de intānetto o tsukaemasu ka
• English Translation: Where can I use the internet?

Although large cities in Japan provide free public wifi at major stations, metros, and cafes, you may need to find internet access in smaller cities. Remember that there will be kind Japanese people who will share their personal hotspots, or look things up for you with their own phones, as well.

4- 電話を貸してください

• Romanization: Denwa o kashite kudasai
• English Translation: Can I use your phone?

Denwa is “phone” and kashite is a conjugation word of kasu , which means “lend.” This phrase is literally translated as “Please lend (me) a phone.”

• Romanization: Tasukete kudasai
• English Translation: Please help me.

I believe this phrase is the last thing you would ever use in Japan, but in case something does happen, this is useful survival Japanese for tourists.

6. Conclusion: How JapanesePod101 Can Help You Learn More Japanese

I hope this article of Japanese travel phrases is helpful and that you’ll enjoy your trip to Japan!

If you would like to learn more about the Japanese language, you’ll find more useful content on JapanesePod101.com . We provide a variety of free lessons for you to improve your Japanese language skills.

We also have YouTube channel: JapanesePod101 . It’s fun to learn Japanese through watching videos and listening to actual Japanese pronunciation, so we recommend you check it out!

Don’t forget to study with our free Japanese vocabulary lists , read more insightful blog posts like this one, and download our mobile apps to learn anywhere, anytime! Whatever your reason for learning Japanese , know that we’re here to help and you can do it ! Keep in mind that the best way to learn Japanese phrases for travel is repetition and practice.

Before you go, let us know in the comments how you feel about using these useful travel phrases in Japanese after reading this article. More confident, or still a little confused about something? Feel free to ask questions in the comments!

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Learn Japanese for Travel

Prepare for your next trip with busuu’s japanese travel course. learn essential japanese travel vocabulary and phrases to open new doors.

If you’re planning a trip to Japan, it’s smart to learn Japanese for travel. But where to start? It can be overwhelming to tackle a whole new language!

Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at why it’s important to learn basic Japanese for travel before you jet off to Tokyo, the best way to learn Japanese, and start to tackle some important Japanese words and phrases for travel.

How to learn Japanese for travel

Learning basic Japanese for travel is actually easier than you might think.

Sure, the language as a whole is considered one of the hardest languages for English speakers to learn, thanks to the three Japanese writing systems and the complexity of formal Japanese and honorifics . But if you’re simply heading to an onsen in Hokkaido for a week, you’re probably not looking to do business in Japanese or read entire novels.

Instead, you can focus on Japanese phrases for travelers and other elements of basic Japanese, which is not nearly as challenging.

Discover the best way to learn Japanese for your next trip

Lessons on your schedule

Learn at your own pace with Busuu! Whether you have a free hour to study or just a few minutes, you can make progress toward your goals with bite-sized lessons designed by experts.

Tackle basic Japanese for travel first

Start learning with Japanese basics in the Complete Japanese Course or focus on the Japanese travel vocabulary you’re most likely to need first with our Japanese Travel Course.

Learn Japanese from anywhere

Study on the go with the Busuu app, and download lessons to learn offline! With Busuu Premium , you can keep learning even when your adventures take you out of WiFi range.

Why learn Japanese before you travel to Japan?

Before taking a closer look at how to learn basic Japanese, you might want to know why you should! After all, learning a language can be tough. You might be wondering what the benefits are of learning Japanese at all and whether it’s worth the bother.

Well, there are many excellent reasons to learn Japanese if you’re heading off to Japan! Learning a language makes your travel experiences so much better. Here are our top 5 reasons you should learn Japanese for travel.

1. Simplify your trip

When you take a Japanese Travel Course ( like this one! ), you’ll learn essential Japanese phrases for travel. The ability to ask for directions, buy train tickets, find a restroom, or order at a restaurant in the local language can make a huge difference in your experience of Japan. When you understand more, you can navigate new places and experiences more smoothly and with less stress.

2. Take roads less traveled

Another good reason to learn Japanese for travel? Many Japanese people simply don’t speak English. It’s not as common to learn English in Japan as it is in other countries that rely more heavily on tourism or that have had long relationships with English-speaking nations. If you don’t speak any Japanese, it may be hard to navigate the country unless you stick to more touristy locations. And what fun is that?

3. Connect with locals

In Japan, a little politeness can go a long way. Even if mastering advanced Japanese grammar isn’t in the cards for you, a few basic Japanese travel phrases – like learning to say yes and no in Japanese or understanding Japanese table manners – can help you better connect with the people you meet on your travels. Learning basic Japanese can help you learn to introduce yourself, ask other people basic questions about themselves, and so much more.

4. Understand more

If you’re heading off to Japan, one of the best things you can do to prepare is learn hiragana and katakana – two of the three Japanese writing systems. While the third system, kanji , can take years to master, hiragana and katakana alone can give you a huge boost when it comes to navigating around Japan. Reading these two syllabaries can help you sound out Japanese menus, signage, and product labels, which can be a huge help when it comes to getting around day-to-day.

5. Get a sense of accomplishment!

The simple truth is, learning to speak a new language and putting it to use can be fun!

Even if your Japanese isn’t perfect by the time the plane lands, it’s thrilling to buy a snack or check into a hotel in a new language and be understood.

Everyone needs a win sometimes! And the local Japanese folks you encounter will likely appreciate the effort you made in learning.

Pro tip : When you go into a store in Japan, you’re likely to hear someone call out, “Irasshaimase!” Find out what it means – along with 17 other Japanese greetings – right here .

In short? Learning to speak Japanese before traveling to Japan is sure to improve your experience!

There are tons of good reasons to learn a little Japanese before you go, and – since you can start learning with Busuu for free – it’s hard to find a reason not to.

Best of all? When you learn with Busuu, you can focus on learning the Japanese travel phrases you’ll need most, right from day one.

Why is Busuu the best app to learn Japanese for travel?

Busuu’s Complete Japanese Course is the perfect entry point to start learning Japanese. When you supplement it with Busuu’s Japanese Travel Course, you’ll learn the basics you need plus most useful Japanese phrases for travel. And if you want to keep learning, once the Travel Course is through, you can work on learning hiragana and katakana, or continue at your own pace from the basics all the way up to Upper Intermediate (B2) Japanese.

Actually speaking a new language out loud in the real world can be daunting! That’s why Busuu’s courses encourage you to practice speaking Japanese out loud from the first lessons. In Busuu’s Japanese courses, you’ll get exercises that challenge you not just to listen and repeat but to come up with your own answers to prompts based on what you’ve learned. That means you won’t just learn Japanese for travel – you’ll practice actually putting what you’ve learned to use.

One of the things that makes Busuu the absolute best app to learn Japanese for travel? The Conversations feature! You’ll share some of your exercises with native Japanese speakers on the app for encouragement and feedback. Learning from native speakers can help with your pronunciation, show you how the language is actually used in practice, and lift your confidence so you’re ready to say "konnichiwa" from the moment you land.

Learn Japanese phrases for travelers

Why not get started right now? Let’s take a look at some of the vocabulary and phrases you’ll learn in your first few lessons with Busuu’s Travel Course!

Pro Tip : There are many different ways to say no in Japanese – learn which one to use and when right here .

10 Essential Japanese words for travel

Learn more japanese for travel with busuu premium.

With Busuu Premium, you can set goals with a Study Plan, connect with Japanese speakers through Conversations, and so much more. Premium makes learning to use Japanese travel vocabulary a breeze, so you’ll be saying, Konnichiwa / こんにちは– “Hello!” with confidence to the people you meet on your travels!

3 Basic Japanese phrases for travel

1. Hajimemashite

Hajimemashite (始めまして) is a Japanese greeting that means “Nice to meet you”. We say this phrase when we meet someone for the first time.

2. Itadakimasu

Taken literally, itadakimasu (いただきます) means, “I humbly receive.” It’s good manners to say this before you eat and is a way to say thank you for the whole preparation of the meal.

3. Onegai shimasu

Onegai shimasu (お願いします) is a polite Japanese phrase that translates to "please" or "I humbly request." It is commonly used in various contexts to make a request or ask for a favor politely.

And now you’ve learned a few handy Japanese phrases to know when traveling!

Of course, you’ll need to learn a bit more Japanese before you can strike up a conversation in an izakaya or seamlessly order gyoza – but don’t worry, you’ll learn all that and more when you learn via Busuu’s Japanese Travel Course.

Start learning with Busuu

Don’t wait, start to learn Japanese for travel now and discover all the doors that learning Japanese can open for you.

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The Ultimate Guide to Learning Japanese

Bryce was born in California, but raised from the age of 3 near Seattle, Washington. He’s been living in Tokyo for about 7 years, and graduated from Temple University, Japan with degrees in economics and international business. He loves traveling of course, but also cooking, snowboarding, some video games as well. His biggest interest is songwriting/music production, more specifically electronic music… (think Skrillex, Marshmello, Daft Punk, etc.) He also has terrible humor as you’ll notice, but he hopes you’ll enjoy it!

This post may contain some affiliate links. When you click through and make a purchase we may receive some commission, at no extra cost to you.

Surely after checking out all of our great recommendations for activities , sightseeing , food , or other opportunities you’re already planning your trip here. Haven’t seen them? Go check them out after you’re done reading this! But if you already have and you’re here to figure out how to get started with learning Japanese, read further and find some great info to help you begin your journey. 

1. Why you should learn Japanese

2. basic concepts of japanese, 3. how to start a conversation in japanese, 4. useful japanese phrases for hotels, 5. useful japanese phrases at restaurants, 6. useful japanese phrases for work, 7. interesting facts about the japanese language, 8. best ways to learn japanese, 9. japanese language schools , 10. taking the jlpt(japanese language proficiency test), japan wonder travel tours , other articles you might be interested in.

If you want to live in Japan, it’s no question that being able to speak Japanese will increase almost any aspect of your life there. In some social settings it could be said that fumbling your way through a conversation may be endearing and grant you a bit of attention that the fluent speakers may not get. In general, some endeavors will be a bit easier because a kind individual sympathizes with your lack of fluency and will guide you along. But, these scenarios are truly not sustainable in the long run, and the benefits of understanding and conveying yourself in Japanese far outweigh these temporary graces whether you’re there for 5 weeks or 5 years! Being able to take yourself on adventures, speak with locals, find things off the beaten path, and to be independent overall will significantly increase your enjoyment in Japan . And if you want an impressive job, speaking Japanese at a business level makes it many times easier to land! 

Let’s assume that you will be learning Japanese as an English speaker, take note of the primary differences and important points you’ll be focusing on at the beginning. Firstly, compared to just the one alphabet for English, Japanese has three! Shocking, right? Not only do two of them have 46 characters each, but one has a whopping 49,000. Respectively, they are called Hiragana , Katakana , and Kanji . The first 2 are phonetic and don’t exactly carry meaning on their own, while Kanji all have their own meanings, hence the amount. But dont worry- not even native speakers know even close to all of them! To reach a solid level of fluency , you’ll “only” need to know about 2,000. Another thing you may notice right off the bat is the generally backwards or highly rearranged (in comparison to English) sentence structure; words at the end of English sentences often are found at the beginning of Japanese ones. And surely you speak to your boss a bit differently than your best friend, but it’s just a matter of word choice and tone that’s relatively loosely defined. In Japanese, the levels of politeness are very clearly separated/defined and have their own names, such as Keigo which is used for speaking to superiors or customers. Unfortunately, further summarizing it wont yield any significant results, so go ahead and take your first step and check out the basics in more detail ! 

Keigo is also a good way, if not the main way, to begin interactions or first-time meetings. Basically, it’s common to start things off by being polite to each other- sounds pretty standard for most cultures! So, to maintain this in Japanese, you can do this by selecting the right words for the occasion while also being very mindful of your body language . Shaking hands is much less common (perhaps mainly in international business interactions) and is something to allow a Japanese person to initiate; the common gesture is bowing, as you may already know! While situations can vary, “sumimasen”, which is a very polite and somewhat apologetic way to say “excuse me”. Keep in mind, this is not the direct translation (as are a multitude of other phrases); it is more to convey humbleness and to not be a bother and be polite. This is moreso used if you might have a follow-up statement or question. “konnichiwa” is the standard greeting for hello and is also polite but a bit more friendly. “ohayou” and “konbanwa” are the morning and evening equivalents, respectively. To learn a bit more about how to use these phrases, check out this article that offers more detail!

So, let’s take a look at some examples of phrases in context now that we’ve got some of the essentials noted down! This would certainly be a good opportunity to make use of “sumimasen” to preface your phone call or begin talking to the staff at the front desk! We have a great article that goes in depth about common phrases you’ll want to know before you head to your hotel or Ryokan , but let’s take a look at some examples. Making a reservation can be daunting on the phone, but so many online services bypass this so lets focus on checking in. You’ll notice that Japanese actually uses a lot of words from English and other languages, and this is a good example. To check in you’ll say: “Chekku in wo onegai shimasu”. Japanese uses “I”, “me”, “we” quite a bit less than English, so this phrase literally means “do check in please”. And as you may have already guessed, to check out you would say “Chekku auto wo onegai shimasu”. There are plenty of other phrases you’ll want to know of course so be sure to check out that article!

Moving on to another situation where you’ll be using “sumimasen” even more: dining at restaurants. Why more? Well, it’s the primary word to call the staff over to your table or get their attention to take your order. While in some English speaking countries it may be expected that your waiter/waitress will check in on you periodically, this is often not the case in Japan; if you need something, just call them over! It may seem rude and you’ll be surprised by the stage fright you’ll get when having to shout “sumimasen”, but it’s not rude and you’ll get used to it. Head over to this article to learn more useful phrases for asking where the toilet is, what kind of food is offered, and how to order!

This article goes over a few words and phrases we’ve already touched on so far in a work setting; it’s very useful and if you plan to work in Japan you’ll want to know how to use these, even if they dont require you to know Japanese. One particular phrase we haven’t gone over yet and is arguably the most important for a work setting is “otsukaresama”. This is another Japanese word that has no direct translation, but it is primarily used after the day’s work is done and basically means “you must be tired [from working so hard]”. You can use it for yourself and towards others, and you definitely should!

Where do we begin! Japanese is quite the language; as if 3 alphabets wasn’t enough! Some other notable facts about Japanese that aren’t right in front of your eyes (or ears) can be found here , but let’s touch on a couple. The amount of onomatopoeia is incredible, and surprisingly useful. Despite sentences often omitting “I” and similar words, there are many different ways to refer to yourself and often carry your intended tone. And the most “fun” fact: there are no plurals! But there is a way around this… just wait!

Now that you know a little more about the Japanese language, you are probably wondering how to best learn it. Well there are a number of answers to that question, and it can often depend on what your main objective for learning the language is. Of course everyone will learn differently and have their own best methods for studying, but we highly recommend joining a language school to get the most out of your studies in the shortest period of time. Find out more about the best language schools in the next section.

Even though you can find a lot of information and ways to learn Japanese here on our site, you’ll have the best results with your Japanese studies by attending a Japanese language school. This will give you the best opportunity to truly immerse yourself in the language and improve your skills at a rapid rate. There are plenty of great schools around and we have a great list of recommendations for you! Be sure to check them out and find one that suits your needs.

Sign up now:   Tokyo Central Japanese Language School Classes

If you have already started studying Japanese, chances are you’ve heard of a test called the JLPT, or Japanese Language Proficiency Test. For those of you who haven’t, it’s the most well known and recognized test for foreigners studying Japanese or looking for work in Japan among other things. The test is given in 5 different levels of difficulty, from N5 to N1, with N1 being the hardest. Find out all about the test and the best ways to study for it with our article here .

Japan Wonder Travel is a travel agency that offers guided tours throughout Japan.  From private walking tours to delicious Food and Drink tours, we can help you organize the best tours just for you! If you want to explore Japan and learn more about the history and backstories of each area you are visiting, our knowledgeable and friendly English speaking guides will happily take you to the best spots!  In addition, we can provide you with any assistance you may need for your upcoming trip to Japan, so please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or need some help! 

▶ Tokyo Tsukiji Fish Market Food and Drink Tour Explore the most lively and popular fish market in Tokyo and try some of the local’s favorite street foods and sake with one of our friendly and knowledgeable English speaking guides! 

▶ Tokyo 1–Day Highlights Private Walking Tour (8 Hours) There’s no better way to explore an area than taking a tour with a knowledgeable local guide. You will have the chance to learn about the history and interesting background stories of Tokyo, as well as discover some hidden gems which can be hard to do without a guide.

▶ Mt. Fuji Day Trip Bus Tour from Tokyo Experience the breathtaking views of Mt. Fuji by visiting the highlights of the area on our guided sightseeing bus tour! Departing from Shinjuku in central Tokyo, you can travel comfortably to all of the best spots in the area by bus.

▶ Kyoto Private Full Day Walking Tour On this full-day private tour of Kyoto, you will be able to see the highlights of Kyoto in just one day and at the same time develop a deeper understanding of both the culture of the area and Japan as a whole.

Follow us on  Instagram ,  Facebook ,  Twitter , and  TikTok  for more travel inspiration. Or tag us to get featured!

Happy traveling!

Stay informed of the best travel tips to Japan, the most exciting things to do and see, and the top experiences to have with the Japan Wonder Travel Newsletter. Every week we will introduce you to our latest content.

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How to Learn Japanese for Beginners – My Personal Tips!

Posted on Last updated: January 22, 2024

I love Japan and I love language learning . To learn Japanese – it’s been on my bucket list for so long! Time to finally get started.

I’ve been studying Japanese on-and-off since my first trip to Japan in 2006 and even took a weekly class in The Netherlands for a few months. While I know a good amount of words and phrases, I definitely still consider myself a beginner. That’s why I’ve set myself the goal to finally have a short conversation in Japanese at the end of this year.

Wondering how to learn Japanese for beginners as well? Study together with me using the resources I’ve compiled for you below. I don’t currently take classes, neither can I practice while travelling at the moment, but some self-study can take you a long way as you will see! Hopefully, there is a trip to Japan coming up soon, so we can put the learning into practice.

WHY LEARN JAPANESE?

Why i learn japanese myself, immerse and memorization, japanese study books for writing, flashcards for language learning, how to learn japanese for beginners: kanji, learning to write japanese, studying a language = studying a culture, japanese language learning apps, my fav japanese / japan-based youtubers, online japanese dictionaries, japanese language browser extensions, japanese music, japanse study material list, travel without leaving home, where to travel next, plan your trip to japan, discover unique travel gear & gifts in our shop.

HOW TO LEARN JAPANESE AT HOME

MY TOP TOOLS: Anki Reading and Writing Japanese Hiragana Reading and Writing Japanese Katakana 250 Essential Kanji for Everyday use Remembering the Kanji Innovative Language (JapanesePod101) Rosetta Stone Japanese for Busy People Genki Textbooks

I strongly believe that learning a new language has several benefits that can be applied to many facets in your life.

First of all, it opens your mind to new words, phrases, ideas and teaches you to be patient and have fun while studying. At the same time, you will get the chance to understand another culture a bit better. Diving into a language will take you along specific expressions, business and social situations that you might not encounter in your own culture.

If you ever want to live abroad in a country where people speak the language you’re studying, you will always be one step ahead. Life will be so much easier for you when you’re able to understand and explain basic phrases, especially when you first move there! Living abroad can be stressful enough, I can tell you from personal experience, so if there is a language barrier, I can imagine this complicates things even more.

Of course, then there is also the chance of better job opportunities when you speak a second, or even more languages. Not just when you’re moving abroad, but perhaps in your own country or town!

And finally, I definitely think that learning another language will improve your memory and general brain health. You will notice that learning a language is all about patterns, repetition and memorization, so stretch that grey matter and see what it does for you!

You don’t always need to be physically on the road to enjoy the beauty of destinations from all around the world!

From vintage travel posters to beautifully displayed souvenirs and home decor items inspired by your favourite places and from travel journals and crafts to exploring world recipes, music and dance.

With our creative articles you’ll get some fresh ideas on how to bring the world closer to the comforts of your own home.

As I mentioned briefly under the photo above (of the lady in her sweet shop in Okinawa ), my main reason to learn Japanese was to be able to speak a little with the locals on my travels. But another reason was that I am fascinated by the history and culture of Japan and I believe that language is one of the best ways to learn more about these topics.

I am not a huge fan of Japanese anime, manga or J-pop music myself, but I know there are many people that started their Japanese language studies to follow their favourite comics, films, shows and idols. And then of course there are people that study the language because they need it for work.

The reason why you want to study another language makes a HUGE difference in the way you approach your studies and the materials you end up using.

Are you aiming to pass a JLPT Japanese-Language Proficiency Test ? Are you learning the language so you can communicate in the native language of a family member or partner? Do you want to be able to write Kanji ? Or is it enough for you to just know a few phrases useful for travelling or to speak with a Japanese friend ?

My personal goals (for now) are:

• Being able to hold a simple conversation with Japanese people on my travels
• Being able to read (road) signs and most of print media (newspaper/magazine) in Japanese
• Being able to read and write basic Kanji that you’ll come across in daily life

What is the reason you want to study Japanese?

HOW TO START LEARNING JAPANESE

It might seem obvious, but one of the best places to start learning the Japanese language is to find out which Japanese words and phrases you already know. It might be more than you think! How about sushi (すし), samurai (侍) or karaoke (カラオケ) for example. What I did when I started learning, is making a list of all the Japanese words that I already knew. Which words can you list?

Did you know that about 10% of all Japanese words used today actually come from the English language?

The second tip I would give is to pick a real-life situation in which you want to use your Japanese skill first.

For example, when I started my studies, I was travelling to Japan and I wanted to be able to say please , thank you , what is that ? and where is… This gave me some pointers to words and phrases that were most important to me at that point in time and narrowed my studies down to the basics.

When you know why you want to learn another language, the second most important thing is to immerse yourself in the language as much as possible. This can be by living abroad, travelling to a country or simply implementing the language in everything you do at home (watch Japanese tv, listen to Japanese music, read Japanese books, meet Japanese people in your home town, etc.).

Then, teaching yourself memorization techniques will definitely a dealbreaker in your ability to learn a new language, and actually remember it long term. There are some tried and tested techniques to do this, including using spaced-repetition (learning a word, then reviewing it 1 day, then 3, 5, 10, 20 and 30 days later until you won’t forget it), creating fun mnemonics and combining words with images . You can even create your own Memory Palace to learn a language fast.

Some great tools for this are Memrise and Anki .

My blogger friend Michelle tells you all about the best language memorization techniques in her amazing video below. Make sure to check out her channel The Intrepid Guide on YouTube , she has so many great language learning tips!

I’ll start with my recommendations on how to learn Japanese writing with books that teach you the Japanese “alphabet”. As you might (or might not) already know, there are three writing systems in Japanese: hiragana (syllables used primarily for native/naturalised Japanese words and grammatical elements), katakana (syllables used primarily for foreign words and names, loanwords, onomatopoeia, scientific names, and sometimes for emphasis), and kanji (adopted Chinese characters).

Over the years, I’ve become a big fan of Tuttle Publishing . Since 1948 they are the leader in publishing books on the culture, arts, cuisines, languages and literature of Asia. By now, they know my love for Japan, so when new books come out, I’m one of the first to know and receive a review copy.

At the end of 2020, they released the books “ Reading and Writing Japanese Hiragana ” and “ Reading and Writing Japanese Katakana ” by Emiko Konomi. I’ve been using them ever since to practice my skills. The books consist of an extensive introduction to the writing systems , as well as writing drills and it also will teach you how to learn Japanese vocabulary with practice lessons.

But that’s not all, with the books come digital photocopiable writing paper , audio files for good pronunciation, printable flashcards and even more reading and writing practice in the form of word lists on the most used topics such as greetings, shopping, food & drink and much more. It really is all you need to get a solid foundation in read and writing Japanese.

Ask anyone how to learn Japanese for beginners and they will probably tell you to start using flashcards . So will I!

Flashcards are little pieces of card with a cue or hint on one side, and a corresponding answer on the back. The cue can be a question, an image, or just one word. Whatever you find most convenient. I got a few packs of cards on a ring from my last visit to Japan, but you can also find them on Amazon or probably in your local bookshop.

On the “front” I write the Japanese words in both Rōmaji (Latin script) as in either hiragana or katakana , depending on the word. On the “back” I write the translation in English (or sometimes in Dutch if that translation makes it easier for me to remember – because it’s more similar to the Japanese word, for example). I put “front” and “back” in quotation marks, because I will practice with the cards from either side.

An app that’s useful to create flashcards is called “ Quizle‪t‬ “. You can find it in the App Store and on Google Play .

After studying the relatively “easy” syllabic writing systems, it’s time to get serious. But how to learn Japanese Kanji the best way? Well. Start by not doing what I did. A few years back I purchased the book “ 250 Essential Kanji for Everyday use “, since it sounded like it was the most practical for what my study goals were, but I must confess I have yet to start in it.

It’s not because the book isn’t great, in fact, it’s pretty damn good. I actually only just realize it’s also by Tuttle Publishing (makes sense), written by the officious sounding “Kanji Text Research Group” at Tokyo University. This group apparently is made up of teachers whose focus is teaching Japanese language to foreign students and they have spent more than two decades developing the most effective methods to help beginning learners of Japanese grasp the kanji .

Each lesson is super interactive and helps you master a new group of kanji. There are quizzes , vocabulary and practice sections and for each character you’ll learn its meanings, basic on–kun (Chinese-Japanese) readings, its stroke order, common compounds, and derivations. I find it a little overwhelming to browse in, but I guess I should just take it slow and start step-by-step following the well-organised lessons.

For Kanji, the best tips I got was to A) Start with it soon in your studies!, B) Focus on understanding the meaning first, the reading later (so the meaning of the Kanji could be “book”, the reading is “kun: moto” and “on: hon”) and C) Create stories to remember the Kanji, for example: the Kanji for book (本) looks like a tree with a stripe under it, e.g. the book is made from the tree)

One of the other textbooks to help you with Kanji that I got recommended was “ Remembering the Kanji “. This especially goes into the story-making aspect of Kanji learning. Apparently with this method, you will be able to complete in a few short months a task that would otherwise take years!

Further down below, I’ll also talk about how to learn Japanese online with (free) Kanji learning tools.

For those of you looking to dig a little deeper into the origins of the Kanji , you have to travel to China, where 3000-year-old sources of written characters are still used today. But don’t worry, you don’t have to physically travel there, nor do all the research yourself.

In one of my favourite history books of all times, “ China: Empire of Living Symbols ” (pictured below is my Dutch version: “Het karakter van China” – the character of China ), Swedish Sinologist Cecilia Lindqvist tells a beautifully illustrated story of the Chinese characters and shows how their shapes and concepts have permeated all of Chinese thought, architecture, art, and culture.

While in many language, learning to write is usually not really essential unless you want to work abroad, in Japanese I can HIGHLY recommend practicing writing along with speaking, listening and reading.

It really helps you to understand the words and grammar better and by repeating you drill everything much better into your brain (yes, drilling in brains is unfortunately not optional when learning Japanese, haha)

To improve writing the Japanese characters, my best tips are:

• Write in boxes, this will help you to balance out the characters ( get a squared notebook like this one !)
• Use the correct stroke order, to make it easier to remember them and read (Japanese characters are always written from left to right, top to bottom, horizontal goes first, vertical second and when there’s a vertical line with symmetrical characters on the outside of it, you do the vertical line first. There are some more writing rules, but I’ll stop here – eep!)
• Write slowly and big at first, going faster and smaller as you go along
• Practice, practice, practice – it’s the only way!

What I’ve learned from studying new languages is that while your goal might be to simply read, listen, write or speak, you always get to know more about the history and culture of the country where the language is spoken. This is especially true for languages that are spoken in just one or a few countries.

I’ve read a few books on Japanese culture and etiquette and in all of them, Japanese concepts, words and phrases are always mentioned. That makes the following books a great extra resource to accompany your Japanese language learning:

• Etiquette Guide to Japan – by Boyé LaFayette de Mente [ my review >]
• Japan, A Guide to Traditions, Customs and Etiquette – by Boyé LaFayette de Mente [ my review >]
• At Home in Japan – by Rebecca Otowa [ my review >]
• A Geek in Japan – by Héctor García [ my review >]
• Tokyo Geek’s Guide – by Gianni Simone [ my review >]
• Cool Tokyo Guide – by Abby Denson [ my review >]
• Ikigai Journey – by Héctor García + Francesc Miralles [ my review >]
• Forest Bathing – by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles [ my review >]
• The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up – by Marie Kondo [ my review >]

(FREE) ONLINE JAPANESE LEARNING TOOLS

When I started studying Japanese many years ago, there wasn’t so much online yet. But now? Oh boy! You can find SO much online, you’ll never be able to go through all of it in one lifetime. And most of it is even free. Where to start?

For language lessons, I love:

• Innovative Language – They offer a wide variety of Japanese language learning tools, such as apps, audio books and my favourite: JapanesePod101.com. I started listening to the audio lessons from JapanesePod101 years ago (and also had a membership for a while) and they’ve since grown to one of the best Japanese language platforms in the world. You can also find them on YouTube , with many free lessons.
• 日本語の森 (Nihongo no Mori) – This YouTube channel started in 2013 and provides you with fun and easy-to-understand lessons. They have structured their content in levels, so if you are studying for a specific Japanese test, then it’s easy to find the corresponding lessons.
• Rosetta Stone – After struggling to learn Russian through traditional methods, Founder Allen Stoltzfus set out to develop an effective way to learn a new language through natural immersion in the late 1980s. He envisioned using computer technology to simulate the way that people learn their native language—with pictures and sounds in context, and with no translation—and innovate language education for learners of all ages. These days, Rosetta Stone is one of the most recognized technology-based learning companies in the world.
• jlptsensei.com – Learn Japanese and Pass the JLPT, this basically sums up the website. This language blog will also teach you how to learn Japanese grammar with a database. It helps you learn Japanese and pass the Japanese language exams (if you study enough, of course)
• japanesetest4you.com – On this website you’ll find hundreds of practice tests, thousands of infographics and flashcards and a lot more resources to master the Japanese language, structured by level.
• HelloTalk – The concept is easy: learn a language by chatting with native speakers around the world. For free! In the app (both Android as Apple) you can chat with individual members, or join group chats for a collaborative learning experience.
• italki – Choose from over 10,000 teachers for 1-on-1 lessons based on your goals and interests. On italki you only pay per lesson and at the price that meets your budget.
• tofugu.com – This website is all about Japanese topics to help people who want to visit Japan, live in Japan, and/or Learn Japanese. They also have a podcast and Japanese-kanji-and-vocabulary-learning web app.
• crunchynihongo.com – Blog with easy Japanese lessons and reading practice materials for beginners, among other resources.
• NHK World – Learn Japanese from NHK, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation in fun and easy lessons.

Here are some apps to download on your phone:

• Shirabe Jish‪o‬ [App Store]
• Bunpo [App Store]
• Bunpo [Google Play]
• Busuu [App Store]
• Busuu [Google Play]
• Migi‪i‬ [App Store]
• Migi‪i‬ [Google Play]
• PIBO [App Store]
• Duolingo [App Store]
• Duolingo [Google Play]
• Mirai Japanese [App Store]
• Mirai Japanese [Google Play]
• Todai Easy Japanese News [App Store]
• Todai Easy Japanese News [Google Play]

For content on Japanese culture, live in Japan and sometimes also language learning tips, I love watching:

• Sharmeleon (Sharla)
• Tokidoki Traveller (Emma)
• Abroad in Japan (Chris)
• Kelly Morita (Kelly)
• akidearest (Aki)
• Paolo fromTOKYO (Paolo)
• Life of Mori (Mori)
• Little Giant Shiori (Shiori)
• That Japanese Man Yuta (Yuta)
• Dogen (Dogen)
• Tomi’s World (Tomi)
• Tokyo Lens (Norm)
• LeSweetpea パリス ( Paris )
• Reina Scully (Reina)
• Sherry Y (Sherry)
• Joe Allam (Joe)
• Tokyo Creative Play (Japan based vloggers)
• Tokyo Creative Talk (Japan based vloggers)

TRADITIONAL LANGUAGE LEARNING METHODS

You would think that I’d start this article with standard language learning tools such as text / course books , phrase book or dictionaryies but I’ve found that actually, these are the things I use the least when studying myself.

I believe textbooks are made for and best used in classroom-type situations, where you need everyone to study on the same topic and test them on the same things. But since I already gave the advice to start studying on topics and goals that are more specific to your own situation, you can see how these type of study materials just aren’t a good fit.

If, however, you need more structure, here are three books you might find useful:

• Japanese for Busy People – This is the course textbook we used for our Japanese course in The Netherlands
• Lonely Planet Japanese Phrasebook & Dictionary – Found this in a hostel in Japan, where the boys only went through the “pick-up lines” section
• Collins Pocket English-Japanese Dictionary – Not sure how I got this, but definitely sure I never used it. Might be useful for when I’m further along with my studies and want to expand my vocabulary more, we’ll see…

Other, more traditional study methods and some additional online resources focusing also on Japanese Grammar that I saw recommended are:

• Nihongo So-Matome – Essential Practice for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) with Kanji, Vocabulary, Grammar, Reading and Listening Comprehension – The levels are N5-N1, with N5 being the easiest + Nihongo So-matome N5 Vocabulary
• Genki Textbooks – Covers speaking, listening, reading, and writing to cultivate overall language ability. Each lesson features audio files.
• Minna no Nihongo – Since it was first published in 1998, these study books have been a staple of Japanese language learning. The vocabulary is accompanied by illustrations that help structure learning. There is also audio with supplementary exercises and conversation techniques.
• A Guide to Japanese Grammar – Written by Tae K Kim, this book is a compilation of all the content that you can find (for free) on the website guidetojapanese.org . If you prefer a physical copy of the material, the book breaks down grammatical concepts that will allow you to comprehend anything from simple to very complex sentences. You will also learn Japanese that’s spoken by real people including casual speech patterns and slang, stuff that’s often left out in most textbooks.
• Tuttle Publishing – I’ve mentioned them before, via this link you will find all their Japanese Language books and practice materials.

If you’re looking for a translation, but are not a fan of the traditional paper dictionaries, well, the 21st century has you covered. Here are some good online translation tools for you:

• Imiwa? [App Store]
• JED – Japanese Dictionary [Google Play]
• Jim Breen’s JDIC
• Japanese App [App Store + Google Play]
• Jisho Japanese-English Dictionary
• Google Translate [dûh]

The following extensions will translate Japanese language directly in your browser. I especially love the Netflix one!

• Rikaichan [Firefox]
• Rikaichan [Chrome]
• Language Learning with Netflix [Chrome]

To immerse yourself even further, here is some Japanese music to enjoy online. Please note that I don’t know ANYTHING about J-pop, so any suggestions, please let me know, would love to add to this meager list.

• Japanese Music Playlists by pringlechan on YouTube
• JYP Entertai n ment on YouTube
• Sing-along J-Pop Playlist on YouTube

I really hope this extensive article helps you answer the question of how to learn Japanese on your own. As you can see there is a lot out there, mostly free! All you need is a bit of focus and consistency to get the ball rolling. Ganbatte Kudasai! 頑張ってください Do your best!

There is so much to explore in the world, how do you decide where to go next?

The Travel Tester is all about mindful travel and we love matching your passions to destinations on earth. So whether your travel for food , nature , creativity , history , culture , innovation , adrenaline , good karma or personal growth , we’ll have suggestions for you wherever you go.

Click the button below for more information and all our travel guides:

Here is a complete overview of all the study materials mentioned in this article:

[STUDY TOOLS]

[READING & WRITING]

• Reading and Writing Japanese Hiragana
• Reading and Writing Japanese Katakana
• 250 Essential Kanji for Everyday Use
• Remembering the Kanji
• China: Empire of Living Symbols
• Squared notebook
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar
• Mysterious Mofumofu Cafe

[FLASHCARDS]

• Quizle‪t‬ [ App Store ]
• Quizle‪t‬ [ Google Play ]
• Paper Flashcards

[JAPANESE CULTURE & LANGUAGE]

• The Ikigai Journey – by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles [ my review >]
• Forest Bathing, The Rejuvenating Practice of Shinrin Yoku – by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles [ my review >]

[ONLINE LEARNING]

• Innovative Language
• JapanesePod101
• 日本語の森 (Nihongo no Mori)
• Rosetta Stone
• jlptsensei.com
• japanesetest4you.com
• crunchynihongo.com

[YOUTUBERS]

• LeSweetpea パリス (Paris)

[TRADITIONAL STUDY MATERIALS]

• Japanese for Busy People
• Lonely Planet Japanese Phrasebook & Dictionary
• Collins Pocket English-Japanese Dictionary
• Nihongo So-Matome
• Nihongo So-matome N5 Vocabulary
• Genki Textbooks
• Minna no Nihongo
• A Guide to Japanese Grammar / guidetojapanese.org
• Tuttle Publishing

[ONLINE DICTIONARIES]

• Google Translate

[BROWSER EXTENSIONS]

[JAPANESE MUSIC]

JAPANESE SNACKS & GIFT BOXES

In The Travel Tester shop, you will find our favourite travel products and original gift ideas.

Whether you’re looking for the best travel gear, gadgets, electronics, packing solutions, clothing, shoes, travel books, health- or beauty products… we’ve made a personal selection for you!

We’ve also included our favourite tech items used to create this blog, as well as material that can help you in your self-development, such as interesting books and courses.

Morning Upgrade

Friday 18th of February 2022

Great advice for people trying to learn Japanese. Learning a new language can be difficult!- Ryan

ANUKRATI DOSI

Monday 8th of November 2021

Learning a foreign language is one thing I always wanted to do. Knowing someone else's language is such a different feeling altogether.

Tuesday 29th of June 2021

You can also try TUTOROO. They have native Japanese language tutors and speakers that you can hire to learn the Japanese language easier and effectively.

Friday 2nd of April 2021

Hi, I was planning a trip to Japan but I don't know how to speak Japanese language but after this post, I got an Idea of how to learn the Japanese language, it is important to learn this if we are visiting Japan. Thank You!

Tuesday 13th of April 2021

Thank you! I found in the bigger cities you have no problem travelling with just English, but always nice to be able to say something in the native language on your travels. Enjoy!

The journey is the reward

A Basic Guide for Learning Japanese in Japan

If you are planning a trip to Japan, congratulations! You are about to embark on an amazing adventure. Not only is Japan a fascinating country with a rich culture and history, but it is also home to some of the best food in the world.

One thing that can make your trip even more enjoyable is being able to speak Japanese . While not required , being able to communicate with the locals will definitely enhance your experience in Japan. 

If interested in learning Japanese while traveling in Japan, read on about 5 easy things you can do to improve your Japanese while traveling in Japan. We’ll also address some related questions you may have about learning Japanese in Japan. Now read on if interested!

Table of Contents

5 easy ways to improve Japanese while traveling in Japan

Being in Japan already exposes you to the Japanese language and culture a lot. While you can easily access translation services to understand everything quickly, it would be a shame if not use the chance to pick up some Japanese phrases and level up your Japanese skills.

So here are 5 easy things you can do while traveling in Japan to increase your Japanese skill. Let’s take a look!

Go on a guided tour

There are many guided tours available in Japan that are conducted in English. While these tours are great for learning about the country and its attractions, they can also be a great opportunity to practice your Japanese.

Attend a Japanese language school

If you are serious about learning Japanese or plan to stay in Japan for a long time, it’s a great idea to attend a Japanese language school to learn Japanese systematically. Besides you can also use online resources like Japanese learning apps for the same purpose.

Attend a Japanese Cooking Class

Japan has a unique food culture that is very different from the west. What’s a better way to learn about a culture than through its cuisine?

In Japan, there are many cooking classes available that cater to foreigners. If you love sushi, ramen, or tempura, don’t miss these opportunities! Not only will you learn how to make some delicious dishes, but you will also pick up some valuable Japanese language skills.

Watch Japanese TV Shows and Movies

While you can do this anywhere in the world with the internet, watching TV channels in Japan is a different experience. Channels like NHK are live 24/7 with entertaining and informative content. You can also pick up useful everyday phrases and vocabulary.

Some of the best Japanese TV shows and movies to watch include “Doraemon”, “Spirited Away”, “Your Name”, and “Your Lie in April”. We also have collected a few great Japanese YouTube channels to learn Japanese if interested.

Join a Language Exchange Program

A great way to practice your Japanese while also meeting new people is by joining a language exchange program. There are many of these programs available online and in major cities across Japan.

By participating in a language exchange program, you will be paired up with a Japanese person who is also interested in learning English. You will then take turns practicing each other’s language.

How much does it cost to learn Japanese in Japan?

The cost of learning Japanese in Japan can vary depending on many factors, such as the type of institution you attend, the length of your program, and your location.

In general, however, you can expect to spend anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars on tuition and other fees. If you are on a tight budget, you can also use language apps like LingoDeer that only cost less than a hundred dollars to get fluent in Japanese by yourself.

Additionally, living expenses in Japan are relatively high, so you will need to factor in the cost of food, housing, and other basic necessities when budgeting for your Japanese language program.

With all of these costs in mind, it is important to do some research and compare different programs before making a decision.

Do you need to know Japanese to travel in Japan?

While knowing Japanese is not a must if you just plan to be in Japan for a short time, learning even a little bit of Japanese before your trip is always a good idea. It will help you better understand the culture and make new friends while you’re here. For example, knowing how to order food in Japanese can save you a lot of time and better enjoy Japanese cuisine. Plus, it’s just plain fun!

If you can’t speak any Japanese, don’t worry. There are plenty of resources available to help you get by. For example, many museums and tourist attractions have English-language signage and pamphlets. And in larger cities, there are often English-speaking staff members working in hotels, restaurants, and shops. You can also use LingoDeer ‘s free travel phrasebook to learn the most travel phrases on the go.

Top places to visit in Japan

When learning a new language, it’s a good idea to get acquainted with the culture and tradition of the country where it is spoken. In Japan, there are many places you can visit to do just that. Here are some of the best:

• Tokyo – As the capital of Japan, Tokyo is a great place to start your cultural journey. There are many museums and temples to visit, as well as countless restaurants and shops.
• Kyoto – Kyoto is considered to be the cultural heart of Japan. It is home to numerous historical sites, such as the Kiyomizu-dera Temple and the Fushimi Inari Shrine.
• Nara – Nara was once the capital of Japan and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is known for its large number of deer which roam freely around the city.
• Hakone – Hakone is a popular hot spring resort town located in the mountains west of Tokyo. It is a great place to relax and enjoy some of the beautiful scenery Japan has to offer.
• Sapporo – Sapporo is the capital of the northernmost prefecture of Japan, Hokkaido. It is famous for its snow festival, which takes place every February.
• Okinawa – Okinawa is a group of islands located southwest of mainland Japan. It has a unique culture and history, as well as beautiful beaches and clear blue waters.

No matter where you go in Japan, you are sure to find something interesting and unique. So why not start exploring today?

Japanese customs and traditions you should know before visiting

Japan is a country with a long history and rich culture. There are many customs and traditions that have been passed down through the generations. Here are some of the most important ones to be aware of:

• Bowing – Bowing is a way of showing respect in Japanese culture. When you meet someone new, it is customary to bow to them. The deeper the bow, the more respect you are showing.
• Slippers – In Japan, it is not considered polite to walk around inside someone’s home with your shoes on. Instead, you should take them off and wear slippers. You will often find slippers near the entrance of homes and businesses.
• Taking Off Your Shoes – In addition to wearing slippers inside, you should also take your shoes off when entering places such as temples and shrines. This is done out of respect for the deities that are worshipped there.
• Gift Giving – Gift giving is an important part of Japanese culture. When you are invited to someone’s home or given a gift, it is customary to give one in return. Gifts are usually wrapped in beautiful paper and often include items such as food, clothes, or books.
• Tattoos – Tattoos are generally seen as taboo in Japan. This is because they were once associated with criminals and the yakuza (Japanese mafia). As a result, many public places such as pools, hot springs, and beaches do not allow people with tattoos to enter.

These are just a few of the many customs and traditions you will encounter in Japan. By being aware of them, you can avoid making any cultural faux pas during your visit.

How to learn the Japanese lettering system

One of the first things you will need to learn when studying Japanese is the lettering system. There are three different scripts used in Japanese: Kanji , Hiragana , and Katakana .

Kanji are the most complex of the three scripts and represent whole words. They are typically used for nouns, adjectives , and verbs. Hiragana and Katakana are both phonetic alphabets that represent individual sounds. Hiragana is used for native Japanese words, while Katakana is primarily used for foreign words.

It is important to learn all three scripts in order to be able to read and write in Japanese. However, if you are just starting out, you may want to focus on Hiragana and Katakana first. Once you have a basic understanding of these, you can then start learning Kanji.

There are many resources available to help you learn the Japanese lettering system. You can find books, websites, apps, and even podcasts that will teach you everything you need to know. So what are you waiting for? Start learning today!

How to pronounce Japanese words

One of the hardest things about learning Japanese is understanding its pronunciation . This is because there are many sounds in Japanese that do not exist in English.

In addition, the way words are written in Japanese does not always match the way they are pronounced. For example, the word for “tree” is written as 木 (ki), but it is pronounced as “ko”.

The best way to learn proper pronunciation is to listen to native speakers and imitate their speech. There are also many helpful resources available online, such as pronunciation guides and audio files.

With a little practice, you will be able to pronounce Japanese words like a native speaker in no time!

Is Learning Japanese Worth It?

Learning Japanese can be a challenging but rewarding experience. It will open up a whole new world of opportunity and allow you to appreciate the rich culture and history of Japan.

If you are dedicated and willing to put in the effort, learning Japanese is definitely worth it! So what are you waiting for? Start learning today. Stay safe and have a good one, folks!

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101 Basic Japanese Words and Basic Japanese Phrases for Travel in Japan

Elaina Robbins

Travel in Japan is the ultimate goal of many Japanese students. Not only is it a fascinating and eye-opening experience; it’s a great opportunity to practice using basic Japanese words and basic Japanese phrases in a setting other than the classroom.

Having a selection of basic Japanese phrases ready to use as you travel in Japan will help you get around and improve your pronunciation as you interact with native speakers. After all, there is no better way to learn any new language than practical application!

We have assembled a list of practical, basic Japanese phrases that will make your journey through this ancient culture even more educational and memorable. Speechling has many tools to help with comprehension and pronunciation as you prepare for your trip and commit these basic Japanese phrases and words to memory.

These basic Japanese words and phrases allow you to greet people and interact throughout the day. As you use them, remember what you’ve learned about the high premium placed on respect in this culture! When in doubt, err on the side of too much deference.

• Hello: Konnichiwa. こんにちは
• Good morning: Ohayo- gozaimasu. おはようございます
• Good afternoon: Konnichiwa. こんにちは (yes, this is the same as “hello”!)
• Good evening: Konbanwa. こんばんは
• Goodbye: Sayo-nara. さようなら
• Please: Kudasai. ください
• Thank you: Arigato- gozaimasu. ありがとうございます
• How are you?: Ogenki desu ka? お元気ですか?
• Yes: hai. はい
• No: EE-eh. いいえ
• My name is __ : Watashi no namae wa __ desu. 私の名前は __ です
• What’s your name?: Onamae wa nan desu ka? お名前は何ですか？ (おなまえは なんですか？)
• It’s nice to meet you: Hajimemashite. 始めまして (said at the beginning of a conversation, not when parting)
• Sorry: Gomen-nasai. 御免なさい
• Excuse me: Sumimasen. すみません
• Where is the?: __ wa doko desu ka? __ はどこですか？
• I don't understand. Wakarimasen. わかりません
• I do not speak Japanese: Nihongo o hanashimasen. 日本語を話しません (にほんごを はなしません)
• Do you speak English?: Ehgo o hanashimasu ka? 英語を話しますか？(えいごを はなしますか？)
• Please repeat that: Mo- ichido itte kudasai. もう一度言ってください (もういちど いってください)
• Please speak slowly: Yukkuri hanashite kudasai ゆっくり話してください (ゆっくり はなしてください)
• Would you please help me?: Tetsudatte moraemasuka? 手伝ってもらえますか？ (てつだって もらえますか？)
• I want to go: (Koko) ni ikitai no desu. (ここ)に行きたいのです ((ここ) に いきたいのです)

Transportation and Lodging

As in most countries, Japanese transit and hotel staff seem to have a language of their own. Do some reading online before your trip, just to acquaint yourself with some of the quirks you may encounter in Japanese hotels (for example, you’re expected to tidy your own hotel room). Here are some basic words and phrases that will be helpful.

• How much is a ticket to __ ?: ___ madeh ikura desu ka? ___ までいくらですか ?
• A ticket to__, please: ___ madeh ichimai onegaishimasu. __ まで一枚お願いします
• Where does the train/bus go?: Kono densha/basu wa doko yuki desuka? この(電車/バス)はどこ行きですか ?
• Where is the train/bus to (a location)?: ___ yuki no densha/basu wa doko desuka? ___ 行きの(電車/バス)はどこですか?
• Does this train/bus stop in __ ?: Kono densha/basu wa ___ ni tomarimasuka? この(電車/バス)は ___ に止まりますか ?
• When does the train/bus for ___ leave?: ___ yuki no densha/basu wa nanji ni shuppatsu shimasuka? ___ 行きの(電車/バス)は何時に出発しますか?
• When will the train/bus arrive in __ ?: Kono densha/basu wa nanji ni ___ ni tsukimasuka? この(電車/バス)は何時に _____ に着きますか?
• Do you have rooms available?: Aiteru heya arimasuka? 空いてる部屋ありますか?
• How much does lodging for one/two cost?: Hitori/futari-yō no heya wa ikura desuka?一人/二人用の部屋はいくらですか?
• Is the room Japanese/Western style?: Washitsu/yōshitsu desuka? 和室/洋室ですか？
• Does the room come with __ ?: Heya wa ___ tsuki desuka? 部屋は ... 付きですか?
• May I see a room first?: Heya o mitemo ii desuka? 部屋を見てもいいですか?
• I'll take it: Kore de ii desu. これで良いです
• I would like to stay for ___ night(s): ___ haku onegaishimasu. ___ 2泊お願いします
• Do you know another place to stay?: Hoka no yado wa gozonji desuka? 他の宿はご存知ですか?
• What time is breakfast/supper?: Chōshoku/yūshoku wa nanji desuka? 朝食/夕食は何時ですか?
• Please wake me at___: __ ni okoshite kudasai.__ に起こしてください
• I would like to check out: Chekku auto (check out) onegaishimasu. チェックアウトお願いします

As soon as you walk into a retail business or restaurant in Japan, you will be greeted with, “Irrashai maseh” (いっらしゃいませ)！ It is a general welcome by employees to all customers, so all you need to do is nod in acknowledgement, if anything. You’ll probably hear the following phrases from the store clerk as you shop:

• Are you looking for something?: Nani ka osagashi desu ka? 何かお探しですか？
• Is that everything?: Ijyou de yoroshii desu ka? 以上でよろしいですか？(いじょうで よろしいですか？)
• Here you go: Hai, douzo. はい、どうぞ

Your responses may include phrases such as: 45. I would like this item: Kore o onegai shimasu. これを おねがいします 46. I would like one of those: Sore o hitotsu onegai shimasu. それを一つお願いします (それを ひとつ おねがいします) 47. How much does it cost?: kore wa ikura desu ka?これは いくらですか？ 48. Do you accept a credit card?: Kureditto kaado (credit card) o tsukaemasuka? クレジットカードを使えますか?

Dining out provides lots of opportunity to practice your Japanese, but it is also an activity that can be quite different in Japan. Do some research before you go to learn as much as you can, and then enjoy Japan’s world-famous food!

• Space for one person/two people, please: Hitori/futari desu. 一人/二人です.
• Please bring a menu: Menu o kudasai. メニューを下さい。
• Is there a house specialty? O-susume wa arimasuka? お勧めはありますか？
• Fixed-price meal: Teishoku. 定食
• A la carte: Ippinryōri. 一品料理
• Breakfast: Chōshoku. 朝食
• Lunch: Chūshoku. 昼食
• Light meal: Keishoku. 軽食
• Supper: Yūshoku. 夕食
• Beverage: Nomimono. 飲み物
• I want a dish containing __ : __ ga haitteru mono o kudasai. __ が入ってるものを下さい。
• Chopsticks: ohashi. お箸
• It was delicious: Oishikatta desu. おいしかったです
• Excuse me: Sumimasen. 済みません
• May I have the check, please? Okaikeh onegai shimasu. お会計お願いします
• Do you serve alcohol? Osakeh arimasuka? お酒ありますか?
• Sake: Nihonshu. 日本酒
• Japanese liquor: Shōchū.焼酎
• Whiskey: Wiskii. ウイスキー
• Water: Mizu. 水
• Club soda: Sōda: ソーダ
• Coffee: Co-hii. コーヒー (こーひー)

Time and Numbers

You may encounter military time in Japan, or the terms “gozen” 午前 for a.m. and “gogo” 午後 for p.m. Check out this resource for some additional explanation; this topic can get tricky. Also, remember that the Japanese readings “yon” and “nana” are often used for 4 and 7 due to superstition about the translation (“shi,” used in another reading for both those numbers, translates as death).

• Six o'clock a.m.: Asa rokuji. 朝6時
• Noon: Shōgo. 正午
• One o'clock p.m.: Gogo ichiji. 午後1時
• Midnight: Yoru jūniji: 夜12時
• ___ minute(s): ___ foon or poon. 分
• ___ hour(s): ___ jikan. 時間
• ___ day(s): ___ nichi. 日
• ___ week(s): ___ shūkan. 週間
• ___ month(s): ___ kagetsu. ヶ月
• ___ year(s): ___ nen. 年
• 4: Yon or shi. 四
• 7: Nana or shichi. 七
• 8: Hachi. 八
• Now: Ima. 今
• Later: Atodeh. 後で
• Before: Maeh ni. 前に
• Morning: Asa. 朝
• Afternoon: Gogo. 午後
• Evening: Yūgata. 夕方
• Night: Yoru. 夜

Words or Phrases to Avoid

These phrases can convey disrespect. You don’t want to offend anyone, especially people you don’t know, so make sure to avoid these terms, even if you hear them being tossed around in your favorite anime.

• Doing something untimely: Manuke. まぬけ
• Drop dead!: Kutabare. くたばれ
• Move out of the way!: Doke. どけ
• Noisy!: Urusai.うるさい

Enjoy Your Trip!

As you prepare to travel in Japan, use Speechling’s pronunciation tools to master the phrases provided on this list. Review The Top 5 Pronunciation Mistakes English Speakers Make in Japanese Lessons , too, and then the Top 100 Basic Japanese Words for Beginners for additional words that weren’t included in this list. Native speakers will appreciate the effort you took to use Japanese words and phrases, even if they aren’t perfect!

Speechling is a nonprofit app and website that combines human coaching with technology to improve your foreign language speaking.

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50 Important Japanese Travel Phrases for Traveling to Japan

Welcome to your essential guide to Japanese phrases for traveling to Japan!

If you are planning a trip to Japan, learning some basic Japanese phrases will not only enhance your experience but will also help you connect with the local culture and people.

In this post, we will introduce you to simple but useful phrases that will make it easier for you to communicate in everyday situations, from asking for directions to shopping. Let’s get started!

Basic Phrases in Japanese

Greetings and basic phrases in japanese.

• Hello : Konnichiwa (こんにちは)
• Goodbye : Sayonara
• Good morning : Ohayou gozaimasu
• Good afternoon/evening: Konbanwa
• See you later : Mata
• See you tomorrow : mata shita
• Thank you politely : Arigatou gozaimasu (ありがとうございます). .
• Excuse me/Sorry : すみません (Sumimasen). It is used both to apologize; for example, if you bump into someone while walking, you say sumimasen; it is also used to call the waiter (as excuse me.
• Sorry : Gomenasai (ごめんなさい)
• Please : onegai shimasu (お願いします)
• You are welcome : Doo itashimashite.
• Nice to meet you : Hajimemashite (初めまして)
• I am Veronica : Veronica desu

How to say yes or no

Yes : hai! .

No : iie (you must extend the i and pronounce both).

Common Questions

• Do you understand? : Wakarimasu ka (わかりますか)
• I understand : Wakarimasu (わかります)
• I don’t understand : Wakarimasen (わかりません)
• How much does this cost? : Kore wa ikura desu ka (これはいくらですか)
• Where is the bathroom? : Toire wa doko desu ka (トイレはどこですか)
• Do you speak English? : Eigo o hanasemasu ka (英語を話せますか)
• Yes, I speak English : Hanashimasu (話します)
• No, I don’t speak : Hanashimasen (話しません).
• I don’t understand Japanese : Nihongo ga wakarimasen.

More vocabulary

• How cute : Kawaii
• Yummy : Oishii!
• Cheers : Kanpai!
• Wait a minute : Chotto matte kudasai!

Address and Location Questions

When visiting Japan, needing help with directions and finding locations is natural. Here are some key phrases to ask for directions and locations:

• Where is this? : doko desu ka (どこですか)
• Where is the bathroom? otearai wa doko desu ka, or toire wa doko desu ka (トイレはどこですか)
• Please go straight : massugu itte kudasai (まっすぐ行ってください )
• Please turn left : hidari ni magatte kudasai (左に曲がってください )
• Please turn right : migi ni magatte kudasai (右に曲がっってください )
• Please say it again : mou ichido itte kudasai (もう一度言っってください )

山手 (yamanote) – A major train line in Tokyo, often used as a landmark for directions.

While using these phrases, keep a map handy to understand better the directions the locals give. By learning these essential Japanese phrases, you will be better equipped to ask questions and communicate effectively during your trip to Japan.

Basic Japanese numbers

• One : Ichi: 一
• Two : NI: 二
• Three : San: 三
• Four : Shi/Yon: 四
• Five : Go: 五
• Six : Roku: 六
• Seven : Shichi/Nana: 七
• Eight : Hachi: 八
• Nine : Kyu/Ku: 九
• Ten : Juu: 十
• Twenty : Nijuu: 二十
• Thirty : Sanjū: 三十
• Forty : Yonjū/Shijū: 四十
• Fifty : Gojū: 五十
• Sixty : Rokujū: 六十
• Seventy : Shichijū/Nanajū: 七十
• Ochenta : Hachijū: 八十
• Ninety : Kyūjū/Kujū: 九十
• Hundred : Hyaku: 百

These numbers are fundamental in Japanese and are used to construct other larger numbers. For example, 21 would be “二十一” (nijū ichi), literally “twenty-one”.

In the case of the number of persons, there are exceptions for one person and two persons.

• One person : Hitori
• Two people : Futari

If someone asks you how many people are, for example in a restaurant (何人ですか？ (Nan-nin desu ka?))

• You can answer hitori desu, and it means 1 person.
• If you are two: futari desu
• If three: san nin desu (3 people)
• If there are four: yon nin desu (4 people)

At the restaurant

Restaurant reservations:.

I would like to make a reservation at a restaurant : Resutoran o yoyaku shitai desu (レストランを予約したいです). You can ask the hotel reception to make the reservation for you.

Ask if there is availability: do you have a table for two for tonight: Konya, futari-yō no seki wa arimasu ka (今夜、二人用の席はありますか)

Specify time: I would like to book for 7: Shichi-ji ni yoyaku shitai desu (7時に予約したいです).

Arriving at the Restaurant: Confirm a reservation . I am Yamada, I have a reservation: Yoyaku or shita Yamada desu. (予約をした山田です)

If you don’t have a reservation: Do you have tables available: Seki wa aite imasu ka (席は空いていいますか)

Ordering and Eating

Look at the menu : Please show me the menu: menyū o misete kudasai. (メニューを見せてください)

Ordering food: Once you have decided what to order, you can say “Chuumon wo onegaishimasu” (注文をお願いします) followed by Kore or onegaishimasu.

This, please: Kore o onegaishimasu. (これをお願いします)

Asking for recommendations: What is the recommendation: Osusume wa nan desu ka (おすすめめは何ですか).

Before starting to eat

Itadakimasu : いただきます。 It is said before eating, similar to saying “bon appetit” in French. However, its meaning goes beyond these phrases.

Meaning and Use

Gratitude for Food : “Itadakimasu” expresses gratitude for the food to be consumed. This includes appreciation not only for the food itself but also for the effort and resources needed to prepare it.

Respect for Nature : In Japanese culture, there is a strong sense of respect for nature and all it has to offer. Saying “itadakimasu” acknowledges and thanks all life forms and natural elements that contribute to the creation of food.

Cultural Awareness : It is an expression of the harmonious relationship between humans and nature, a concept deeply rooted in many Japanese practices and traditions.

Everyday Use : Commonly said at home before meals, in restaurants, and at gatherings where food is shared.

During Lunch

• Water, please: Mizu o kudasai. (水をください)
• Tea, please: Ocha o kudasai.(お茶をください)
• Beer, please: Bīru o kudasai.(ビールをください)

Food Preferences and Requests

When ordering food, you may need to express your preferences or make specific requests. Here are some phrases to help you do just that:

To ask if a particular type of alcohol is available, e.g. sake, say, “Osake wa arimasu ka?” (お酒はありますか？).

If you want your dish to be prepared in a specific way, such as making it a little spicier, say, “Mou sukoshi karakushite kudasai” (もう少し辛くしてください).

After Eating

Thank for food : Gochisōsama deshita (ごちそうささまでした). Thank you for the food, it is said after eating.

Ask for the account

Account, please : Okanjō onegaishimasu (お会計お願いします)

To ask if they accept credit cards , you can use: “Kurejitto kaado de haraemasu ka” (クレジットカードで払えますか).

Useful Vocabulary

• Restaurant : Resutoran (レストラン)
• Reserve : Yoyaku (予約)
• Seat/Table : Seki (席)
• Menu : Menyū (メニュー)
• Please (when you ask for something): Onegaishimasu (お願いします).
• Account (in a restaurant): Okanjō (お会計).
• Mizu : water
• Green tea : Ocha
• Coffee : coohii
• Coffee with milk : kafe ore
• Black coffee : burakku koohii
• Juice : juusu

Common questions in the restaurant

• How much does this cost? : Kore wa ikura desu ka? ( これはいくらですか)
• Where is the bathroom? : Toire wa doko desu ka? (トイレはどこですか)

The Lodging

Check-in : I would like to check-in: Chekku-in or onegaishimasu. (チェックインをお願いします).

Say How Many People Are:

• We are two people: Futari desu (二人です)
• I made a reservation for one person: yoyaku shimashita’s Hitori (一人で予約しました).

Asking for Room: What is my room number: Heya bangō wa nan-ban desu ka (部屋番号は何番ですか).

Request Wifi Information: What is the Wi-Fi password: Wi-Fi no pasuwādo wa nan desu ka (Wi-Fiのパスワードは何ですか).

Ask for Help or Information: Excuse me, [tu pregunta]: Sumimasen, [tu pregunta] (すみません、[tu pregunta])

Check-Out: I would like to check-out: Chekku-auto or onegaishimasu. (チェックアウトをお願いします)

Ask Check-Out Time: What time is check-out: Chekku-auto no jikan wa nan-ji desu ka? (チェックアウトの時間は何時ですか)

Thank you when leaving: Thank you for everything (said as a token of appreciation for the attention received): Osewa ni narimashita. (お世話になりました)

Getting around the city

Ordering General information

• (Place) wa doko desu ka: general phrase to ask where something is; it can be a destination, a station, or even the toilet.
• (Place) e ikitai no desu ga : I would like to go to …
• Where is the subway station? Chikatetsu no eki wa doko desu ka. (地下鉄の駅はどこですか)
• Where is the train station? : Densha no eki wa doko desu ka (電車の駅はどこですか)
• Ask Hotel Directions: Where is the hotel [Nombre del Hotel]?: Hoteru [Nombre del Hotel] wa doko desu ka: ホテル [Nombre del Hotel] はどこですか
• Ask How to Get to a Tourist Site: ([Nombre del Sitio Turístico] wa doko desu ka. [Nombre del Sitio Turístico] はどここですか)
• Ask for the Bus Stop: Where is the bus stop? Basu tei wa doko desu ka. (バス停はどここですか)
• Ask if a Train/Bus goes to a Specific Destination: Does this train/bus go to [Destino]? Kono densha/basu wa [Destino] ni ikimasu ka (この電車/バスは[Destino]に行きますか)
• Ask to be advised where to get off: I would like to get off at [Destino], could you please let me know. [Destino] de oritai no desu ga, oshiete itadakemasu ka. ([Destino]で降りたいのですすが、教えていただけますか)
• Confirm Address: Is this going to [Destino]?: Kore wa [Destino] e mukatte imasu ka. (これは[Destino]へ向かっていますか)

Other interesting phrases to learn or print

• Where is this place? : Koko wa doko desu desu ka? (ここはどこですか)
• Please look at this map: Kono chizu wo mite kudasai (この地図を見てください)
• How can I get to this place? : Koko ni iku ni wa dou sureba ii desu ka? (ここに行くにはどうすればいいですか)
• How can I get to this location? : Kono basho ni wa douyatte ikemasu ka? (この場所にはどうやって行けますか)
• How far away is it? : Dono kurai tooi desu ka? (どのくらい遠いですか)
• Where can I look for information about transportation in this area? : Kono chiiki no koutsuujouhou wa doko de shiraberaremasu ka? (この地域の交通情報はどこで調べられますか)

In case you need any clarification or additional information:

• Sorry, can you tell me one more time: Moushiwake arimasen ga, mou ichido oshiete itadakemasu ka? (申し訳ありませんが、もう一度教えていただけますか?)
• Does this bus go to ….? Kono basu wa (destination) yuki desu ka? (このバスは○○行きですか?)
• Where can I take the bus? Doko de basu ni noremasu ka? (どこでバスに乗れますか?)
• Can I get to the station… with this? Kore de …-eki ni ikemasu ka? (これで….駅に行けますか?)
• I plan to get off at the next station. Tsugi no eki de oriru yotei desu (次の駅で降りる予定です) –
• Is the track northbound or southbound? Nanboku-me desu ka? (南北目ですか?)
• Where is the station? Eki wa dochira desu ka? (駅はどちらですか?)
• Which platform is this train on? Kono densha wa nanbansen desu ka? (この電車は何番線ですか?)

Directions by Taxi

Taking a cab in Japan is convenient and comfortable. To ensure clear communication with your driver, learn these phrases:

• I want to take a cab. Takushii wo hirotai no desu ga (タクシーを拾いたいのですが) –
• Please go to “destination”: “destination” ni itte kudasai (…に行ってください).

Useful vocabulary

• Input : iriguchi (入口)
• Exit : deguchi (出口)
• Subway : chikatetsu (地下鉄)
• Subway stop/subway station : chikatetsu no eki (地下鉄の駅)
• Airport : kuukoo (空港)
• Cab : takushii (タクシー)
• Bus : basu (バス)
• Map : chizu (地図)
• Itinerary : Ryotei (旅程)

Shopping in Japan

• Japanese banknotes are 1000 (千円: sen-en), 5000 (五千円: go sen en and 10000 (一万円: ichi man en) yen.
• Yen in Japanese is said en and this is its kanji: 円
• Coins: 1 yen, 5 yen, 10 yen, 50 yen, 100 yen and 500 yen. They are very useful, especially in villages, temples, markets, etc.
• Ask where there is an ATM: ATM wa doko ni arimasu ka, o
• There is an ATM nearby: Chikaku ni ATM wa arimasuka.
• ATM is pronounced almost like in English but with the u at the end.

Order a Specific Size: Do you have this clothing in size [M Talla]?: Kono fuku no [M Talla] saizu wa arimasu ka? (この服の[M Talla]サイズはありますか)

Ask for a Specific Color: Do you have this in this color: Kono iro no mono wa arimasu ka? (この色のものはありますか)

How much does it cost: Kore wa ikura desu ka (これはいくらですか).

Asking to Try Something on: Can I try this on: Kore o shichaku shite mo ii desu ka? (これを試着してもいいですか)

Ask for Local Souvenirs: Do you have local souvenirs: Jimoto no omiyage wa arimasu ka? (地元のお土産はありますか)

Asking for a Bag: Do I need a bag: Fukuro wa irimasu ka? (袋はいりますか)

Methods of Payment: Can I use a credit card: Kurejittokādo wa tsukaemasu ka? (クレジットカードは使えますか)

If You Need Help: Excuse me, could you help me: Sumimasen, tetsudatte itadakemasu ka? (すみません、手伝っていただけますか)

Vocabulary: Colors in Japanese

• Red : 赤 (Aka)
• Blue : 青 (Ao)
• Yellow : 黄色 (Kiiro)
• Green : 緑 (Midori)
• Black : 黒 (Kuro)
• White : 白 (Shiro)
• Orange : オレンジ (Orenji)
• Pink : ピンク (Pinku)
• Purple : 紫 (Murasaki)
• Brown : 茶色 (Chairo)

Ask for help

• Can you help me, please? Tasukete itadakemasu ka. (助けていただけますか)
• I’m lost : Michi ni mayoimashita (道に迷いました)
• Can you take me or accompany me to … (Place) made onegaishimasu.
• Do you speak English? Eigo o hanasemasu ka (英語を話せますか)
• I need a doctor : Isha ga hitsuyō desu (医者が必要です)
• Could you show me on the map? Chizu de oshiete itadakemasu ka (地図で教えていただけますか)
• How did I get to [destino] ? [Destino] e wa dō ikeba ii desu ka ([Destino]へはどう行けばいいですか)
• I need to call the police : Keisatsu o yobu hitsuyō ga arimasu. (警察を呼ぶ必要があります)
• Can you call me a cab? Takushī o yonde itadakemasu ka. (タクシーを呼んでいただけますか)

Here is a summary of etiquette and customs in Japan, which are fundamental to understanding and respecting Japanese culture:

Greetings : Japanese people usually bow their heads (bowing). Handshakes are less common and are reserved more for international situations.

Removing Shoes : It is customary to remove shoes when entering houses and certain places such as temples and ryokans (traditional inns). Slippers are often available for indoor use.

Punctuality : Punctuality is very important in Japan. Being late is considered disrespectful.

Behavior in Public Places : People are expected to be calm and respectful in public places. Talking loudly, especially on public transportation, is considered impolite.

Do not eat or drink while walking , as you may stain another person. Keep in mind that there are a lot of people.

Do not stand suddenly in the middle of the sidewalk , since there are so many people, it is better to stand on a side where you do not disturb the people walking.

Handling Chopsticks : Never stick chopsticks in your food, especially rice, as it is associated with funeral rituals. Also, do not pass food from chopsticks to chopsticks.

Gifts : Gift-giving is an important part of Japanese culture, especially when visiting someone in their home. Gifts are usually carefully wrapped and given and received with both hands.

Money : When paying in stores and restaurants, use the small tray provided to place money. Handing the money directly into the hand is not usual.

Meals : It is customary to say “itadakimasu” before eating and “gochisousama deshita” after eating. This shows respect and appreciation for the food.

Business Cards : In professional environments, the exchange of business cards is a ritual. Receive and hand out business cards with both hands, and take a moment to read the card before putting it away.

Photographs : Ask permission before photographing people, especially geisha or maiko in places like Kyoto.

This etiquette reflects the importance of respect, harmony and consideration for others in Japanese society. Knowing and following these rules can help make your experience in Japan smoother and more respectful.

Language Learning Tips

To begin learning Japanese for travel, start with some basic greetings such as “konnichiwa” (こんにちは; hello) and “ohayou gozaimasu” (おはようございます; good morning).

In addition to greetings, be sure to learn important phrases such as “sayounara” (さようなら; goodbye), “arigatou gozaimasu” (ありがとう; thank you), and “sumimasen” (すみません; excuse me).

Keep these tips in mind as you learn:

Practice regularly : Spend a few minutes every day reviewing and practicing your Japanese phrases to retain them in your memory.

Learn phonetically : Write down phrases in a way that helps you remember the pronunciation. Fortunately, for those of us who speak Spanish or Italian, pronunciation is not a problem, you just need to know some basic rules.

Carry a phrasebook or have a language app handy: Use them as a reference during your trip to look up phrases or practice while on the go.

Make flashcards : Write the Japanese phrase on one side and the English translation on the other.

Cultural Immersion : Try to immerse yourself in Japanese culture through movies, music, television programs and books in Japanese. This not only improves your understanding of the language, but also familiarizes you with Japanese culture and customs.

Interactive Learning Applications : Use applications that offer interactive and playful learning, such as Duolingo, Rosetta Stone or Babbel. These applications can make learning more engaging and fun.

Use Translation Tools and Dictionaries: Tools such as Google Translate or electronic dictionaries can be useful for quick translations and for helping users better understand new words and phrases.

Plan Your Trip to Japan

• How to plan a trip to Japan
• Itinerary of 11 full days in Japan
• How to use JRPass
• The best airport to get to Tokyo
• What to see in Tokyo
• What to see in Hakone
• What to see in Osaka

Last Updated on 29 January, 2024 by Veronica

Disclosure: Some of the links on this post are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Author: Veronica

Vero, a seasoned traveler, has explored 25 countries and lived in five, gaining a rich perspective and fostering an infectious passion for travel. With a heart full of wanderlust, Vero uncovers the world’s hidden gems and shares insights, tips, and planning advice to inspire and assist fellow adventurers. Join Vero and let the shared passion for travel create unforgettable memories.

Soy Verónica, una apasionada de los viajes, me gusta compartir mis experiencias viajeras en mi blog. He estudiado Empresas y actividades turísticas y ando metida en el mundo del Marketing Digital. Me gusta aprender algo nuevo cada día, conocer nuevos lugares y culturas diferentes.

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35+ Helpful Japan Travel Tips To Know BEFORE You Go

J apan is a remarkable country filled with so much history, natural beauty and modern touches. I’ve just returned from my second trip to Japan and was reminded of so many things I had forgotten about the country! Traveling in Japan is an amazing and enriching experience, however it is also a country filled with traditions and unique ways of operating that visitors may not be used to. Below I share the best Japan travel tips to help you make the most of your trip.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Top Japan Travel Tips to Know BEFORE You Go

Before you head off to Japan, there are a few things you will need to know in advance and to plan for. While most things on this list can be figured out while in country, a few MUST be done before you leave your home. Whether you opt for the classic tourist circuit Japan itinerary or get off the beaten path , these tips will go a long way to help you enjoy your trip to the fullest.

Get A Japan Rail Pass in ADVANCE

If you want a Japan Rail Pass , it is only available to purchase for overseas tourists BEFORE they enter the country. Once you are in country, you can no longer purchase a JR Pass, so if you plan to use the bullet train between destinations quite a bit, this is a must do before you leave. You must also give yourself plenty of advance notice as well as the pass is still mailed to a physical address. 

However, I will say that sometimes it’s not actually cheaper to get a JR Pass. Research the Shinkansen trains here and which trains you plan to take to budget accordingly. Often you can take a train that is just a bit slower, for a lot cheaper.

Regardless, the most important piece of advice for the JR Pass is once it is activated you CANNOT lose it. If you lose it, it is gone. You will not be able to print a new pass. You will not be given a refund. You cannot buy another pass until it is expired as it is connected to your passport. A fellow traveler on my recent trip had this experience, and it was not pleasant to lose a $600 pass on day 1 of his trip!

Keep Your Train Tickets With You

Along with the JR Pass information above, another thing to know when traveling on the trains in Japan is to keep your train ticket with you at all times. One, you will often be asked to show it on many longer distance train journeys and you will need it to exit the stations. Even better is to get a transportation card mentioned below for city travel as it is a little less easy to lose. Trust me, these tiny slips of paper are easy to misplace!

Get an IC Transport Card

There is nothing worse than arriving to Japan, transferring through the airports and needing a drink but unable to get one! Japan’s vending machines and many shops do not take US or foreign credit cards. What do you do when you only have a vending machine as an option in the airport? The best way to deal with this is to download and preload an IC card BEFORE your arrival.  Not only does a Suica card or Pasmo card provide easy access to public transportation, it can also be used at vending machines and for small purchases at convenience stores.

Insider Japan Travel Tips You MUST know: If you have an iPhone, you can go to your wallet, click the plus sign, then click Transit Card. Now you can search “Japan” to see the Suica option. Now you can select the amount to add to your card and go through the payment portal. BAM. You are ready to roll upon hitting the ground in Japan.

If you cannot load it on your phone, you can purchase Suica Cards at most train stations. You can also order Suica Cards online and have them mailed to your house abroad prior to your trip to be sure you will have access when in the country.

Learn Basic Japanese Words

While you might find some level of English in the big cities or top tourist spots, much of Japan still exists without much English. I always find this interesting, but again, how cool that they have managed to keep their language and Japanese culture so true to themselves! That said, if you plan to get off the beaten path at all, make sure you know a few phrases and have your Google Translate handy! 

The top phrases I found useful while in country include:

Hello – Konichiwa

Thank you – Arigato

Thank you very much – Arigato Gozai mas

Delicious – Oishi

Cute – Kawaii

Cheers – Kanpai

Sorry, Excuse me, Pardon me – Sumi masen

Download Google Translate 

One of the most important travel tips I can provide is to download the Google Translate app and Japanese packet as you will often need it. As mentioned above, there is often still quite a bit of a language barrier in Japan, especially in smaller towns or off the beaten path at all. Having Google translate will help you when you want to say something to someone but can’t communicate. The translate will provide it in text for the other person to read which is super helpful. Additionally, you can actually just turn on your microphone and let a person speak into your app and get the translation quickly. This is a great help throughout Japan!

Cash is King

Tipping is not customary.

Contrary to the West, tipping is not customary here and in some cases can be considered rude. To be honest as an American who is asked for a tip at every turn, this was a welcome change. I was so happy to not have to worry about tipping at restaurants, bus drivers or our guides. If you are unsure you can ask, but in general it is not done!

Don’t Expect a Western Breakfast

One of the things I most remembered from my first trip to Japan was the very different, for me, breakfast options. While I am all for trying things and diving into the local culture, sometimes you want a little something that is reminiscent of home. For me that is often breakfast. At most restaurants and hotels, you can expect to see very little western offerings for breakfast. If you want something you are used to (coffee even) you will need to seek out western establishments. I don’t often go to McDonalds at home or abroad, but I sure do like that sausage egg mcmuffin after a week in Japan!

Walk on the Left Side of the Street

Without even noticing it, I found myself crossing over a path of people in the underground to get on the “right” side of the walking path. You will see that people traffic flows very smoothing in Japan and most of that is because of how the Japanese walk on the correct side. Watch the flow of food traffic and you will quickly see where you need to be! When I was in Sapporo, there was an entire city of underground walkways. I quickly realized that everyone was sectioned off in the direction of their travel. It made it very easy to get through even with large end of day crowds. But beware of those very useful, but pesky bumps for sight impaired. They are everywhere and are not really an indicator of which side of the street you should be on!

Get Ready to Take Off Your Shoes

While it isn’t as common to remove your shoes in Japan as it is for say India, you will need to remove your shoes for more traditional establishments including restaurants. We had to remove our shoes at the front door to one of our hotels even and couldn’t put them back on until we were leaving! I love not wearing shoes indoors, but it was not always easy especially when I was wearing my Blundstones that are so difficult to get on/off!

Take Your Passport Shopping

If you would like to take advantage of tax-free shopping, make sure to take your passport with you when you go shopping. Some shops like UNIQLO will automatically give you the tax free savings right away once they see your passport,  helping you to avoid doing it at the airport. Other shops will require you get a refund at the airport. If you plan to do any shopping, just take it with you!

Respect the Japanese Traditions

One of the most amazing parts of traveling to Japan is how it is SO different than what many of us are used to. Historically, Japan has been a closed off society. Most of the country is Japanese origin with little Western influence. It is one of the many things that makes it so unique. That said, the most important thing is that you recognize and respect their traditions even if it’s very foreign to you. Take time to learn and ask about the traditions and practice them during your visit. It’s a great way to show respect and fully immerse yourself in the country. 

Prepare Yourself for A Japanese Onsen

One of the most beautiful parts of Japanese society is the public bathing system of the onsen. These hot springs are located throughout the country in stunning locations. It is definitely a big part of life here and something tourists should try at least once. I will warn you though, that unless you are having a private onsen, they are completely nude and can be mixed gender as well. I could write an entire article on how to visit an onsen as there are customs and rules to know, but in general you will need to fully shower and bathe with soap before entering the pools, they are totally nude and many do not allow people to enter with visible tattoos. If you are staying in a ryokan with no private shower facility in your room, make sure the staff are aware of any tattoos in advance so they can make arrangements for you. 

Transportation Etiquette

Don’t be afraid of shopping at convenience stores.

In Japan, convenience stores are everything. And EVERYWHERE! There are so many varieties from 7-11 to Lawson’s to Family Mart or more local shops like SeicoMart in Hokkaido that you can never be very far from one. Here you can literally get anything you want including breakfast or dinner! You can find ready made meals like fried chicken in Hokkaido to udon noodles, tempura, sandwiches and more. They also have chargers if you happen to have soaked your phone and need a cordless charger. They have candy and sweets, beer, iced coffee and so more more.

Get Ready to Carry Your Trash Around

One thing that is always a surprise to me when I’m in Japan is the lack of trash cans in public spaces. They are not on the roadsides or even that frequently found in shops. You will carry a lot of trash in your pockets all day long! Carry a small plastic bag for your trash to make life easier, but do remember to say no to plastic bags at most places as they are given very freely still or a minimal extra cost.

Separate Your Trash

Japan is not super up on the “use less plastic” concept, but they are very strict about separating their garbage. Hopefully this means they have a much better track record of recycling than we do in the US! If you are not used to separating your trash, educate yourself a bit on what is compostable, what is recyclable and what is landfill trash. At big festivals or events you will find very trash cans (as mentioned above), but when you do, they will expect you to seperate it all into the correct containers.

Eating, Drinking & Smoking in Public

While I am not 100% if there are rules on this, but in general you will notice that the Japanese people do NOT eat, drink or smoke while walking. There are of course designated areas for smoking, which is not allowed all over the place. But for drinking your morning coffee on the way to the train station? Nope, you won’t see Japanese people do this. Is it an unspoken rule or just a custom I am not certain, but I tried to follow suit as much as I could. 

Throughout history, Japan has been a closed off society. Would you believe that almost 99% of the country is Japanese? The result is a unique culture with little Western influence and little English. So don’t be surprised if you ask questions or try to converse with people, but don’t receive much of a response. It’s not because they are rude, they simply know they can’t speak your language, and you likely can’t speak Japanese

Japanese Toilets Will Spoil You

Ok, one of the BEST things about Japan has to be their toilets. From the airport to public restrooms, you will find some really great toilets to literally write home about! My absolute favorite that I didn’t realize until I got back home was the heated seats. It really does feel so nice to sit down on a toasty toilet in the middle of the night. There are also several bidet options, drying options and of course also “privacy” sounds/music for many public toilets. Make sure to have your phone handy though as you may need to translate some of the buttons if they aren’t obvious. I have found myself stuff with the water on, not knowing how to turn it off! All of that said, you will also still find squat toilet options in most public bathrooms. They typically have a sign on the door indicating what type of toilet you can expect. 

Get an e-SIM For Your Phone

If you haven’t tried an e-SIM yet, you need to get on the wagon. They are SO easy to use, super affordable and available all over the world. For my recently 2 week trip, I used a 10 GB e-SIM card which allowed me to have data access wherever I went. While there is often free Wi-Fi around major cities, often the log-in screen is only in Japanese which makes it challenging to login quickly. Get $3 off your first purchase at AIRLO using my code: KARILY0402

Stay at Ryokan At Least Once

One of the coolest Japanese cultural experiences I can recommend is to stay in a ryokan. A ryokan is basically traditional Japanese inns. While they come in many forms these days including a super traditional ryokan where you sleep on the tatami mats, you can also opt for ones that do have more “western” beds. I have stayed in all various forms and personally I love being able to plop down in an actual bed, but for a one night experience I would recommend trying the super traditional way as well. 

As part of the experience, you might find that you have a traditional kaiseki meal for dinner or breakfast, you might also have no private shower in your room or  have to take your shoes off at the hotel entrance. It is so fun and cool to see Japanese locals having their dinner or breakfast in the provided yukata (robe in the room) and wearing the slippers. I find this to be one of the most immersive cultural experiences you can have in Japan and well worth the price tag. (Shockingly they are usually quite a bit more expensive than western style hotels).

Japan is Not THAT Expensive

Japan has a reputation of being an excessively expensive country. While it is definitely more expensive than it’s other Asian counterparts, it is also not as pricey as some places in Europe! There are ways to reduce your expenses quite easily. One recommendation to mix up accomodation options – stay in a traditional ryokan, but also stay in chain hotels like Tokyu Stay. We had a great room at Tokyu Stay with a washer/dryer in our room for less than $80 a night. There are plenty of small shops for meals that will run you $5-10 a meal, while more traditional kaiseki meals will cost more. The biggest expense tends to be transport between cities, so that is why it is important to price it out in advance and check for internal flights and getting the JR Pass.

Do NOT Lose (or Keep) Your Hotel Key Card

Traditional hotels still use actual keys, so those are much easier to keep track of and not loose. If you are worried about losing one, you can drop it off with reception before you go out for the day. 

Japan Trains Run VERY Timely

While I can’t say that Japanese trains run on time always because I have experienced delays with them, overwhelmingly they do run on a very tight schedule with very little disturbances. This is great as long as you are early, but it’s tough when you are running late! Always plan for delays in the train station and arrive with plenty of time.

Check for Seasonal Festivals

Regardless of when you visit Japan, there is sure to be some type of festival happening. These are often the best places to fully immerse yourself into the culture. For example, the cherry blossoms in the spring often have many festivals that accompany it, which can be quite fun. In Sapporo, there is an Autumn Festival in September that brings in tons of amazing food options every day for visitors to sample. 

Bring Snacks With You

Whether it is a bus or train journey, do not plan on food being available. There are no dining cars on trains regardless how many hours they are. We found out the hard way that we needed to always have water and snacks with us because options were not always available. Shockingly though, you can eat and drink on the long distance trains, just make sure to take all of your trash with you.

Tap Water is Safe to Drink

One of the best things about travelling in Japan is that the tap water is safe to drink. I loved not having to purchase water bottles all the time or worry about water being bad quality. I even drank from a mountain spring in Rishiri Island that was crisp and cold and so delicious. Bring you recyclable water bottle and fill up in the hotels every day instead of buying more plastic. 

Public Space & Japanese Etiquette

Japan has a concept called “ma” or personal space. Respect it, especially in crowded places with lots of people. Many of these etiquette rules are unspoken, but if you take time to look around you, you will notice that the Japanese people strictly adhere to them. Again, one of the best Japan travel tips I can provide is to look around you and follow what the locals are doing! 

Wear Your Bag In Front on Crowded Trains

In places like Paris or New York, you might see people wearing their backpacks on their front on busy trains, but in Japan this is not for safety as much as it is a respect for fellow passengers. When you wear your bag on the front you are making sure that you are not accidentally hitting other people. This culture is one that is very fond of respect for others and I just love this example!

Safety in Japan

Overall I feel VERY safe in Japan at all hours of the day and night. Trains can get super crowded and you will see people wearing their bags in front like I mentioned above, however that is not necessarily for safety as it might be in other cities. All of that said, I would still be aware of your belongings when in crowded public places and wear your mobile on a strap like this one to make sure it isn’t snatched!

Use Google Maps for Train Travel

If you don’t already use Google Maps, one of my top Japan travel tips is to download it now! One of the coolest features of Google maps is that it will tell you how to walk to a train station, which train to get on and even which exit to look for when you arrive to the destination train stations! However it is important to note that oftentimes your internet may not work in the subway stations, so it is a good idea to have it all loaded before you get underground. 

Expect Lines at Restaurants

Dietary restrictions are challenging.

In Tokyo you can often manage with dietary restrictions more easily, but once you leave the big city, it can often be quite challenging to deal with dietary restrictions. I personally am allergic to MSG, which meant asking everywhere if I could eat the food prepared. For the most part, most chef’s knew instantly whether they used it or not. In the more rural parts of Japan in the far north of Hokkaido, I ran into a few more challenges. If you are a strict vegetarian, it is also a bit cumbersome to find food that does not include any fish sauce as it seems to be included in a ton. Just take your time and ask around as there are often places that can cater to your needs. 

An International Drivers License is Required in Japan

If you plan to hire a car and self drive during your visit to Japan, make sure you acquire an International Driver’s license before you leave home. If you are in the US, this is easily obtained at AAA for around $20 in one day. This is just an additional piece of paper that says that yes, your license is for driving and you are able to drive outside of your home country. 

Japanese Wait for the Walking Sign

Just like in Germany, for the most part Japanese people do not jaywalk or cross until the walking sign is illuminated. I have seen a few people here and there cut across the road or go before the walk sign is lit up, but by far the general rule is that you wait patiently on the sidewalk!

Try All the Drinks, But Don’t Expect Much More than Coke

In Japan you will quickly notice that the only western drink you can purchase by and large is Coca Cola and not even diet, just regular coke. I was so surprised when our Japanese exchange student had never had a Sprite, but after my recent visit I was reminded why – it’s tough to come by! Only occasionally did I see a Sprite in a convenience store and almost never in a vending machine. Overall, you will be presented with a ton of drinks that are only Japanese!

Also, I found out after much sampling and discussion with our Japanese hosts – you will never find sweetened tea in the vending machines unless it is Chinese or American. They do not put sugar in their green tea at all. I purchased MANY tea varieties looking for a sweet option, with absolutely no luck!

Buy From ALL the Vending Machines

One of my top Japan travel tips includes buying stuff from the vending machines. I just love the vending machines in Japan. And I love that you can purchase almost anything in the world from them. At one of my onsen visits, they had a vending machine with underwear (new!), razors, earbuds and more. We saw a vending machine selling frozen ramen which would be the perfect take out food if you lived there. You will of course find drinks machines everywhere you go as well. My favorite one of the entire country has to be the “cake in a can” vending machine in Sapporo. The cake was amazing as is the concept. It was pricey, but worth it at least once. 

Another great one to look out for and try is a coffee vending machine. You can usually adjust how strong you want the coffee, how much sugar and how much milk. It is so fun to just pay 100 yen and have a hot coffee. Additionally, on most regular machines you can look for the signs that say hot/cold as some machines dispense BOTH hot and cold drinks. You want a hot tea, but your friend wants a cold drink. You got it. Seriously, these machines are the best and one of my favorite things to check out while wandering around towns!

Japan is a country with a rich culture and history, so embracing its traditions and customs can really enhance your travel experience.

There really is no “best time” to visit. There are distinct seasons, each offering unique experiences, so you do not have to only go during the high season of summer (or during the cherry blossom season in spring!). The colorful foliage in fall is worth a trip as is seeing the country blanketed in snow! Wherever you go, have fun and enjoy all the differences that you are sure to find!

MORE TRAVEL AROUND JAPAN

We hope you enjoyed these Japan travel tips! For more travel around Japan, see the links below:

• 3 week Classic Japan Itinerary in Photos: Tokyo, Kyoto, Snow Monkeys & More
• Get off the Beaten Path in Hokkaido: Rishiri & Rebun Islands
• The Best Food in Japan That You MUST Try!

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There’s no need to tip in Japan. Here’s what else travelers should know.

The Land of the Rising Sun has fascinated travelers for centuries, and this summer is no exception. 

Tokyo is among the top five international cities Americans are visiting this summer, according to Expedia and Google Flights. And with the exchange rate currently so strongly in Americans’ favor, it’s an especially good time to visit if you can take the hot and humid weather .

Before you book your flight though, there are some things you should know. From cultural customs to customs and immigration, here are 10 things to do when visiting Japan.

1. Learn basic Japanese

Some people, particularly in Tokyo, may speak English, but it’s best to learn a few basic phrases in Japanese like “hello,” “excuse me,” “where is the restroom?” and “thank you.” There are free tutorials available across social media and language apps like Duolingo or Babbel. 

You’ll also want to download a free translation app like Google Translate that can handle both verbal and written translation.

2. Fill out the Visit Japan Web form 

U.S. citizens don’t need a visa to visit Japan for stays under 90 days, but you will need to fill out a Visit Japan Web immigration and customs form . Save time by doing this in advance online instead of at the airport when you arrive.

What to know about Tokyo Disney Resort: Why Disney fans will travel all the way to Japan for its theme parks

3. Get a transit card 

A prepaid Suica or PASMO transit card isn’t just for public transportation. It can also be used to pay for things at vending machines, convenience stores and some shops. 

You can download a digital version through Apple Wallet or get a physical card once you arrive in Japan. Just keep it loaded with as much money as you want to spend.

4. Keep cash on hand

Cash is still king in some places, including food stalls and small shops that may not accept credit cards or digital payments. 

You can withdraw cash for low fees and fair exchange rates from ATMs at Japanese convenience stores like 7-Eleven. A Suica or PASMO card can tide you over until you can get to an ATM.

5. Skip the tip

There’s no tipping culture in Japan. In fact, some servers have been known to follow customers out and return tips like they were accidentally left behind. Instead of tipping at restaurants, offer thanks. 

Before eating, it’s customary to say “ itadakimasu ” like a quick prayer to show appreciation for the food and those who grew it. When you leave, you can say “ gochisousama deshita ” to staff to show gratitude for the meal.

6. Stand aside on escalators

In Tokyo, people stand to the left of escalators and keep the right side open for others walking up or down the moving steps. In Kyoto, like in most U.S. cities, people stand on the right. Don’t worry about trying to remember which side to stand on. It will be immediately clear once you’re there. Just do what everyone else is doing and don’t block foot traffic.

7. Keep the noise down on trains

It’s considered rude to talk on your cell phone or play music or videos out loud on subways and trains. You may hear some small groups of friends chatting, but many commuters keep quietly to themselves.

8. Wear or carry socks

Some places, like temples or restaurants with tatami mats, may require you to remove your shoes. If you’re not wearing socks, you may want to carry a clean pair with you, just in case.

9. Prepare to bare all at onsens

If you’re not comfortable sporting your birthday suit around others, you may want to skip public hot springs. Swimsuits and other garments aren’t allowed in the communal water. Some onsens may also bar tattoos or ask guests to cover them up with a patch. However, there are some tattoo-friendly onsens as well as private onsens available.

Additionally, it’s customary to shower before entering the springs to keep the water clean.

10. You’ll have to wait to open some souvenirs

If you plan to load up on Japanese beauty products, snacks and other consumables to take home, you can buy them tax-free at stores like Don Quixote, but they’ll seal them in a bag indicating they were purchased without paying tax. You can’t open the bag until you leave Japan. 

Bonus: Eat all the things, including at convenience stores or vending machines

From egg salad sandwiches to fresh onigiri rice balls, there’s so much good, affordable food in Japan. Don’t miss the delicious and cheap treats at Japanese convenience stores like 7-Eleven, Lawson and Family Mart. The same goes for the wide variety of readily available vending machines selling cold and hot drinks, depending on the season. 

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Kent State Student Journeys to Japan

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This summer, Sophia traveled to Japan on the Journey to Japan: Past and Present faculty-led program. Sophia is a Communications major with a minor in Japanese language, and she spent eleven days exploring the history of Japan in three of the country’s major cities: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. After her return, we asked her a few questions about her experience.

What made you decide to study abroad?

I think I have always been interested in studying abroad but prior to this trip, I had no concrete plans to do so. I am pretty shy and introverted, but I have always wanted to experience traveling. I think that for those who have the opportunity and/or ability to study abroad, they should consider it, if possible. I feel that the act of immersion when studying abroad is really impactful; it allows people to develop new perspectives and expand their existing ones as they learn more about the world. I actually think that people can find out a lot about themselves through traveling as they try new things and test the limitations of their comfort zones.

What made you choose the Journey to Japan: Past and Present program?

As I started taking Japanese language classes during the spring semester of my freshman year, it has now been a little over two years that I have been studying. I have since discovered my genuine passion for learning the language and hope to work in the field of translation someday. Prior to this trip, I had never been out of the country or ridden a plane. When I found out that my Japanese professor whom I’ve had for all but two Japanese courses, Eriko Tanaka, would be leading a short trip to Japan, I just felt that I needed to do whatever I could to go. Having her as an instructor has meant everything within my experience thus far in learning Japanese; she has been nothing but encouraging and supportive, allowing my curiosity and love for the language to grow more than I ever would’ve thought was possible. As soon as I knew taking a trip with her to her hometown of Osaka, Japan was a possibility, I had really hoped to go!

What was the coursework like?

As the trip was only eleven days in length and during a summer intersession, there wasn’t classwork during the actual trip itself. We had to turn in a paper before the trip regarding our expectations and what we hoped to take away from it, and a paper after the trip about our experiences and takeaways, in addition to a detailed survey.

What kinds of activities did you do on this program?

Although the trip was only eleven days, we visited three major cities, Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. To make the most out of the short periods of time we were in each city, our itineraries were packed with various activities and experiences. While in Tokyo, we were able to visit a few different districts such as Shibuya, Harajuku, and Shinjuku. My favorite thing that we did in Tokyo was attending the exhibitions at teamLab Planets, a modern art museum. The exhibits combined elements of nature with technology in ways that were interesting, sensual, and beautiful. My favorite one consisted of a room surrounded by mirrors on all sides, with hundreds of live orchids suspended from the ceiling, moving up and down. Throughout the course of the trip, we also visited a variety of temples and shrines. While in Kyoto, we went to the Fushimi Inari shrine known for its thousands of red gates and hiked up the many stairs to the top of Mount Inari, seeing beautiful scenery along the way. Also while in Kyoto, we visited the Arashiyama district, and we able to see its well-known bamboo forests. Another activity I enjoyed was going to the Ryoan-ji temple, a Zen Buddhist temple also in Kyoto. There, we were able to visit its famous rock garden that was beautiful and serene. Throughout the course of the trip, we were able to combine aspects of the past and present by visiting both historical and modern sites within each city. Not only were we able to visit ancient landmarks, but we also got to see modern landmarks such as Shibuya Sky and the Umeda Sky Building in Osaka. 

What was your favorite thing you learned as part of the course?

In taking this course, I was able to gain insight into both Japanese history and modern culture. I just enjoyed getting to experience the cultural differences that exist in Japan in comparison to the United States, especially through seemingly simple things like riding the subway and visiting convenience stores. It was interesting to see what daily life and routine look like for those living in another country.

What was your favorite thing you experienced in Japan?

It is so hard to pick a single favorite experience from the trip in its entirety but one of my favorite things we did was taking a day trip to Nara prefecture. Deer are considered sacred and symbolic within the prefecture as Nara Park is home to over 1,000 deer that roam freely and are accustomed to human contact and interaction. I really enjoyed getting to explore the scenery of Nara Park and interacting with the deer there. I was so surprised to see that the deer often bow at passerby in hopes of receiving a snack!

Which was your favorite city that you visited while in Japan? Tokyo, Kyoto, or Osaka?

I think my favorite city that I visited would be Tokyo. Tokyo was the city I was most nervous to travel to just because of its large size and population, but I ended up really enjoying it there. Something that surprised me was that despite the city’s modern landscapes, I was still able to see elements of nature everywhere. I also liked the fact that traveling to different districts within the city was easily accessible.

What was it like traveling with other Kent State students and your faculty members?

Something that I enjoyed about the trip was that I had people to share my experiences with. I was very grateful to have gone on the trip with two of my friends; we had a great time together and now have lots of positive shared memories! And like I mentioned earlier, one of the main reasons I wanted to do this study abroad program was to have the opportunity to travel alongside my professor, Eriko Tanaka. I found it meaningful that we got to visit her hometown with her. We were able to visit places where she grew up going to frequently, and I enjoyed learning more about her.

Did you try any new foods or dishes and what did you think? What is your top food recommendation for students studying abroad in Japan?

I know this may sound a bit silly, but my friends and I got most of our meals from different convenience stores throughout the trip! Japanese convenience stores are known for the wide variety of drinks and snacks they have available to purchase. I enjoyed trying different kinds of onigiri (Japanese rice balls) and Japanese sweet breads with filling inside, but I enjoyed trying Japanese ice cream most of all! My favorite was the Baskin Robbin’s flavor unique to Japan called “popping shower”; white chocolate and mint ice cream with popping candy mixed inside.

How do you think this experience has impacted you personally?

As I am someone who likes to live within the parameters of their comfort zone, I had felt nervous to travel overseas and without my family for the first time. However, by the end of the trip, I had felt very grateful that I had taken the opportunity when I did. I think that this trip allowed me to realize that I am braver and more willing to try new things than I previously thought I was.

Do you think this experience has impacted your future studies at Kent State or your career?

Being in Japan was inspirational as I was able to be immersed among the language I have been learning for the last two years; I think immersion is a very important aspect when it comes to studying foreign languages, and I feel so grateful that I had the opportunity to do so. I really enjoyed being in Japan and will be considering going back to work or study there after I graduate. Being able to visit Japan has not only inspired me to keep working hard, but it has also allowed me to feel as though I am continuing to travel on the right path in terms of my future aspirations.

Is there any advice you have for future study abroad students doing this program?

I think I would just advise future study abroad students to appreciate the small and simple things, and to try to remain present as much as possible. Because time traveling can be very overwhelming and fleeting, I think it’s important to find the value in just remaining present.

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