Getting around in Japanese
Left, right, the station, one ticket, where is the toilet. Play the ten Japanese words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 10 Japanese phrases in this lesson
- γγ€γ¬γ―γ©γγ§γγTOY-reh wa DOH-ko des-KAH
- Where is the toilet?
- ...γΈγ―γ©γθ‘γγ°γγγ§γγeh wa DOH i-KEH-ba EE des-ka
- How do I get to...?
- ε·¦γΈhi-da-RI eh
- To the left
- ε³γΈmi-GI eh
- To the right
- γΎγ£γγmas-SU-gu
- Straight ahead
- γγko-KO
- Here
- ι§ EH-ki
- Train station
- γγΉBA-su
- Bus
- η©ΊζΈ―KOO-koh
- Airport
- ε符γδΈζγι‘γγγΎγkip-PU o ichi-MAI o-ne-GAI shi-mas
- One ticket, please
Japanese public toilets are free, spotless and everywhere: stations, konbini, department stores. The heated-seat control panels are an adventure; the big button with music notes is a privacy sound.
A satisfying word to say. Taxi drivers understand massugu, migi, hidari, and that trio plus a map pin is a complete navigation system.
Koko (here), soko (there), asoko (over there). Showing a taxi driver the destination on your phone and saying γγγι‘γγγΎγ, here please, is the standard move.
The center of all Japanese life. ζ±δΊ¬ι§ is Tokyo Station. Station names are romanized on every sign, and train announcements repeat in English on all major lines.
Many city buses are boarded at the back and paid at the front on exit.
Honestly: skip tickets, get a Suica or Pasmo IC card and tap through everything. For the shinkansen, machines have full English menus and take cards.