HOW TO USE THIS HANDBOOK TABLE OF CONTENTS

Welcome to Japan!
This handbook is designed to help you communicate 1. ON THE STREET  1
better with Japanese. To use it, look over the Table Q & A for getting to your destination

of Contents first. You will find that each section has
useful examples of conversation for you. 2. AT A STATION, TERMINAL, TICKET WINDOW,
When you need help, just show this page to and so on (TRANSPORTATION)
someone so she/he can understand how to use  3
Q & A concerning transportation
this handbook too. Then point to your question 
written both in English and in Japanese. Or, you
can read aloud the questions written in Romanized 3. AT A TRAVEL AGENCY
 6
characters. The Japanese person you are talking
Q & A on making reservations and buying
to should then be able to answer your question. tickets
Please remember that when you want to ask
someone for help, you should begin your question 4. AT A RENT-A-CAR OFFICE  7
Q & A on procedures for car rental
by saying Su-mi-ma-sen (Excuse me) as a polite

way to get the person's attention. And it is
considered polite to say A-ri-ga-tou (Thank you) 5. AT A RESTAURANT  9
Q & A on eating out
after your question has been answered. We

sincerely hope that you will gain a better Explanation of Japanese food
understanding of Japan and its people.
We look forward to welcoming you back! 6. AT AN ACCOMMODATION FACILITY
 14
Q & A at a reception desk of an
accommodation facility


I am a traveler from abroad. Q & A at a Ryokan (Japanese inn)

I am having trouble since I don't speak
7. AT A STORE, SHOPPING MALL, and so on
Japanese.
 17

8. AT A HOSPITAL, MEDICAL CLINIC, PHARMACY,
Please point to the appropriate answer in this and so on  19
Patients
booklet. Doctor
Receptionist & pharmacist

9. USEFUL JAPANESE PHRASES

 23
1 ON THE STREET
Examples of destinations
Facilities
ATM bank
Q&A for getting to your destination
botanical gardens bus stop

coin lockers downtown
Where am I now on this map? hotel hospital
Iaundromat lavatory
movie theater museum

museum of art park
You are here. police box (Koban) post office
public bath public telephone
How can I get to ? rent-a-bike counter
rent-a-car counter
ryokan (Japanese inn) station


taxi stand travel agency
tourist information office
If you walk ( straight / to the right / to the left ) youth hostel zoo
for minutes, you will find it on the ( right /
left ) side. Stores
animation character goods shop
bookstore
I will take you there. Please follow me. convenience store
department store duty-free shop

electric appliance shop

100-yen shop 100
You need to take a ( bus / train / subway / taxi ) stationery store pharmacy
to get there. Please ask (the driver / a station karaoke
officer). supermarket
internet caf
souvenir store
I'm sorry, I don't know. Please ask someone grocery store beauty parlor
else.

I'm afraid there isn't one near here.

1 2
2
AT A STATION, TERMINAL, TICKET
WINDOW, and so on (TRANSPORTATION)
How long does it take to ?

Q&A concerning transportation


It takes hour minutes.
Which ( bus / train ) do I take to go to ?
How much is the fare to ?

It's yen.
Get on at platform / bus stop number .
What time does the next ( train / bus ) leave?



Take the number bus.

It will leave at : .


Where can I buy the ticket?

Please be careful, the doesn't stop there.
Where can I buy a one-day pass?
Where do I get off to go to ?

Please buy it at the vending machine.

Please get off at .
You can buy it at the ticket window over there.

( )
Please change to the train for ( ) at Please buy it at the window named Midori no
. madoguchi.

3 4
 ( showing the pass ) I'd like to use this pass to
get a reserved seat ticket.
3 AT A TRAVEL AGENCY


Q&A on making reservations and

 buying tickets
No-smoking seat, please.
I'd like to make a reservation for a place to stay
tonight.
May I have a route map?

Is a room for person(s) within a price range

( showing a ticket or pass ) Can I take this ( bus of about ( ) yen available?
/ train) with this ( ticket / pass )? 1

Is there accommodation ( near here / downtown

/ near )?

Yes, you can.

No. I'm afraid you can't use this ( ticket / pass ). A c c o m m o d a t i o n i n t h a t p r i c e r a n g e i s n o t
available.

Yes, you can take this ( bus / train ) but an
additional charge of yen is necessary. Yes. How about this place?

Does this ( bus / train ) go to ?

Your reservation has been made. The name of
your accommodation facility is .
How much does it cost to get to ?
I'd like to take the cheapest way to get to
.
How long does it take to get to ?

I'd like to take the quickest way to get to .

5 6
4 AT A RENT-A-CAR OFFICE
 Could I return the car somewhere else?

Q&A on procedures for car rental


Yes, you could but an extra charge is necessary.
I have a reservation. My name is .


I don't have a reservation but I'd like to hire a car I'm sorry you can't. Please return it to this office.
for days.

May I see your passport and driver's license?
Do you have a car for person(s)?

May I take a photocopy of your passport and
driver's license?

This type of car is fully booked today. How
about another type? We are sorry but this driver's license is invalid in
Japan.
How much is it?
What kind of insurance is available?


Here is the tariff.
Please read the attached sheets with regard to
Do you take credit cards? insurance.

I'm afraid we can't accept this credit card. Please read the attached sheets, and if you
agree to all the terms and conditions of this
rental, please sign here.

Please return the car with a full tank of fuel.

7 8
5 AT A RESTAURANT
Examples of ingredients
alcoholic beverages
beef buckwheat
Q&A on eating out
chicken clam

coffee crab
Do you have no-smoking seats? cuttlefish / squid egg
fish Japanese sake
lobster milk
Do you have an English menu? monosodium glutamate
octopus peanuts
pork prawn
I'd like to order a dish displayed outside. Could shellfish
you come with me? shrimp soy bean
tea
wheat
wine
I'd like what that person is eating.
Explanation of Japanese food
Tempura
Could I have it without please? Japanese-style crispy deep-fried vegetables,
seafood and fish
Sukiyaki
Do you have a vegetarian menu? Stew with beef, bean curd, leeks and other
vegatables
Shabushabu
Could you show me how to eat this? Do-it-yourself style dish with thin slices of meat
and vegetables dipped in boiling water and eaten
with various sauces
I'd like a (fork / spoon / knife) please. Ramen
Chinese noodles in hot soup with slices of pork
and vegetables
I'm allergic to . Oden
Japanese hotchpotch made primarily with fried
fish cakes
I can't eat / drink for religious Yakitori
reasons. Chicken or vegetable shish kebab dipped in

sauces

9 10
 Tonkatsu Tai (sea bream) Tako (octopus)
Deep-fried, bread-crumbed pork cutlet served with Tamago (egg)
shredded cabbage Tekka-maki (tuna roll)
Nabemono Torigai (cockle)
Japanese stew, often containing fish or chicken Hamachi (young yellowtail)
Okonomi yaki Hirame (flatfish)
A thin flat cake of unsweetened batter mixed with Hotate (scallop)
seafood and vegetables and cooked on a hotplate. Maguro (tuna)
Tako yaki Akami (red-flesh fish)
Ball-shaped pancake containing a piece of Chuu-toro (fat-marbled tuna)
octopus Oo-toro (densely fat-marbled tuna)
Yaki soba Mirugai (surf clam)
Fried noodles with meat and vegetables Soba and Udon (Japanese noodles)
Makunouchi bentou Soba and udon are Japanese noodles. Soba is
A packed lunch with meat, fish, vegetables and made from buckwheat flour and udon is made
boiled rice from wheat flour. Udon is thick and white while
Various "Sushi" Soba is darker and thinner. The name of the
Aoyagi (round clam) soba or udon dish varies with the topping.
Akagai (ark shell) Mori soba
Aji (pompano / horse mackerel / jack) (Noodles served cold and dipped in cold sauce)
Anago (steamed conger eel) Zaru soba
Awabi (abalone) (Noodles served cold with strips of dry seaweed
Ika (cuttlefish / squid) and dipped in cold sauce with horse radish and
Ikura (salmon roe) chopped green onions)
Iwashi (sardine) Tenzaru
Uni (raw sea urchin) (Zaru soba with deep-fried prawns and/or
Ume-maki (Japanese pickled plum roll) vegetables)
Ebi (prawn / shrimp) Tororo soba
Kazunoko (salted herring roe) (Mori soba served topped with grated yam)
Katsuo (bonito) / Kakesoba/udon
Kappa-maki (cucumber roll) (soba/udon served in hot soup)
Kani (crab) / Tempura soba/udon
Kampyo-maki (Kakesoba/udon with fried prawns and/or
(seasoned gourd-shavings roll) vegetables)
Sake (salmon) Saba (mackerel) / Tsukimi soba/udon
Shinko-maki (pickled white radish roll) (Kake soba/udon served topped with raw egg)

11 12
 Kitsune soba/udon
(Kakesoba/udon served topped with deep-fried
6 AT AN ACCOMMODATION FACILITY


bean curd)
Karee udon
Q&A at a reception desk of an accommodation
facility
(Noodles served in hot, curry-flavored soup)
Chikara udon My name is . I have a reservation.
(Kakeudon with rice cakes)
Donburi-mono (rice and topping in a bowl)
Donburi-mono is a substantial dish with boiled
white rice and various ingredients served in a Do you have no-smoking (floors / rooms) ?
large bowl called a donburi. The name of this dish
varies according to the ingredients. You can eat
this dish at specialty shops and noodle shops. Can I see the room?
Gyuu don
(Boiled rice topped with beef and onions cooked
in sauce) Since I'd like to go out right now, please keep my
Katsu don baggage.
(Boiled rice topped with deep-fried, bread-
crumbed pork cutlet, onions and softly
scrambled egg cooked in sauce) Is there a restaurant you can recommend around
Oyako don here?
(Boiled rice topped with chicken, onions and
slightly scrambled egg cooked in sauce )
Ten don I have no reservation tonight. But do you have a
(Boiled rice topped with deep-fried vegetables room for person(s)?
and seafood with sauce )

Unajuu
(Boiled rice topped with grilled eel dipped in a 1


special sauce ) Yes. It's yen per person per night
(without meals / with breakfast).

I'm sorry, but all the rooms are occupied tonight.

May I see your passport for identification?

13 14
 Please change the room because . Could you send my baggage to ( Airport
/ my next destination )?

Examples of the reasons
it is dirty
it is too small
it is noisy ( outside / in the next room )

Q &A a t a R y o k a n ( J a p a n e s e i n n )
there is no ( bathroom / toilet ) 
Can I eat meals in my room?
it is ( hot / cold )
the view is not good
I'd like to buy a yukata (cotton kimono) as a
I'd like to cancel the reservation. souvenir.

Can I stay more night(s)? Can I buy the sweet that was served in my room?

Yes. Thank you very much.

I'm sorry, it's full on .

Can I pay by credit card?

Do you take travelers' checks?

Could you call a taxi for me, please?

15 16
7 AT A STORE, SHOPPING MALL,and
so on Can I try this on?

Q&A on shopping
I want a one. (color)
Is this made in Japan?

Examples of colors
Do you sell ? beige black
blue brown
gray green
Examples of the items khaki orange
antiques batteries pink purple
cameras CD Players CD red white
clothes cosmetics yellow
digital audio players
electrical appliances Do you have instructions in English?
food Japanese swords
jewelry kimonos
kitchenware lacquer ware Could you send this overseas?
medicine picture postcards
pottery shoes
stationery Could you gift-wrap this please?
telephone cards
traditional crafts
ukiyo-e Can I buy this duty-free?

Do you have a ( bigger / smaller ) one?
Can I use this overseas?

Do you have the same one in a different ( color /
design )? Can you make it a cheaper?

Could you change this for me please?

17 18
8 AT A HOSPITAL, MEDICAL CLINIC,
PHARMACY, and so on I have palpitations.
Doki ga shimasu.

From patients
My ears are ringing.
I want to see a .(medical doctor) Miminari ga shimasu.

I feel dizzy.
Examples of medical departments Memai ga shimasu.
dentist dermatologist
ear, nose and throat doctor A rash has appeared.
obstetrician-gynecologist Hosshin ga dete imasu.
ophthalmologist
pediatrician physician I have a fever.
surgeon Netsu ga arimasu.

I have a stomachache. I don't have an appetite.

Onaka ga itai desu.. Shokuyoku ga arimasen.

I feel sick. I fell down and hit my ( ).

Hakike ga shimasu. Tento shite (
) o uchimashita..
I have diarrhea.
Geri o shiteimasu. Examples of physical parts
ankle kurubushi

I have a headache. back
senaka
buttock oshiri
Atama ga itai desu. elbow hiji
head atama
knee hiza
shoulder kata
I have a sore throat.
Nodo ga itai desu. I am allergic to ( antibiotic / aspirin /
).( Koseibusshitsu / asupirin / ) ni
I have a runny nose. arerugii ga arimasu.
Hanamizu ga demasu.

I have a cough.
Seki ga demasu.

19 20
 I have had a ( sharp / dull / throbbing / Examples of medicine
continuous ) pain since days ago. Medicine for
a cold diarrhea
constipation stomachache
fever headache
PMS-related pain
relieving fatigue
From doctors
an insect bite disinfection

Do you take any medication? liquid medicine tablet(s)
powdered medicine ointment
eye drops
Have you had any operations lately? hot / cold compress

Please come and see me again ( tomorrow / the

day after tomorrow / days from now).

Please try to rest for at least ( ) days.

From receptionists or pharmacists



1


This medicine should be taken times a
day ( before meals / after meals / between meals
/ before sleep ). Take only ( ) tablet(s) at
one time.

21 22
9 USEFUL JAPANESE PHRASES

Questions and requests

Can I ask you a question? 

Greetings
 Otazune shitai no desuga.
Good morning.  I don't understand Japanese.
 Ohayo gozaimasu. 
Good afternoon.   Watashi wa Nihongo ga wakarimasen.
 Konnichiwa. Do you speak English? 
Good evening.   Anata wa Eigo ga hanasemasuka?
 Kombanwa. Does anyone here speak English?
How do you do.  
 Hajimemashite.  Eigo o hanasu hito wa imasuka?
My name is .  Where is/are ? 
 Watashi wa to moshimasu.  wa doko desuka?
I'm from .  Do you have ? 
 Watashi wa kara kimashita.  wa arimasuka?
Nice to meet you.  What is this/it/that?  / /
 Oai dekite ureshii desu.  Kore/sore/are wa nan desuka?
How are you?  How much does this cost? 
 Ogenki desuka?  Kore wa ikura desuka?
Good-bye.  Please say it slowly. 
 Sayonara.  Yukkuri itte kudasai.
Good night.  Please say it again. 
 Oyasuminasai.  Moichido itte kudasai.
Please write it down here.

Gratitude and apology
 Sore o kokoni kaite kudasai.
Thank you.  Show me , please. 
 Arigato gozaimasu.  o misete kudasai.
You are welcome.  Give me , please. 
 Doitashimashite.  o kudasai.
Excuse me.  , please. 
 Sumimasen.  o onegai shimasu.
I'm sorry.  Wait a moment, please. 
 Gomennasai.  Chotto matte kudasai

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