25 MUST KNOW Phrases when Traveling to Japan

Are you traveling to Japan anytime soon or maybe in the future? Well, not many people speak English here, especially in smaller cities or countryside. So learning a few key Japanese phrases will make your trip smoother and also it will help you connect with the locals. And also people will definitely appreciate you for doing that. So today I'll teach you 25 essential Japanese travel phrases so that you will feel more confident traveling in Japan. And also I've got something special to share with you later. So stick around and let's just dive into it. All right, now let's first start with the basic phrases. First one is Thank you. Now this is a polite way to say thank you to somebody. You might have heard which is a casual version. So if you're talking to a friend, you can say that. But if you're traveling, you don't know anybody, is the way to go. Now next one is Excuse me, I'm sorry and thank you. Well, there are different ways to use this. First one is when you want to say excuse me at the restaurant. If you don't say to the server, they might not come take your order. So don't be afraid. Just say Or if you're in a packed place and you want to go through between people, you can say Another way is it also means I'm sorry. So if you want to apologize for something that might happen, you can say Now next phrase is Yes, please. Now this phrase comes in handy wherever you go. Even if you don't understand what exactly people are saying in Japan, especially like restaurants when you have interactions with people, maybe you can tell from the gesture. Like for example, you're eating and the server comes with the water pointing at your empty glass. They might say But even if you don't understand, you can tell from the context and you can say Or you go to a convenience store. They are holding chopsticks asking If you see chopsticks, you can say Now next one is opposite. No, thank you. Or no, I'm good. You can say No, I'm okay. Iie is no. Daijoubu desu is I'm okay. So for example, if you don't want a bag at the convenience store, you can say Or you don't need any more water. Now next one is Do you understand English? Eigo is English. Do you understand? And if they do, they will say, they will probably speak to you in English. Just to not scare people off with the English phrase. It'll be nice to ask that in Japanese. So you can probably communicate with people even more. All right. Next one is I don't understand. When something is going on and you really don't understand, you can just say Yeah. Combining with sumimasen will be more humble way to say, sorry, I don't understand. Now next phrase is when you understood, you can say I got it. I understood. When you say the previous phrase, maybe the person will try to do more gestures or try to communicate with translator or something. Then maybe you will understand. Then you can say And then combine with thank you. Now next one is, if you want someone to hold on a second, you can say Please wait a moment. Means a little. It's please wait. Like for example, at the airport, you get asked to show your passport. Your passport is still in the bag. You can say And then buy some time to show the passport. So again Now when it comes to traveling in Japan, I think one of the difficult tasks is navigating the city, especially in Tokyo. Have you seen the Tokyo train map? Oh, it drives me crazy every time. And I still have to ask even as a local. So the next phrase is Where is the place? The words that you're going to be using with this phrase might be Restroom Station Sen is line. So Yamanote line will be But back to this phrase For example, you're looking for the restroom. You can say If you're looking for a station, you don't know where the exit is. You can say It can be a specific station. Or if you're looking for a specific line, let's say Yamanote line, you can say And the person will probably point at the direction or maybe take you to that line. The next phrase is Do you have something? Now with this phrase, you can use these words. For example, English menu Recommendations So for example, maybe you want to save data and you want to use the Wi-Fi at the restaurant or cafe. You can say Or you go to a restaurant and you see the Japanese menu only. You don't know what it's saying. You can say Well, same thing for the guide. Like at the museum or amusement park, there's a guide. You want the English version. You can say Or when you go to a restaurant, you don't know what to order, even in English. Or maybe they only have Japanese menu and you want to ask what's their recommendation if you're adventurous and want to order the ones that they recommend. You can say Do you have any recommendation? Now next phrase is And then they say yes. You can say And Wi-Fi is Wi-Fi. Password is password. What is it? Sometimes you just have to ask the staff to know the password. So go ask. Now next phrase comes in handy when you buy a ticket, like train ticket or get on a cab. Which is To this place, please. So is please. For example, you are going from Tokyo station to Kyoto station by Shinkansen and you want to buy a ticket. You can say And you can get a ticket. Also, when you're getting on a cab, you can tell the taxi driver. For example, If you want to go to Asakusa. Next one is telling where you want to go. For example, if you want to go to Osaka, you can say For example, if you want to go to this famous Hachiko statue, you can say Now next phrase is Is this bus going to this place? For example, let's say you're going to Shibuya and you want to make sure the bus is going to Shibuya, your destination. So you can say Will it go? You can also ask about the train if you want. You can change the bus to densha. So yeah, just insert the destination name here and use this. What I like about traveling is trying out different types of food. And I'm sure that you will be going to different restaurants, trying out different Japanese food, also going shopping. So the next phrase is How much is this? How much? If you want to ask the price for something you have or something near you, you can say If it's something near the person you're talking to, but not close to you, you can say If it's something that's away from you and the listener, you can say It's that one over there. Now, next one is Can I use credit card? Now, Japan is still big on cash. So you should always have to carry cash just in case you want to buy something, but they only accept cash. But if you want to use credit card, you can ask If you want to use different payment method, like Apple Pay, you can say Or what's convenient is IC card. IC card is the transportation card. There are many different types of cards depending on where you get the card from, like and so on. You can charge the card and use it at convenience store or sometimes supermarket, shopping, like some places accept that card. So you can ask Or you can just say Now, with next phrase, you can tell which payment method you're using. You can say I'll pay with credit card, please. You can use different payment method, like Apple Pay. IC card, transportation card. So you could also say if you're going to pay with cash or if you want to pay with Apple Pay. But pro tip is, again, always bring cash, but also don't forget to bring your physical card. Even if it's saved in your Apple Pay, some places do accept credit card, but don't accept the touch payment. You have to have the physical card and insert it. Next phrase, you don't need to say it, but you will hear it a lot, which is Welcome in. Now, whenever you go to a store or restaurant, the store staffs will say to welcome you in. If you want to say something or do something back to them, you can just give a little bow. Or maybe say or, you know, those greeting phrase. But normally we don't say anything back to them. Just give a little bow if you want. Yeah, just smile. Now, next phrase you will hear at the restaurant. How many people? Now, you will hear it like this. You go to a restaurant, and you will hear You can just do the gesture. One, two, three, four, five people. If you want to respond in Japanese, you should know how to count people. One person is So, for instance, if you are two people together, then you can say Yeah, and this at the end, we're two people. Or if you're a party of three, you can say So, this is how it goes. Now, next phrase is when you are ordering or getting something to buy, then you can say Please give me something. For example, if you want this, this in Japanese, well, not this, but this in Japanese is So, you can say Let's say that you go to a convenience store and you want the deli from, do you say deli food? The staff should get it for you. Then you can say pointing at it. Or if you know the name of the thing you are getting, you can say, for example, You can also use this phrase at a restaurant. For example, if there is a picture, you can point at the menu and say means this Or you can read out the menu name like So, let's go back to convenience store and you want maybe two famichikis and you can say Now, here you need to know the counters again. The counters that are very useful are two counters. So, one to five is So, let's get two famichikis. You can say Or if you don't know the name, but you can point at it, you can say if you want three of that. So, it's always It's opposite from English. Now, next phrase is Now, this phrase can do exact same thing as You go to a restaurant and point at the menu and say But the words you should know with are these two Well, it means check, but not the slip of check. It means action of paying. Also, So, you can say, for example, when you want to pay, you can say You could also do this, but it's nice to say and tell them Also, when you go to supermarket, convenience store, if you need a bag, you can say Now, next phrase is Thank you for the meal. Now, this is a greeting phrase after eating. So, you can put hands together and say at the table. But you can also say this as you leave the restaurant to thank for the chef and the staff who served you food and also for the food. So, thank you for the service and for the food. As you leave. Don't say sayonara. That means like goodbye forever. We don't say that. We say Just like this, Japan has a lot of unique cultural differences and also etiquette. And I often hear from so many of you saying it's difficult to decide which place to go. I'm overwhelmed to decide where to go. There's too many options. So, to make your trip easier, I created this wonder guide, a walking guide app that will help you explore Tokyo easier and stress-free. It's got eight curated tours with over 75 spots that include must-visit popular spots and hidden gems and also my recommendations. It's not just a checklist of places. I didn't want to throw you all the places to choose from and also I wanted it to feel like having an actual guide. So, the tours are already curated and also as you walk, you'll hear my audio teaching you all the cool history, cultural aspects of the spot and also fun facts. Like for example, you go to Hachiko statue and you wonder why there are so many people around it and why is it so popular. I'll be teaching you that through the audio. And of course, I'm a Japanese teacher. So, I included Japanese language tips, culture and etiquette and travel advice. So, you know what to say and how to act at different situations. So, basically, it's like having me as a local guide and language teacher along with you in your pocket. If that sounds helpful, check out getwonderguide.com slash nihongo dekita or check out the link below. Now, we still have three more phrases to learn. The next phrase is お弁当を温めますか? Would you like to heat up your bento? お弁当を温めますか? So, this phrase you will hear when you go to a convenience store and buying a bento. So, you don't have to remember how to say this, but you want to understand. お弁当を温めますか? And if you like to heat it up, how do you say, yes, please? はい、お願いします。 If you don't need to heat it up, how do you say, no, I'm okay. No, it's good. いいえ、大丈夫です。 Did you remember those phrases? Now, next phrase is for taking pictures. If you want somebody to take a picture for you, you can say, 写真撮ってもらってもいいですか? 写真 is picture. 撮って is to take. もらっても to receive. So, take it for me. いいですか? Is it okay? Could you take a picture for me, please? I know this phrase is a bit long. If you want to make it shorter, you can say, 写真いいですか? すみません、写真いいですか? And if you do 写真いいですか? then with the gesture, you can show that you want a picture of you, but 写真いいですか? can also mean can I take a picture with you too. It's not specific. But the longer one, 写真撮ってもらってもいいですか? is you want a picture of you taken by that someone. So, 写真撮ってもらってもいいですか? Now, the last phrase is よかったら撮りましょうか? If you'd like, may I take a photo for you? よかったら撮りましょうか? So, よかったら is if you'd like. 撮りましょうか? May I take it for you? When somebody takes a picture for you, maybe you want to return the favor for them. So, よかったら撮りましょうか? And what we always say is はい、チーズ! I really hope that these phrases will help your travel go smoother and you can enjoy the trip fully and enjoy the interactions with Japanese people. So, if you found this video helpful, like お願いします and also subscribe お願いします. And I would like to hear about your trip and also if you happen to find something difficult or challenging, let me know. I'd love to help through the video. So, yeah, let me know in the comments. And yeah, I will see you in the next video. 最後まで見てくれてありがとう! またね!