The travel toolkit.

Transport, the Suica card, table manners, and enough to decipher a shop sign. What you need to know before you leave, and what we prepare for you on arrival.

駅

The metro and the Shinkansen

The network is methodical once you have the key to it: colour-coded lines, arrowed interchanges, numbered platforms. The Shinkansen links the major cities at more than 300 km/h, with a punctuality that has become legendary. We explain how to book, where to stand on the platform, and how to string connections together without stress.

円

The Suica card

One card, and Japanese daily life opens up: metro, buses, trains, vending machines, konbini, luggage lockers. You top it up at a machine in seconds and off you go. We have it ready for you the moment you arrive.

食

Chopsticks

Holding them is not so difficult; the right reflexes are a little harder. Never stand them upright in the rice, never pass food from hand to hand with them, never point with them. A few simple rules, and a meal that passes without a hitch.

Already on the site: JR Pass · Takkyubin · seasons · budget

LANGUAGE

Two alphabets, fifteen kanji, thirty phrases.

· enough to read a sign and order a meal.

Hiragana

	a	i	u	e	o
	a あ	i い	u う	e え	o お
k	ka か	ki き	ku く	ke け	ko こ
s	sa さ	shi し	su す	se せ	so そ
t	ta た	chi ち	tsu つ	te て	to と
n	na な	ni に	nu ぬ	ne ね	no の
h	ha は	hi ひ	fu ふ	he へ	ho ほ
m	ma ま	mi み	mu む	me め	mo も
y	ya や		yu ゆ		yo よ
r	ra ら	ri り	ru る	re れ	ro ろ
w	wa わ				wo を
n	n ん

Katakana

Same sounds, different alphabet, used for foreign words and shop signs.

	a	i	u	e	o
	a ア	i イ	u ウ	e エ	o オ
k	ka カ	ki キ	ku ク	ke ケ	ko コ
s	sa サ	shi シ	su ス	se セ	so ソ
t	ta タ	chi チ	tsu ツ	te テ	to ト
n	na ナ	ni ニ	nu ヌ	ne ネ	no ノ
h	ha ハ	hi ヒ	fu フ	he ヘ	ho ホ
m	ma マ	mi ミ	mu ム	me メ	mo モ
y	ya ヤ		yu ユ		yo ヨ
r	ra ラ	ri リ	ru ル	re レ	ro ロ
w	wa ワ				wo ヲ
n	n ン

Fifteen kanji useful when travelling

Kanji	Reading	Meaning
日	hi / nichi	day, sun
本	hon	origin, book (日本 = Japan)
人	hito / jin	person
大	dai / oo	large
小	shou / chii	small
中	chuu / naka	middle, inside
出	shutsu / de	exit, to go out
入	nyuu / hai	entrance, to enter
口	kuchi / kou	opening (出口 = exit)
駅	eki	station
円	en	yen
山	yama / san	mountain
川	kawa	river
東	higashi / tou	east (東京 = Tokyo)
京	kyou	capital (京都 = Kyoto)

Around thirty useful phrases

English	Japanese (romaji)
Good morning, good afternoon	Konnichiwa
Good evening	Konbanwa
Goodbye	Sayonara
Thank you	Arigatou gozaimasu
Thank you very much	Doumo arigatou gozaimasu
Please	Onegaishimasu
Excuse me, sorry	Sumimasen
Yes	Hai
No	Iie
I do not understand	Wakarimasen
Do you speak English?	Eigo o hanasemasu ka
How much is it?	Ikura desu ka
Where are the toilets?	Toire wa doko desu ka
The bill, please	Okaikei onegaishimasu
It is delicious	Oishii desu
One / two / three people	Hitori / Futari / San-nin
I would like…	… o kudasai
Without (ingredient, allergy)	… nashi de
Where is the station?	Eki wa doko desu ka
What time does the train leave?	Densha wa nanji ni demasu ka
I am lost	Michi ni mayoimashita
Could you help me?	Tetsudatte moraemasu ka
How much is it to…?	… made ikura desu ka
A ticket to…	… made no kippu o kudasai
Where can I buy…?	… wa doko de kaemasu ka
I am allergic to…	… arerugii ga arimasu
Help	Tasukete
Call an ambulance	Kyuukyuusha o yonde kudasai
Where is the hospital?	Byouin wa doko desu ka
Before eating	Itadakimasu
After eating	Gochisousama deshita