Japanese at a Tourist Information Center: Maps, Buses and Passes

Finding the tourist information centre

The Japanese word is kankō annaijo, literally sightseeing guidance office. At a large station you will often see signs saying kankō annai or tsūrisuto infomēshon, along with a question mark or a letter i symbol. In smaller towns the centre may be a desk inside the station building or a small office on the square in front of it.

Some centres display a certification mark from the Japan National Tourism Organization, which indicates a centre set up to help international visitors; the level of language support still differs from place to place.

Asking for maps and English leaflets

The easiest opening is to ask for a map. Chizu is a map in general, and many centres also have walking maps, sanpo mappu, bus route maps and area guides. If you want another language, ask for eigo no, in English, in front of the word.

Staff often hand you a map and then draw on it. Asking them to mark places, shirushi o tsukeru, is completely normal and turns a free leaflet into a personal plan.

Asking for recommendations

Information staff are local experts, so ask them what they would recommend. The key word is o-susume, recommendation. Tell them what you like, how much time you have and how you are travelling, and they can suggest places that are not in the guidebooks.

Be specific. Ask for somewhere that is walkable, somewhere quiet, a good place for lunch nearby, or what to do if it rains. If you want local food, ask for the area's specialities with meibutsu.

Bus routes and getting there

One of the most useful things an information centre does is explain local buses, which can be confusing in a new town. Ask how to get to a place, which bus to take, where it leaves from and how long it takes. Staff will often write the bus number and stop on your map.

Listen for noriba, the boarding point, and the route number, followed by a time estimate with gurai or kurai, about. Timetables and routes change, so if you are travelling on a later day, ask them to confirm the times for that day.

Understanding the directions you are given

The answers follow a small set of patterns: a boarding point and number, a direction, a landmark and a time. If you catch those four, you have what you need, even if the rest goes past you. Repeating the key points back is polite and lets staff correct any mistake.

Luggage storage and travel passes

If you arrive before hotel check-in, the information centre is a good place to ask about your suitcase. Some centres store luggage themselves, some offer to send it to your hotel the same day, often called tebura kankō, hands-free sightseeing, and others point you to coin lockers, koin rokkā, or luggage services nearby. Services and fees vary, so ask what is available.

Staff can also tell you which day passes and sightseeing passes exist for the area, what they cover and whether they are worth it for your plan. Some centres sell them directly; others tell you where to buy them.

Opening hours, closing days and other practical questions

Information staff can tell you whether a museum or garden is open today, when it closes and when the last entry is. Many attractions close on a fixed weekday, teikyūbi, and last entry, saishū nyūkan or nyūjō, is often earlier than closing time. Details differ everywhere, so asking saves a wasted trip.

Centres are also a good place to ask about free Wi-Fi, toilets, cash machines and whether a place takes cards.

When plans change or something goes wrong

Tourist information centres are also where to go when things go wrong in an unfamiliar town: a closed attraction, a cancelled bus, a lost item or no room for the night. Staff may not solve everything, but they know who to call and where to go.

Explain in one sentence and ask what you should do: dō sureba ii desu ka. For a lost item, they may direct you to the station's lost property office or the local police box.