Japanese for Business Conferences and Trade Shows: Booth Talk and Follow-up

At a Japanese trade show (展示会) the conversation follows a pattern: a short greeting, a business card exchange, a question about what the company does, a demo, and a promise to follow up. If you can handle those five moments in polite Japanese, you can work a hall full of booths. This guide gives you the lines for each, as a visitor and as an exhibitor, plus the email for the next day.

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What you need to know

Japanese for Business Conferences and Trade Shows: Booth Talk and Follow-up

Trade shows and industry conferences are where a lot of Japanese business actually starts, and they are more approachable than a formal meeting: people at a booth are there to talk to strangers. The Japanese you need is a small, repeatable set, and nearly all of it is polite teineigo with a layer of humble and respectful forms around company names and requests. This post is built around the moments of a show day. It explains how to open a conversation at a booth, how the card exchange works in practice, how to ask for a demo and ask the questions that get you real answers about pricing, integration and support, and what to say on the other side of the table if you are the one exhibiting. It ends with the reception, where deals are warmed up, and the follow-up email that turns a stack of cards into meetings. Business etiquette varies by industry and company, so the customs here are described as commonly observed, not as rules.

Open with sukoshi ohanashi dekimasu ka and say your company and role in one sentence

Cards: offer with both hands, receive with chōdai itashimasu, read the name, keep it visible

Ask for a demo and case studies; ask about price with dono kurai, not ikura

Follow up within a few days with senjitsu wa ... arigatō gozaimashita and a concrete request

Four lines for a booth

Sukoshi ohanashi dekimasu ka, could we talk for a moment, opens a conversation with a staffer who is between visitors. The meishi (名刺), business card, is exchanged within the first minute. Demo is the same loanword as in English and is what you ask to see. Gojitsu gorenraku shimasu, I will be in touch in a few days, closes the conversation with a promise you then keep. Around them sit tenjikai (展示会), the show; shutten (出展), exhibiting; and raijōsha (来場者), the visitors.

Four picture cards: asking to talk for a moment, the business card, the product demo, and promising to follow up.
The opening line, the card, the demo and the close: one booth conversation in four cards.
JapaneseRomajiMeaning
少しお話しできますか。Sukoshi ohanashi dekimasu ka.Could we talk for a moment?
名刺meishibusiness card
デモdemoproduct demonstration
後日ご連絡します。Gojitsu gorenraku shimasu.I'll be in touch in a few days.
展示会tenjikaitrade show
出展shuttenexhibiting
来場者raijōshavisitor, attendee

Approaching a booth as a visitor

Booth staff will often greet you first with irasshaimase or a nod; you can simply ask what the service is. Introduce your own company with heisha (弊社), the humble word for our company, and refer to theirs as onsha (御社) in speech. Say what you are interested in and what you want to learn in one sentence; staff will shape the explanation to it. If you are only scouting, mata ato de ukagaimasu, I will come back later, lets you leave without awkwardness.

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
どのようなサービスですか。Dono yō na sābisu desu ka.What kind of service is it?
御社の製品に興味があります。Onsha no seihin ni kyōmi ga arimasu.I'm interested in your products.
資料をいただけますか。Shiryō o itadakemasu ka.Could I have some materials?
弊社は海外向けの物流をしています。Heisha wa kaigai muke no butsuryū o shite imasu.We handle logistics for overseas markets.
また後で伺います。Mata ato de ukagaimasu.I'll come back later.
WordWhose companyWhere it is used
御社 onshaYours (respectful)In speech
貴社 kishaYours (respectful)In writing
弊社 heishaOurs (humble)Speech and writing, to outsiders
当社 tōshaOurs (neutral)Formal statements, documents

Exchanging cards

The exchange is quick but has a shape. Stand, say your company and name with to mōshimasu, and offer your card with both hands, print facing the other person, slightly lower than theirs if you are the visitor or the junior party. Receive theirs with both hands and chōdai itashimasu, then actually read it. Asking how to read a name is polite, not rude, since many Japanese names have several readings. If you have run out of cards, there is a stock apology. During a seated talk, cards stay on the table, usually in the order the people sit.

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
パテルと申します。Pateru to mōshimasu.My name is Patel.
頂戴いたします。Chōdai itashimasu.Thank you, I'll take it (receiving a card).
恐れ入りますが、お名前はどう読みますか。Osoreirimasu ga, onamae wa dō yomimasu ka.Excuse me, how do you read your name?
名刺を切らしてしまいまして。Meishi o kirashite shimaimashite.I'm afraid I've run out of cards.
よろしくお願いいたします。Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.I look forward to working with you.

Asking for a demo and asking real questions

A demo is where the conversation becomes useful. Ask for it with the respectful itadakemasu ka, then ask the questions that reveal whether the product fits: case studies (dōnyū jirei), the difference from competitors, rough price, language support and how long implementation takes. Dōnyū (導入) is the word for adopting or implementing a system, and you will hear it constantly. For price, dono kurai asks for a rough figure, which is how business prices are discussed; exact quotes come later.

A booth staffer demonstrating a small device to two visitors leaning in with interest at a bright exhibition stand with a tall plant behind them
The demo: ask to see it, then ask about case studies, differences, rough price and implementation time.
JapaneseRomajiMeaning
デモを見せていただけますか。Demo o misete itadakemasu ka.Could you show me a demo?
導入事例はありますか。Dōnyū jirei wa arimasu ka.Do you have case studies?
他社製品との違いは何ですか。Tasha seihin to no chigai wa nan desu ka.How does it differ from other products?
価格はどのくらいですか。Kakaku wa dono kurai desu ka.Roughly how much does it cost?
英語対応はありますか。Eigo taiō wa arimasu ka.Is there English support?
導入までどのくらいかかりますか。Dōnyū made dono kurai kakarimasu ka.How long does implementation take?

Working the booth as an exhibitor

On the other side of the table the goal is to qualify quickly and politely. Offer an explanation rather than launching into one: yoroshikereba gosetsumei itashimasu. Ask what problem the visitor has, kadai (課題), which tells you which part of the product to show. Collect contact details with a form or a card scan, promise materials, and thank them for stopping by. Humble forms, itashimasu and ookuri shimasu, are standard here because you are the one serving.

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
よろしければご説明いたします。Yoroshikereba gosetsumei itashimasu.If you like, I can explain.
どのような課題をお持ちですか。Dono yō na kadai o omochi desu ka.What challenges are you facing?
こちらにご記入いただけますか。Kochira ni gokinyū itadakemasu ka.Could you fill this in?
後ほど詳しい資料をお送りします。Nochihodo kuwashii shiryō o ookuri shimasu.I'll send detailed materials later.
お立ち寄りいただき、ありがとうございました。Otachiyori itadaki, arigatō gozaimashita.Thank you for stopping by.

Seminars and the reception

Most shows run seminars and a kichō kōen (基調講演), a keynote, and many end with a konshinkai (懇親会), a networking reception with drinks. This is where conversations loosen. Praising a talk is a natural opener with a speaker, and dochira kara okoshi desu ka, where have you come from, works with anyone. Jōhō kōkan (情報交換), exchanging information, is the polite name for a future chat that is not yet a sales meeting.

At the reception, people pour drinks for each other rather than for themselves; holding your glass with both hands while someone pours, then returning the favour, is a small gesture that Japanese attendees notice. The food is secondary, so circulate with your cards. If a senior person invites you on to a second venue, a nijikai (二次会), the invitation is a good sign; accepting is easy, and declining politely because of an early start the next day is also perfectly normal.

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
講演、とても参考になりました。Kōen, totemo sankō ni narimashita.Your talk was very informative.
名刺交換をお願いできますか。Meishi kōkan o onegai dekimasu ka.May we exchange cards?
どちらからお越しですか。Dochira kara okoshi desu ka.Where have you come from?
どのようなお仕事をされていますか。Dono yō na oshigoto o sarete imasu ka.What kind of work do you do?
ぜひ一度、情報交換させてください。Zehi ichido, jōhō kōkan sasete kudasai.Let's exchange information sometime.

The follow-up email

Send it within a few days, while the person remembers your face. The structure is fixed: a thank-you that names the show, one line recalling what you discussed, one concrete request, attachments, and a closing. Senjitsu (先日) means the other day and is the standard opener when a few days have passed; if you write the same evening, use honjitsu. In writing, their company becomes kisha (貴社).

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
先日は展示会でお話しさせていただき、ありがとうございました。Senjitsu wa tenjikai de ohanashi sasete itadaki, arigatō gozaimashita.Thank you for talking with me at the show.
改めてご説明の機会をいただけますでしょうか。Aratamete gosetsumei no kikai o itadakemasu deshō ka.Could I have a chance to explain in more detail?
来週のご都合はいかがでしょうか。Raishū no gotsugō wa ikaga deshō ka.How is your schedule next week?
資料を添付いたします。Shiryō o tenpu itashimasu.I attach the materials.
引き続きよろしくお願いいたします。Hikitsuzuki yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.I look forward to continuing our talks.

Common mistakes

  • Saying anata no kaisha. Use onsha in speech and kisha in writing; anata is avoided in business Japanese.
  • Pocketing a card without reading it. The pause to read is part of the exchange and costs five seconds.
  • Asking ikura desu ka at an enterprise booth. It is not wrong, but dono kurai fits the setting and gets a more useful answer.
  • Promising to follow up and not doing it. Gojitsu gorenraku shimasu is heard as a commitment; send the email.
  • Dropping keigo when tired. Late in the day, itashimasu and itadakemasu ka still matter; the people you meet last may be the ones who remember you.
Key points

A practical way to improve

Show-floor Japanese is a loop you repeat thirty times a day, so drill the loop. First, say your one-sentence introduction, company plus role plus what you want to see, until it takes under ten seconds. Second, in Unihongo's immersive 3D classroom, ask your AI Sensei to play a booth staffer at a trade show: approach, exchange cards, ask what the product does, ask for a demo and two hard questions, then close with a promise to follow up. Then swap, and have the Sensei play a visitor at your booth while you qualify them with dono yō na kadai o omochi desu ka. Ask the Sensei to speak at natural speed, because show floors are loud and fast. The session report afterwards gives you the corrections and the vocabulary, so you can see which business words stuck.

  1. 1

    Choose one clear goal

    Focus each session on a situation or skill you can actually use.

  2. 2

    Practice actively

    Say complete answers aloud instead of only reading or recognizing Japanese.

  3. 3

    Review and repeat

    Keep useful corrections and revisit the same skill until it feels natural.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How do you exchange business cards in Japan?

Commonly, you stand, offer your card with both hands with the print facing the other person, and receive theirs with both hands while saying chōdai itashimasu. Take a moment to read it, and during a seated conversation leave it on the table in front of you rather than pocketing it. The junior or visiting side usually offers first. These are customs, not laws, and a polite effort is what counts.

What is the Japanese word for trade show?

Tenjikai (展示会) is the general word for an exhibition or trade show. You will also see mihon'ichi for a trade fair and ekisupo for large expos. A booth is a būsu, exhibiting is shutten, and a visitor is a raijōsha.

How do I ask the price at a trade show in Japanese?

Ask kakaku wa dono kurai desu ka, roughly how much is it, rather than ikura desu ka, which sounds like a shop purchase. Enterprise prices are often not stated at a booth; the staff will offer to send a quote, an omitsumori, after the show.

What should a follow-up email after a trade show say in Japanese?

Open with senjitsu wa tenjikai de ohanashi sasete itadaki, arigatō gozaimashita, thank you for talking with me at the show. Remind them of what you discussed in one line, make one concrete request such as a meeting next week, attach materials, and close with hikitsuzuki yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.

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