The core idea: the tracks split the town, and each exit faces a side
A railway line works like a wall. You can cross it only at a level crossing, an underpass or through the station, so the station ends up with a door on each side, named after the side of town it opens onto. If the tracks run north to south, you get a nishiguchi (西口), west exit, and a higashiguchi (東口), east exit; if they run east to west, a kitaguchi (北口) and a minamiguchi (南口).
The two sides often feel like different towns: one with the bus terminal and city hall, the other with the shops and hotels. Come out on the wrong side and your hotel is across the tracks. So choose the exit by where you are going, before you pass the ticket gate. Below, a visitor at the central gate asks the way.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| さくらホテルに行きたいんですが、何口から出ればいいですか。 | Sakura Hoteru ni ikitai n desu ga, nani-guchi kara dereba ii desu ka. | I'd like to go to the Sakura Hotel. Which exit should I take? |
| 東口を出て、左です。 | Higashiguchi o dete, hidari desu. | Go out of the east exit and it's on the left. |
| 市役所も東口のほうですか。 | Shiyakusho mo higashiguchi no hō desu ka. | Is city hall on the east exit side too? |
| いいえ、市役所は反対側です。西口から出てください。 | Iie, shiyakusho wa hantaigawa desu. Nishiguchi kara dete kudasai. | No, city hall is on the other side. Please use the west exit. |
The compass words and the eight directions
Each direction has two readings. Alone, and with native words such as guchi, exit, gawa, side, and muki, facing, it keeps its kun reading: kita (北), north; minami (南), south; higashi (東), east; nishi (西), west. In compounds of Chinese origin, including pairs of directions, it takes the on reading: hoku, nan, tō, sei. So Tōkyō (東京) is literally eastern capital, and the four in a row, tōzainanboku (東西南北), come in an order that surprises English speakers: east, west, south, north.
The in-between directions put north or south first, as English does: hokutō (北東), literally north-east, hokusei (北西), nantō (南東) and nansei (南西). This is the form used in weather forecasts and on maps.
Compass words also describe light and weather: an estate agent at a flat viewing, then a forecaster on the evening news.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| この部屋は南向きで、日当たりがいいですよ。 | Kono heya wa minamimuki de, hiatari ga ii desu yo. | This room faces south, so it gets plenty of sun. |
| 西日が強いので、夏は少し暑いです。 | Nishibi ga tsuyoi no de, natsu wa sukoshi atsui desu. | The afternoon sun is strong, so it gets a bit hot in summer. |
| 駅の北側には大きい公園があります。 | Eki no kitagawa ni wa ōkii kōen ga arimasu. | There's a big park on the north side of the station. |
| 明日は北東の風が強いでしょう。 | Ashita wa hokutō no kaze ga tsuyoi deshō. | Tomorrow the north-easterly wind will be strong. |
Reading an exit name
Guchi is kuchi, mouth, voiced when it joins another word, so a station exit is literally a mouth of the station. Most exit names are a direction plus guchi. Big stations add precision by combining words, or by adding shin, new, for an exit opened later. A few exits are named after the district they lead to: at Tokyo Station, the Yaesu-guchi and the Marunouchi-guchi face the neighbourhoods on either side.
| Exit name | Reading | Literally | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| 北口 | kitaguchi | north mouth | Opens onto the north side of the tracks |
| 南口 | minamiguchi | south mouth | Opens onto the south side |
| 東口 | higashiguchi | east mouth | Opens onto the east side |
| 西口 | nishiguchi | west mouth | Opens onto the west side |
| 中央口 | chūō-guchi | centre mouth | The main exit, in the middle of the station |
| 中央東口 | chūō higashiguchi | centre east mouth | The east end of the central concourse |
| 新南口 | shin-minamiguchi | new south mouth | A south exit opened after the original |
| 1番出口 | ichi-ban deguchi | number one exit | A numbered exit, usually from a subway |
Two things surprise people. A guchi is a way in as well as a way out: you enter from the east through the higashiguchi. And names do not always follow the weather-forecast order: Shinjuku Station has a tōnan-guchi (東南口), literally east-south exit, where a forecast would say nantō. Treat exit names as proper names and copy them exactly.
Exit signs and station maps
Inside a station, look up. On many networks, including the JR and subway lines in Tokyo, the hanging signs pointing to exits are yellow with black lettering, while signs to the platforms use other colours. This follows a widely used guideline rather than a strict rule, and some stations differ, but in a big city the yellow signs usually lead you out.
Near the gates you will find a kōnaizu (構内図), a map of the station, and a shūhen annaizu (周辺案内図), a local area map with the exits marked. Find genzaichi (現在地), literally present location, first. Many put the direction you are facing at the top rather than north, so check the compass arrow. A visitor asks an attendant, who answers in polite service Japanese.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| この地図で、今いる場所はどこですか。 | Kono chizu de, ima iru basho wa doko desu ka. | Where are we on this map? |
| 市役所に一番近い出口はどこですか。 | Shiyakusho ni ichiban chikai deguchi wa doko desu ka. | Which exit is closest to city hall? |
| 黄色い案内板に従って進んでください。 | Kiiroi annaiban ni shitagatte susunde kudasai. | Please follow the yellow signs. |
| 西口は、あちらの階段を上がって右手になります。 | Nishiguchi wa, achira no kaidan o agatte migite ni narimasu. | The west exit is up those stairs, on your right. |
Meeting at an exit: phrases that pin down the spot
People arranging to meet at a station name the exit and then narrow it down: inside or outside the gate, which gate, next to what. In a big station, higashiguchi alone is not enough, because the east exit may have several gates and staircases. Common reference points are the kaisatsu (改札), ticket gate, the kōban (交番), police box, found outside many exits, and any well-known statue or shop.
Two friends message and then phone each other on a busy evening. The last line is a colleague confirming a meeting at work, where the same details come in one polite sentence.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 東口の改札を出たところで待ってるね。 | Higashiguchi no kaisatsu o deta tokoro de matteru ne. | I'll wait just outside the east exit gate. |
| 改札の中？外？ | Kaisatsu no naka? Soto? | Inside the gate or outside? |
| 外。交番の前にいるよ。 | Soto. Kōban no mae ni iru yo. | Outside. I'm in front of the police box. |
| ごめん、西口に出ちゃった。 | Gomen, nishiguchi ni dechatta. | Sorry, I've come out of the west exit. |
| じゃあ、南口で会おう。 | Jā, minamiguchi de aō. | Then let's meet at the south exit. |
| 明日は九時に、中央口の改札前でお願いします。 | Ashita wa ku-ji ni, chūō-guchi no kaisatsu mae de onegai shimasu. | Tomorrow at nine, in front of the central exit gate, please. |
Beyond the basics: subway exits with letters and numbers
Underground there is no side of the tracks to name, so subway exits are numbered: ichi-ban deguchi, exit 1, ni-ban deguchi, exit 2, and so on. At large stations in Tokyo a letter groups the exits by area, A1 to A10, B1 and so on. The letter is said in English and the number in Japanese or English, so A2 is ē-ni or ē-tsū; both are common.
Exits with neighbouring numbers can surface far apart, sometimes on opposite sides of a wide avenue. Signs underground list the buildings, streets and sights each exit serves, so read the list rather than the number. Chijō (地上), literally on the ground, is the word for street level. A visitor phones a restaurant, then calls back.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 何番出口から出ればいいですか。 | Nan-ban deguchi kara dereba ii desu ka. | Which numbered exit should I use? |
| A5出口が一番近いです。 | Ē-go deguchi ga ichiban chikai desu. | Exit A5 is the closest. |
| 地上に出たら、右に曲がってください。 | Chijō ni detara, migi ni magatte kudasai. | When you come up to street level, turn right. |
| すみません、A2から出てしまいました。 | Sumimasen, ē-ni kara dete shimaimashita. | Sorry, I've come out of A2 by mistake. |
Confusable pairs: deguchi and kaisatsu, higashiguchi and higashigawa
Deguchi (出口) is the way out; kaisatsu (改札) is the ticket gate, literally inspect tickets. In a big station you pass a gate and then walk to an exit, and the names can differ: a chūō kaisatsu, central gate, may lead to both the east and west exits.
Higashiguchi is a door; higashigawa (東側) is a side, literally east side. Eki no higashigawa is the whole area east of the station, which you might reach by the east exit or the south one. Say guchi for where to leave or meet, and gawa for the part of town.
Finally, hokutō (北東) is the direction north-east, while Tōhoku (東北), the same kanji reversed, is best known as the north-eastern region of Honshu. Older texts use tōhoku as a direction, but today hokutō is the safe choice. Whole routes, with turns and landmarks, belong to the separate guides on asking and giving directions. Below, an attendant, a local and a teacher with a map use each word.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 中央改札を出て、東口に向かってください。 | Chūō kaisatsu o dete, higashiguchi ni mukatte kudasai. | Go out through the central gate and head for the east exit. |
| 駅の東側は静かな住宅街です。 | Eki no higashigawa wa shizukana jūtakugai desu. | The east side of the station is a quiet residential area. |
| 東北は東京から見て北東にあります。 | Tōhoku wa Tōkyō kara mite hokutō ni arimasu. | Seen from Tokyo, Tōhoku lies to the north-east. |
Common mistakes at station exits
Taking the nearest exit. Following the crowd up the closest staircase works at a small station; at a big one it can put you on the wrong side of the tracks. Decide the exit first. If you do come out on the wrong side, look for a jiyū tsūro (自由通路), literally free passage, a public walkway through the station outside the gates.
Arranging to meet at the station. At home a station may have one entrance; a big Japanese one has dozens. Name the exit, the gate, inside or outside, and a landmark.
Saying tōhoku or kita-higashi for north-east. Chinese puts east first, and English speakers translate word by word. The direction is hokutō.
Reading an area map as if north were up. Many station maps put the direction you face at the top. Find genzaichi and the compass arrow before you walk.