Buying a ticket and topping up an IC card
Ticket machines carry an English button, so the language you need is mostly for the moment the machine refuses something. Tell the staff member at the window or the gate what you want in one short sentence and hold up fingers for the number of tickets. An IC card such as a prepaid transport card removes almost all of this, which is why buying and topping one up is worth learning first.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 東京駅までの切符をください。 | Tōkyō-eki made no kippu o kudasai. | A ticket to Tokyo Station, please. |
| 大人二枚お願いします。 | Otona nimai onegai shimasu. | Two adult tickets, please. |
| ICカードを買いたいです。 | IC kādo o kaitai desu. | I would like to buy an IC card. |
| 千円チャージお願いします。 | Sen-en chāji onegai shimasu. | Please top up one thousand yen. |
| この券売機の使い方を教えてください。 | Kono kenbaiki no tsukaikata o oshiete kudasai. | Please show me how to use this ticket machine. |
| 一日乗車券はありますか？ | Ichinichi jōshaken wa arimasu ka? | Do you have a one-day pass? |
Expect the machine and the staff to answer with amounts and platform numbers rather than sentences. Counting words such as mai for flat tickets and nin or mei for people carry most of the meaning here, and the numbers and counters guide on this blog covers the patterns behind them.
Station vocabulary you will see and hear
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 駅 | Eki | Station |
| 改札口 | Kaisatsuguchi | Ticket gate |
| 切符 | Kippu | Ticket |
| 券売機 | Kenbaiki | Ticket machine |
| 精算機 | Seisanki | Fare adjustment machine |
| 乗り換え | Norikae | Transfer to another line |
| 乗り場 | Noriba | Boarding point |
| 番線 | Bansen | Platform number, as in 3番線 |
| 上り | Nobori | Inbound, toward the main terminal |
| 下り | Kudari | Outbound, away from the main terminal |
| 各駅停車 | Kakueki teisha | Local train stopping everywhere |
| 快速 | Kaisoku | Rapid service |
| 特急 | Tokkyū | Limited express |
| 指定席 | Shiteiseki | Reserved seat |
| 自由席 | Jiyūseki | Non-reserved seat |
| 新幹線 | Shinkansen | High-speed intercity train |
| 始発 | Shihatsu | First train of the day |
| 終電 | Shūden | Last train of the night |
| 遅延 | Chien | Delay |
| 忘れ物 | Wasuremono | Lost or forgotten item |
| 駅員 | Ekiin | Station staff member |
| 出口 | Deguchi | Exit |
Learn to recognise these on a sign before you worry about writing them. Bansen and noriba in particular appear on overhead displays with a number attached, which is often all you need to match against the answer a staff member gives you.
Asking which platform and which line
Two questions cover almost every station. One asks for a platform number, the other asks where a line is. Put the destination or the line name at the front, then the question. Adding -yuki to a place name turns it into bound for that place, which is exactly how the departure boards are written, so Shinjuku-yuki and the sign will match.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 新宿行きは何番線ですか？ | Shinjuku-yuki wa nanbansen desu ka? | Which platform is the train for Shinjuku? |
| 山手線はどこですか？ | Yamanote-sen wa doko desu ka? | Where is the Yamanote Line? |
| 銀座線の乗り場はどこですか？ | Ginza-sen no noriba wa doko desu ka? | Where is the boarding point for the Ginza Line? |
| 渋谷に行きたいんですが。 | Shibuya ni ikitai n desu ga. | I would like to go to Shibuya. |
| 三番線です。 | Sanbansen desu. | It is platform three. |
| あちらの階段を降りてください。 | Achira no kaidan o orite kudasai. | Please go down those stairs over there. |
Express, rapid, and local trains
| Japanese | Romaji | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| 各駅停車 | Kakueki teisha | Stops at every station on the line |
| 普通 | Futsū | Local service; on many lines the same as kakueki teisha |
| 快速 | Kaisoku | Rapid; skips smaller stations, normally no surcharge on JR |
| 急行 | Kyūkō | Express; skips more stations, surcharge on some private lines |
| 特急 | Tokkyū | Limited express; fewest stops, usually needs a limited express ticket |
| 新快速 | Shin-kaisoku | Special rapid, common around Osaka and Kyoto |
| 回送 | Kaisō | Out of service, not for passengers |
The trap is that a rapid and a local often leave from the same platform minutes apart, both showing your final destination. The rapid may skip the small station you actually want. Check the train type on the display, not only the destination, and if a limited express is involved ask whether a supplement is required before you board.
Checking that the train stops where you want
This is the single most useful question in a Japanese station, and it works on the platform, in the doorway, and inside the carriage. Tomarimasu means it stops, so kono densha wa X ni tomarimasu ka asks exactly what you need. Passengers answer it happily, and a shake of the head plus a station name is usually the whole reply.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| この電車は吉祥寺に止まりますか？ | Kono densha wa Kichijōji ni tomarimasu ka? | Does this train stop at Kichijoji? |
| この駅には止まりません。 | Kono eki ni wa tomarimasen. | It does not stop at that station. |
| 各駅停車に乗ってください。 | Kakueki teisha ni notte kudasai. | Please take the local train. |
| 中野で各駅停車に乗り換えてください。 | Nakano de kakueki teisha ni norikaete kudasai. | Change to the local train at Nakano. |
| 何駅目ですか？ | Nan-eki-me desu ka? | How many stops is it? |
| 三つ目です。 | Mittsu-me desu. | It is the third one. |
Transfers and the word norikae
Norikae is the noun and norikaemasu the verb, and both appear constantly on signs, in apps, and in announcements. The detail that catches travellers out is whether a transfer stays inside the gates or requires you to exit and re-enter, which changes the fare on a paper ticket. Asking the question below takes five seconds and saves a trip to the fare adjustment machine.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 乗り換えはどこですか？ | Norikae wa doko desu ka? | Where do I change trains? |
| 何線に乗り換えればいいですか？ | Nani-sen ni norikaereba ii desu ka? | Which line should I change to? |
| 改札を出ますか？ | Kaisatsu o demasu ka? | Do I have to go out through the ticket gate? |
| 同じホームで乗り換えられますか？ | Onaji hōmu de norikaeraremasu ka? | Can I change on the same platform? |
| 大手町で乗り換えます。 | Ōtemachi de norikaemasu. | I change at Otemachi. |
Reserved seats on the shinkansen
A shinkansen journey involves two tickets, a basic fare ticket and a train-specific one, and the choice that matters at the counter is shiteiseki against jiyūseki. Reserved seats guarantee a place and a specific carriage; non-reserved cars are cheaper and fine outside holiday periods. Say the destination, the number of people, and which type you want, in that order.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 新大阪までの指定席を一枚お願いします。 | Shin-Ōsaka made no shiteiseki o ichimai onegai shimasu. | One reserved seat to Shin-Osaka, please. |
| 窓側の席をお願いします。 | Madogawa no seki o onegai shimasu. | A window seat, please. |
| 通路側でもいいです。 | Tsūrogawa demo ii desu. | An aisle seat is fine as well. |
| 自由席はどの車両ですか？ | Jiyūseki wa dono sharyō desu ka? | Which carriages are non-reserved? |
| 何名様ですか？ | Nan-mei-sama desu ka? | How many people are travelling? |
| 五号車です。 | Go-gōsha desu. | It is carriage number five. |
Understanding station announcements
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| まもなく三番線に電車が参ります。 | Mamonaku sanbansen ni densha ga mairimasu. | A train will shortly arrive at platform three. |
| 白線の内側までお下がりください。 | Hakusen no uchigawa made o-sagari kudasai. | Please stand back behind the white line. |
| ドアが閉まります。ご注意ください。 | Doa ga shimarimasu. Go-chūi kudasai. | The doors are closing. Please take care. |
| 次は新宿、新宿です。 | Tsugi wa Shinjuku, Shinjuku desu. | The next stop is Shinjuku, Shinjuku. |
| お出口は左側です。 | O-deguchi wa hidarigawa desu. | The doors on the left side will open. |
| ただいま電車が遅れております。 | Tadaima densha ga okurete orimasu. | Trains are currently running late. |
Announcements use humble and honorific verbs that beginners rarely study early: mairimasu stands in for kimasu, orimasu for imasu, and o-sagari kudasai for sagatte kudasai. You do not need to produce any of this. Train your ear on three anchors instead: the platform number, the station name, which is nearly always repeated twice, and the words tsugi and mamonaku that tell you something is about to happen.
Disruption announcements are longer and faster. The words worth recognising are chien for a delay, unten miawase for a suspended service, and furikae yusō for the alternative routes your ticket will be accepted on. If you hear them, look at the staff member on the platform rather than the ceiling speaker.
When you board the wrong train
Nothing here is a disaster, and the recovery is routine for staff. The two sentences that describe the problem are densha o machigaemashita for boarding the wrong train and norisugoshimashita for riding past your stop. Follow either with where you actually want to go, and let the staff member choose the route back.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| すみません、電車を間違えました。 | Sumimasen, densha o machigaemashita. | Excuse me, I took the wrong train. |
| 乗り過ごしました。 | Norisugoshimashita. | I rode past my stop. |
| 反対方向に乗ってしまいました。 | Hantai hōkō ni notte shimaimashita. | I got on going the opposite way. |
| どこで降りればいいですか？ | Doko de orireba ii desu ka? | Where should I get off? |
| 追加料金はかかりますか？ | Tsuika ryōkin wa kakarimasu ka? | Will there be an extra charge? |
| 次の駅で降りて、反対のホームに行ってください。 | Tsugi no eki de orite, hantai no hōmu ni itte kudasai. | Get off at the next station and go to the opposite platform. |
Lost items and the station office
Lost property in Japan is handled seriously and the process is quick if you can answer three questions: what the item is, roughly when you travelled, and which direction you were going. Prepare those before you reach the window. Naming a colour and a type, such as kuroi ryukku for a black backpack, is more useful than a long description.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 電車にかばんを忘れました。 | Densha ni kaban o wasuremashita. | I left my bag on the train. |
| 忘れ物センターはどこですか？ | Wasuremono sentā wa doko desu ka? | Where is the lost property centre? |
| 何時ごろの電車でしたか？ | Nan-ji goro no densha deshita ka? | Around what time was the train? |
| 何号車でしたか？ | Nan-gōsha deshita ka? | Which carriage was it? |
| 黒いリュックです。 | Kuroi ryukku desu. | It is a black backpack. |
| 見つかったら連絡してください。 | Mitsukattara renraku shite kudasai. | Please contact me if it is found. |
How to rehearse before you travel
- Pick a real route on a map and say each leg aloud: ticket, platform, train type, transfer, exit.
- Drill the platform question with five different destinations until the -yuki ending is automatic.
- Listen to recorded station announcements and write down only the station names and platform numbers.
- Rehearse the three recovery sentences for a wrong train until they need no thought at all.
- Practise saying numbers back to confirm them, since a misheard platform costs more than a repeated question.