Transportation
5 min read · Japan Hub
Japan's rail network is famously punctual — and famously overwhelming on day one. These are the exact words on the signs, the announcements you'll hear, and the phrases that get you onto the right platform.
Day one at the station
Shinjuku Station moves three and a half million people a day, and on your first morning it will feel like all of them are walking toward you. Breathe. Japanese stations are actually deeply legible systems: every line has a color, every station a number, every exit a name. Your job isn't to understand everything — it's to know your line's color and your exit's name. Everything else is following the signs.
The IC card changes everything
Buy a Suica or Pasmo card in the first ten minutes of your trip. Tap in, tap out — no fare tables, no ticket machines, and it works in convenience stores and vending machines too. The phrase kaado wa tsukaemasu ka ('can I use a card?') stops mattering once the card in question lives in your phone wallet.
When things go wrong
Trains in Japan are punctual enough that a chien (delay) gets an apology broadcast. If you board the wrong train, don't panic — get off at the next stop and cross the platform back. For everything else there's the station attendant by the gates, and the one phrase that solves most problems: __ made onegaishimasu — 'to __, please' — works for ticket windows and taxis alike.
Words to pack
Tap any word to hear it spoken.
Phrases you'll actually use
Click the speaker icon to hear the pronunciation.
駅はどこですか
えきはどこですか
Where is the station?
切符をください
きっぷをください
A ticket, please
何番線ですか
なんばんせんですか
Which platform is it?
次の電車はいつですか
つぎのでんしゃはいつですか
When is the next train?
新宿に止まりますか
しんじゅくにとまりますか
Does it stop at Shinjuku?
終電は何時ですか
しゅうでんはなんじですか
What time is the last train?