Getting through an Airport in Japan

Learn how to get from the airport to the train for Tokyo, and then how to buy a ticket, just using a few simple phrases.

Key Topics Covered

Introduction

As a traveller in Japan, you will notice that even though lots of people have studied English in school, many of them cannot speak or understand much. Others do know, but are afraid of saying something strange – I guess this is similar to many countries. But do not fear, there are lots of people that want to help a lost traveller, even if it includes speaking a foreign language. However, what it does mean to you as a traveller is that you better learn some simple Japanese phrases, just a few will simplify your life a lot.

Arriving in Japan

Most people going to Japan lands at Narita, the biggest international airport in Japan. Narita is about 45 minutes from central Tokyo if going by Narita Express, the high speed airport shuttle. You should be able to buy tickets in English, but let’s practise some useful phrases related to getting to Tokyo.

Japanese: You: すみません。 Japanese: はい？ You: なりた　エクスプレス　は　どこ　です　か。 Japanese: ちか　いっかい　です。
Romaji: You: sumimasen. Japanese: hai? You: narita ekusupuresu wa doko desu ka? Japanese: chika ikkai desu	English: You: Excuse me. Japanese: Yes? You: Where is Narita Express? Japanese: It’s at the first basement floor.

 

The word sumimasen, meaning excuse me, is a common way to call for attention or to start a conversation when asking for a favor. 

Another way to ask where something is located, is to use the words for which direction, dono houkou, instead of the word where, doko. My experience is that using doko is more likely to cause your new Japanese friend to follow you all the way to the ticket booth, which is very nice, but may feel a bit inconvenient for both of you. Additionally, if you get an explaination of where it is, the explaination may be too long and complex for you to follow, so go for asking for the direction instead!

Here is an alternative sentence asking for directions. Both the following and previous alternatives follows the same pattern as dono/kono presented in L2.

なりた　エクスプレス　は　どの　ほうこう　です　か。
Narita Ekusupuresu wa dono houkou desu ka?
In which direction is Narita Express

Vocabulary

To expand your vocabulary, here are the words from the dialogue as well as some other words to help you get around in Japan.

Excercise

Try to make your own sentences, asking where the following means of transportation are. There are no answers to this excercise, just practice by reading out loud by yourself, the following pattern using the words from the vocabulary above.

Follow the pattern “___　は　どこ　です　か。”. In roomaji this is spelled “___ wa doko desu ka”

1. bus
2. train
3. bullet train (Shinkansen)
4. taxi
5. subway

Buying a Ticket

The tickets for Narita Express and long distance trains are sold in ticket booths. The word for ticket booth in Japanese is “kippu uriba”, where “kippu” is ticket and “uriba” is a stand, a place to sell something. Most places also have ticket machines, and some of them do have English user interfaces.

Conversation

Buying a ticket from a “kippu uriba” may go something like this:

Japanese: You: しながわ　まで。 Ticket officer: ご　せん　えん　です。 You: (paying) Ticket officer: ありがとう　ございました 。
Romaji: You: Shinagawa made. Ticket officer: go sen en desu. You: (paying) Ticket officer: arigatou gozaimashita.	English: You: To Shinagawa please. Ticket officer: That will be 5000 yen. [Lit: There is 5000 yen] You: (paying) Ticket officer: Thank you.

Glossary

Extras (for those who want more)

You will get along fine with the previous way of buying a ticket, but this is an alternative, more polite way to ask for a ticket, expressing the same things.

しんじゅく　まで　の　きっぷ　を　いちまい　おねがいします。

Shinjuku made no kippu o ichimai onegaishimasu.

One ticket to Shinagawa, please.

We are here counting tickets “kippu” using the counter for flat things, with the word ichimai. Ichimai consists of the number ichi, one, and the counter -mai, that means one (flat thing). Nimai would mean two (flat things). Ichimai is written 一枚 in kanji. The particle “no” expresses a connection between “to Shinagawa” and “ticket”, forming “ticket to (bound for) shinagawa”. The particle o, marks an object.

Read more on numbers in the lesson L110 – Counting Ingredients.

Trains in general are called densha, 電車. In metropolitan areas there are several sorts of trains, named after the speed, or maybe it’s more correct to say: how many small stations they skip on the way. The kyuukou, 急行 is an ordinary express train. The word comes from the kanji kyuu, 急,meaning in a hurry, and kou, 行, meaning to go. There are also some limited express trains called tokkyuu 特急, where the kanji for toku, 特, means extra or special. Hence, especially-in-a-hurry-train.