One of the most important things during your trip to Japan is knowing how to navigate the endless train lines that surround all of Japan. Although many stations have instructions in English, you may need to ask a native for information in Japanese. Keeping this need in mind, we wrote this article to help you take trains in Japan and communicate with people and ask for information at the station.
If you are a tourist, to avoid problems with purchasing train tickets, we recommend acquiring the JRPass, a card that allows you to travel on most train lines throughout Japan.
Table of Contents
Taking the train in Japan
In Japan, you pay per station, tickets are sold in automatic machines, do not abandon your ticket as it is also used to exit the station. You should pay close attention to the cars, some trains have cars exclusive for women and smokers. Remember that train stations do not operate 24 hours a day.
To better understand how trains work in Japan, we will leave some videos below:
Phrases about trains in Japan
There are thousands of articles and videos on the internet explaining how to take trains in Japan. We do not want to cover the same things as those sites, we will go deeper and study ways to communicate at a train station.
Below are some phrases that you will likely need to say or hear during your train journey in Japan. Study them well and be prepared because you will not hear exactly the same as the phrases below.
「山の手線」はどこですか？
[yamanote sen] wa doko desu ka;
Where is the [Yamanote Line]?
「秋葉原駅」に行きたいですが。
[Akihabara eki] ni ikitai desu ga;
I want to go to [Akihabara Station]
「山の手線」のホームはどこですか？
[yamanote sen] no hoomu wa doko desu ka;
Where is the platform for [Yamanote Line]?
この電車は「東京駅」行きですか？
kono densha wa [toukyou eki] yuki desu ka;
Is this the train that goes to Tokyo Station?
十一時の電車に乗ります。
juuichiji no densha ni norimasu;
I am taking the 11 o’clock train
渋谷で電車をのりかえなければならない。
Shibuya de densha o norikaenakereba naranai;
You have to transfer trains at Shibuya
あなたはその列車に間に合わないでしょう。
Anata wa sono ressha ni maniawanaideshou;
You will not be able to catch the train
電車を乗り違えていますよ。
Densha o nori chigaete imasu yo;
You are on the wrong train
電車が遅れている。
Densha ga okurete iru;
The train is delayed
電車を乗り間違えた。
Densha o nori machigaeta;
I took the wrong train
その列車はすでに出発してしまった。
Sono ressha wa sudeni shuppatsu shite shimatta;
The train has already departed
列車は午後２時半に出る。
Ressha wa gogo 2-jihan ni deru;
The train departs at 2:30 PM
汽車はまだ着きません。
Kisha wa mada tsukimasen;
The train has not arrived yet
Vocabulary related to trains in Japanese
What is the difference between the words densha (電車), kisha (汽車), and ressha (列車)? The word “densha” is used for electric trains, while “kisha” is for steam trains, and the word “ressha” can be used for both and refers to the trains that make up the train. There is also the bullet train called shinkansen (新幹線).
If you are traveling by train in Japan for the first time, pay attention to these words from the list below.
- 時刻表 (jikoku hyou) – Schedule / Calendar
- 二等車 (nitou sha) – 2nd class
- 窓側の席 (mado gawa no seki) – Window seat
- 通路側の席 (tsuro gawa no seki) – Aisle seat
- 自由席 (jiyuu seki) – Free seat
- 優先席 (yuusen seki) – Priority seat
- 指定席 (shitei seki) – Reserved seat
- 定期券 (teiki ken) – Commuter pass
- 乗車券 (jousha ken) – Passenger ticket
- 切符 (kippu) – Ticket
- 窓口 (mado guchi) – Ticket office
- 取り消し (tori keshi) – Cancel
- 禁煙車 (kinen sha) – Non-smoking car
- グリーン車 (guri-n sha) – Green car / First class
- 駅長 (ekichou) – Station master / Manager
- 車掌 (shashou) – Train conductor
- 行き先 (iki saki) – Destination
- 方面 (houmen) – Direction
- 駅員 (ekiin) – Station staff / Attendant
- 改札口 (kaisatsu guchi) – Station entrance
- 駅 (eki) – Station
- 急行 (kyuukou) – Express that stops at major stations
- 3 番線 (san ban sen) – Track 3
- 発車時刻 (hassha jikoku) – Departure time
- 線路 (senro) – Line
- 本線 (honsen) – Main line
- 特急 (tokkyuu) – Faster than express
- 自動券売機 (jidou kenbai ki) – Automatic ticket vending machine
- 座席番号 (zaseki bangou) – Seat number
- 始発 (shi hatsu) – First train
- 所要時間 (shoyou jikan) – Time required
- 回数券 (kaisuu ken) – Ticket
- 列車 (ressha) – Train with more than 2 cars
- 乗り換え (norikae) – Transfer / Train change
- 新幹線 (shin kan sen) – Bullet train
- 準急 (junkyuu) – Express train
- 普通 (futsuu) – Train that stops at all stations
- 各駅停車 (kakueki teisha) – Train that stops at all stations
- 電車 (densha) – Train
- お釣り (otsuri) – Change / To exchange money
- 終点 (shuu ten) – Last stop / Terminal
- 喫煙車 (kitsuen sha) – Smoking car
- 車両 (sharyou) – Vehicle / Locomotives
- 往復 (ou fuku) – Round trip
- 片道 (kata michi) – One-way trip
- 最終電車 (saishuu densha) – Last train
- 終発 (shuu hatsu) – Last train
- 終電 (shuu den) – Last train
We also recommend reading: Everything about trains in Japan – Curiosities
Leave a Reply