One of the most important things while traveling in Japan is knowing how to ride the endless train lines that surround Japan. Although many stations have instructions in English, you may need to ask a Japanese native for information. Thinking about this need, we wrote this article that will help you catch trains in Japan and communicate with people and ask for information at the station.
If you are a tourist, to avoid problems with buying trem tickets we recommend purchasing the JRPass, a cardboard that allows you to ride on most train lines throughout Japan.
Catching the tremor in Japan
In Japan you pay per station, tickets are sold at vending machines, do not leave your ticket it is also used to leave the station. You should pay close attention to the wagons, some trains have wagons exclusively for women and smokers. Remember that trem stations do not operate 24 hours a day.
To better understand how trains in Japan work, let's 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 don't want to cover the same things as these sites, let's go deeper and study ways to communicate at a train station.
Below are some phrases that you will probably need to speak or hear during your tremor trip in Japan. Study them well and be prepared because you will not hear exactly the same sentences below.
ćå±±ć®ęē·ććÆć©ćć§ććļ¼
[yamanote sen] wa doko desu ka?
Where's the [yamanote line]?
ćē§čåé§
ćć«č”ćććć§ććć
[Akihabara eki] ni ikitai desu ga.
I want to go to [Akihabara Station].
ćå±±ć®ęē·ćć®ćć¼ć ćÆć©ćć§ććļ¼
[yamanote sen] no hoomu wa doko desu ka?
Where is the platform for [yamanote line]
ćć®é»č»ćÆćę±äŗ¬é§
ćč”ćć§ććļ¼
kono densha wa [toukyou eki] yuki desuka?
Is this the train going to Tokyo station?
åäøęć®é»č»ć«ä¹ćć¾ćć
juuichiji no densha ni norimasu.
I'm taking the 11 o'clock train
ęøč°·ć§é»č»ćć®ććććŖććć°ćŖććŖćć
Shibuya de densha o norikaenakereba naranai.
You have to change trains in Shibuya.
ććŖććÆćć®åč»ć«éć«åććŖćć§ćććć
Anata wa sono ressi ni maniawanaideshou.
You will not be able to take the train.
é»č»ćä¹ćéćć¦ćć¾ććć
Densha nori chigaete imasu yo
You are on the wrong train.
é»č»ćé
ćć¦ććć
Densha ga okurete iru.
The train is late.
é»č»ćä¹ćééććć
Densha the noriga machigaeta.
I took the wrong train.
ćć®åč»ćÆćć§ć«åŗēŗćć¦ćć¾ć£ćć
Sleep resha wa sudeni shuppatsu shite shimatta.
The train has already left.
åč»ćÆåå¾ļ¼ęåć«åŗćć
Ressha wa gogo 2-jihan ni deru.
The train leaves at 2:30 pm.
ę±½č»ćÆć¾ć ēćć¾ććć
Kisha wa mada tsukimasen.
The train has not yet arrived.
Vocabulary related to trains in Japanese
What is the difference between the words densha (é»č»), kisha (ę±½č») and ressha (åč»)? The word densha is used for electric trains, while kisha for steam trains, while the word resha can be used for both and refers to the trains that form the train. There is also a bullet train called a shinkansen (ę°å¹¹ē·).
If you are traveling for the first time by train in Japan, keep an eye out for these words from the list below.
Responsive Table: Roll the table sideways with your finger >>
English | Japanese | Romaji |
Agenda / Calendar | ęå»č”Ø | jikoku hyou |
2nd class | äŗēč» | nitou sha |
Window seat | ēŖå“ć®åø | mado gawa no seki |
Aisle seat | éč·Æå“ć®åø | tsuro gawa no seki |
Book seat | čŖē±åø | jiyuu seki |
Priority seat | åŖå åø | yuusen seki |
Reserved seat | ęå®åø | shitei seki |
Subscription ticket | å®ęåø | teiki ken |
Passenger ticket | ä¹č»åø | jousha ken |
Ticket | å符 | kippu |
Box office | ēŖå£ | mado guchi |
Cancel | åćę¶ć | tori keshi |
Non-smoking car | ē¦ē č» | kinen sha |
Green / First Class Car | ć°ćŖć¼ć³č» | guri-n sha |
Station Manager / Manager | é§ é· | ekichou |
Train conductor | č»ę | shashou |
Destiny | č”ćå | iki saki |
Direction | ę¹é¢ | houmen |
Employee / gas station attendant | é§ å” | ekiin |
Station entrance | ę¹ęå£ | kaisatsu guchi |
Station | é§ | eki |
Express that stops at the main stations | ę„č” | kyuukou |
Track 3 | 3 ēŖē· | san ban sen |
Time to go | ēŗč»ęå» | hassha jikoku |
Line | ē·č·Æ | senro |
Main line | ę¬ē· | honsen |
Faster than espresso | ē¹ę„ | tokkyuu |
Ticket vending machine | čŖååøå£²ę© | jidou kenbai ki |
Seat number | åŗ§åøēŖå· | zaseki bangou |
First train | å§ēŗ | shi hatsu |
Necessary time | ęč¦ęé | shoyou jikan |
Ticket | åę°åø | kaisuu ken |
Train with more than 2 wagons | åč» | reshape |
Train Transfer / Exchange | ä¹ćęć | norikae |
Bullet train | ę°å¹¹ē· | shin kan sen |
Express train | ęŗę„ | junkyuu |
Train stopping at all stations | ę®é | futsuu |
Train stopping at all stations | åé§ åč» | kakueki teisha |
Train | é»č» | densha |
Change / Change money | ćé£ć | otsuri |
Last stop / Terminal | ēµē¹ | shuu ten |
Smoking car | å«ē č» | kitsuen sha |
Vehicle / Locomotives | č»äø” | sharyou |
Round trip | å¾å¾© | or fuku |
One-way trip | ēé | kata michi |
Last train | ęēµé»č» | saishuu densha |
Last train | ēµēŗ | shuu hatsu |
Last train | ēµé» | shuu den |
We already wrote another article talking about trains in Japan, you can read this article clicking here.