Japanese Language Basics for Tokyo: Essential Phrases & Tips

目次 — Contents

• Do You Actually Need Japanese in Tokyo?
• Greetings and Politeness
• Restaurants and Food
• Shopping and Money
• Trains, Directions, and Getting Around
• Hotels and Accommodation
• Emergencies and Health
• Numbers and Counting
• Pronunciation Basics
• Polite vs. Casual — and the “You” Trap
• Kanji and Symbols Worth Recognising
• Translation Apps That Actually Work
• Etiquette Tied to Language
• Loanwords You Already Know
• Phrases That Defuse Awkward Moments
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Photo Credits

Here are the Japanese phrases for tourists in Tokyo that actually earn their keep, grouped by situation with the romaji, the Japanese script, and the meaning side by side. The short version: you can get around Tokyo on English signage alone, but a dozen polite phrases — sumimasen, arigato gozaimasu, onegaishimasu — will smooth almost every interaction and earn warmer service.

I have leaned on these phrases over several trips, and the pattern is always the same: nobody expects you to be fluent, but the effort lands. Below you will find phrase tables for greetings, food, shopping, trains, hotels, and emergencies; a quick pronunciation primer; the kanji and symbols worth recognising on signs; and the translation apps that genuinely work offline. Pair it with our start-to-finish Tokyo planner when you map out the rest of your trip.

01 —Do You Actually Need Japanese in Tokyo?

Honestly, not much — to navigate. Tokyo is one of the most visitor-ready big cities anywhere. Train and subway station names are posted in Japanese, English, and usually Chinese and Korean; on JR East, Tokyo Metro, and Toei lines the automated announcements are bilingual; and ticket machines switch to English with one tap. Major restaurants, department stores, and attractions have English menus, English staff, or both. You can run a whole Tokyo itinerary without speaking a word, and our guide to the Tokyo train network covers the signage and ticketing in detail.

Where a little Japanese genuinely helps: small family restaurants and izakaya with Japanese-only menus, tiny shops and markets, taxis, asking directions on the street, and any situation involving an allergy or a problem. It also helps socially — staff visibly warm up when you greet them in Japanese, and a sincere arigato gozaimasu goes a long way. Think of the phrases below as the difference between getting by and connecting.

02 —Greetings and Politeness

Start here. These are the highest-leverage words in the language for a visitor, and sumimasen alone — which works as ‘excuse me’, ‘sorry’, and ‘thank you for the trouble’ — will serve you a dozen times a day. Note that the final ‘u’ in -masu endings is nearly silent, so arigato gozaimasu sounds like ‘arigato gozaimas’.

Romaji	Japanese	Meaning / when to use
Konnichiwa	こんにちは	Hello / good afternoon
Ohayo gozaimasu	おはようございます	Good morning (polite)
Konbanwa	こんばんは	Good evening
Arigato gozaimasu	ありがとうございます	Thank you (polite); “arigato” alone is casual
Sumimasen	すみません	Excuse me / sorry / to get attention
Onegaishimasu	お願いします	Please (when requesting something)
Kudasai	ください	Please give me… (after an item)
Gomen nasai	ごめんなさい	I’m sorry (apology)
Hai / Iie	はい / いいえ	Yes / no
Daijobu desu	大丈夫です	I’m okay / no thanks / it’s fine
Wakarimasen	分かりません	I don’t understand
Eigo ga hanasemasu ka?	英語が話せますか？	Can you speak English?

A cultural note that saves confusion: Japanese tends to avoid a flat ‘no’. Rather than iie, people often say daijobu desu (‘I’m fine’) or chotto… (‘it’s a little…’) to decline softly. When someone thanks you, the textbook reply is do itashimashite, but a small nod and smile is perfectly normal.

03 —Restaurants and Food

This is where phrases pay off fastest. To order, point and add kore o kudasai (‘this one, please’). To get the bill, catch a server’s eye with sumimasen and say o-kaikei onegaishimasu. And learn the two ritual phrases — itadakimasu before eating and gochiso-sama deshita after — because locals use them and they always land well.

Romaji	Japanese	Meaning
Kore o kudasai	これをください	This one, please (point at it)
Menu o kudasai	メニューをください	Menu, please
Osusume wa nan desu ka?	おすすめは何ですか？	What do you recommend?
O-kaikei onegaishimasu	お会計をお願いします	The bill, please
Itadakimasu	いただきます	Said before eating (“I gratefully receive”)
Gochiso-sama deshita	ごちそうさまでした	Said after a meal (thanks for the food)
Oishii desu	おいしいです	It’s delicious
Kanpai!	乾杯！	Cheers!
Mizu o kudasai	水をください	Water, please
Bejitarian desu	ベジタリアンです	I’m vegetarian
Niku nashi de onegaishimasu	肉なしでお願いします	Without meat, please
___ arerugi ga arimasu	___アレルギーがあります	I have a ___ allergy

For allergies, fill the blank with the word: tamago (egg), komugi (wheat), nyu-seihin (dairy), soba (buckwheat), ebi/kani (shrimp/crab), or pi-nattsu (peanut). Be aware that vegetarian and vegan dining takes more care than you might expect, because dashi (fish stock) hides in many ‘vegetable’ dishes — ask dashi wa haitte imasu ka? (‘does it contain dashi?’). The phrase sake wa haitte imasu ka? similarly checks whether a drink contains alcohol.

04 —Shopping and Money

Cash is still king for small purchases, though cards and IC cards (Suica, PASMO) are widely taken. The one phrase you will use constantly is ikura desu ka? (‘how much?’); if you do not catch the number, mime writing and they will jot it down.

Romaji	Japanese	Meaning
Ikura desu ka?	いくらですか？	How much is it?
Kore	これ	This (point at it)
Kado tsukaemasu ka?	カード使えますか？	Can I use a card?
Genkin dake desu ka?	現金だけですか？	Cash only?
Fukuro o kudasai	袋をください	A bag, please
Menzei dekimasu ka?	免税できますか？	Can I get tax-free?
Mite mo ii desu ka?	見てもいいですか？	May I take a look?
Takai desu	高いです	It’s expensive

On tax-free: many stores offer duty-free shopping for tourists over a spending threshold (currently ¥5,000 before tax at participating shops) — bring your passport. For how payment, IC cards, and ATMs work across the city, see our wider Tokyo guides linked above.

05 —Trains, Directions, and Getting Around

You will mostly read your way around, but two question patterns are gold: ___ wa doko desu ka? (‘where is ___?’) and ___ ni ikitai desu (‘I want to go to ___’). Drop in a station name and you are understood. On a platform, you can confirm a train with kono densha wa ___ ni ikimasu ka?.

Romaji	Japanese	Meaning
Eki wa doko desu ka?	駅はどこですか？	Where is the station?
Toire wa doko desu ka?	トイレはどこですか？	Where is the toilet?
___ ni ikitai desu	___に行きたいです	I want to go to ___
Kono densha wa ___ ni ikimasu ka?	この電車は___に行きますか？	Does this train go to ___?
Migi / Hidari	右 / 左	Right / left
Massugu	まっすぐ	Straight ahead
Chikatetsu	地下鉄	Subway
Kippu	切符	Ticket
Norikae	乗り換え	Transfer (change trains)
Ikura kakarimasu ka?	いくらかかりますか？	How much does it cost (to get there)?

06 —Hotels and Accommodation

Romaji	Japanese	Meaning
Chekku-in / Chekku-auto	チェックイン / チェックアウト	Check-in / check-out
Yoyaku ga arimasu	予約があります	I have a reservation
___ wa nan-ji desu ka?	___は何時ですか？	What time is ___?
Wi-fi wa arimasu ka?	Wi-Fiはありますか？	Is there Wi-Fi?
Nimotsu o azukatte moraemasu ka?	荷物を預かってもらえますか？	Can you hold my luggage?
Makura o mo hitotsu kudasai	枕をもう一つください	One more pillow, please

07 —Emergencies and Health

You will probably never need these, but they are the ones worth memorising. In a real emergency, the police number is 110 and fire/ambulance is 119. Tasukete! means ‘help!’.

Romaji	Japanese	Meaning
Tasukete!	助けて！	Help!
Byoin wa doko desu ka?	病院はどこですか？	Where is the hospital?
Keisatsu o yonde kudasai	警察を呼んでください	Please call the police
Kyukyusha o yonde kudasai	救急車を呼んでください	Please call an ambulance
Guai ga warui desu	具合が悪いです	I feel unwell
Isha ga hitsuyo desu	医者が必要です	I need a doctor
Kusuri	薬	Medicine

08 —Numbers and Counting

Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) are used everywhere in Japan, so you rarely need to read Japanese numbers — but hearing them helps when prices are spoken. One quirk: four and seven each have two readings, and you should use yon (not shi) for four and nana for seven, because shi sounds like the word for ‘death’.

Number	Romaji	Japanese
1	ichi	一
2	ni	二
3	san	三
4	yon (shi)	四
5	go	五
6	roku	六
7	nana (shichi)	七
8	hachi	八
9	kyu	九
10	ju	十
100	hyaku	百
1,000	sen	千

09 —Pronunciation Basics

Japanese is forgiving for English speakers because it is built from a small set of consistent sounds. Master five vowels and you are most of the way there: a as in ‘father’, i as in ‘machine’, u as in ‘flute’ (lips relaxed, not rounded), e as in ‘bed’, and o as in ‘go’. Every vowel keeps the same sound every time.

Three rules cover most mistakes. First, there is no strong stress — say each syllable evenly rather than hammering one, so it is ‘ka-ra-o-ke’, not ‘carry-oh-kee’. Second, the ‘u’ is often near-silent at the end of words, which is why desu sounds like ‘dess’ and arigato gozaimasu like ‘gozaimas’. Third, long vowels matter: holding the vowel changes the word (obasan is ‘aunt’, obaasan is ‘grandmother’), so give double vowels a touch more length. The Japanese ‘r’ sits between an English r and l — a soft flick of the tongue.

10 —Polite vs. Casual — and the “You” Trap

As a visitor, always default to the polite forms in this guide (the -masu and desu endings). They are appropriate with strangers, staff, and anyone you have just met, and you will never sound rude using them. Casual speech is for close friends and can come across as brusque from a stranger.

One specific trap: avoid over-using the word for ‘you’ (anata). In English we say ‘you’ constantly, but in Japanese pointing ‘you’ at someone repeatedly can feel blunt or even confrontational. The natural move is to drop the subject entirely (context carries it) or, if you know it, use the person’s family name plus -san. When in doubt, just leave ‘you’ out — the sentence almost always still works.

11 —Kanji and Symbols Worth Recognising

You do not need to read Japanese, but recognising a dozen characters turns confusing moments into easy ones — especially finding exits, toilets, and whether a shop is open. These are the highest-value ones to memorise by shape.

Symbol	Reading	Meaning
入口	iriguchi	Entrance
出口	deguchi	Exit
お手洗い / トイレ	otearai / toire	Toilet
男 / 女	otoko / onna	Men / women
駅	eki	Station
営業中	eigyo-chu	Open (for business)
準備中 / 閉店	junbi-chu / heiten	Preparing / closed
押す / 引く	osu / hiku	Push / pull (on doors)
円	en	Yen (price)
無料	muryo	Free of charge

12 —Translation Apps That Actually Work

Phrases get you the basics; an app handles everything else. The single most useful trick is the camera translate feature, which reads menus, signs, and labels in real time. Download offline language packs before you fly so they work without data.

App	Best for	Notes
Google Translate	Camera translation of menus & signs; voice	Download the offline Japanese pack; camera mode is the killer feature
DeepL	Accurate text translation	Often more natural Japanese–English than Google for full sentences
Papago	Nuanced phrases	Strong for Asian languages; good for return visitors
VoiceTra	Two-way spoken conversation	Made for travel in Japan; shows a back-translation so you can check it

A few offline tips: take screenshots of key phrases and your hotel’s name and address in Japanese to show a taxi driver; save your allergy phrase as an image; and remember that camera translation works on packaged food and medicine too. For etiquette that goes hand in hand with the language — how to bow, when to remove your shoes, and onsen and temple manners — read our etiquette and customs guide.

13 —Etiquette Tied to Language

Words and manners travel together in Japan. A small bow naturally accompanies arigato gozaimasu and sumimasen — you do not need a deep formal bow, just a polite nod of the head. When you hand over money or a card, use the small tray on the counter rather than placing it in the cashier’s hand. And entering a shop or restaurant, staff will call out irasshaimase (‘welcome’) — you are not expected to reply, a smile is enough. These small gestures, paired with the phrases above, are what make the effort feel genuine rather than rehearsed — and they sit at the heart of our wider guide to Tokyo’s culture and traditions.

14 —Loanwords You Already Know

A surprising slice of everyday Japanese is borrowed from English and written in katakana, the angular script reserved for foreign words. Pronounced the Japanese way, these are instantly useful because you already know the meaning — you just adjust the sound. ‘Coffee’ becomes kohi, ‘beer’ becomes biru, and ‘convenience store’ becomes konbini. When you are stuck for a word, saying the English term with a Japanese rhythm often works.

Katakana	Romaji	English
コーヒー	kohi	Coffee
ビール	biru	Beer
コンビニ	konbini	Convenience store
トイレ	toire	Toilet
ホテル	hoteru	Hotel
タクシー	takushi	Taxi
スーパー	supa	Supermarket
カード	kado	Card
チェックイン	chekku-in	Check-in
アレルギー	arerugi	Allergy

Two cautions. Some loanwords have drifted in meaning — a baikingu (‘Viking’) is an all-you-can-eat buffet, and a manshon (‘mansion’) is just an apartment. And the pronunciation matters: ‘sake’ is ‘sah-keh’, not ‘saki’, and it doubles as the general word for alcohol, so if you want the rice wine specifically, nihonshu is clearer.

15 —Phrases That Defuse Awkward Moments

Beyond ordering and directions, a few phrases smooth the small friction points of a trip. If you walk into a shop and just want to browse, a smile and chotto mite imasu (‘I’m just looking’) heads off the hard sell. If you are blocking an aisle on a packed train, sumimasen as you move clears the way. And if someone is speaking too fast, mo ichido onegaishimasu (‘once more, please’) or yukkuri onegaishimasu (‘slowly, please’) is far more useful than a blank stare.

When you genuinely cannot communicate, do not panic — combine sumimasen, a translation app, and a pointing finger and you will get there. Japanese service culture is patient and helpful, and most staff will go out of their way once they see you trying. The goal is never perfection; it is showing respect and meeting people halfway. For where these conversations happen most — izakaya, markets, ramen counters — our advice on planning the whole trip helps you build the itinerary around them.

16 —Frequently Asked Questions

17 —Photo Credits

• Tokyo’s stations are signed in Japanese and English, so you rarely need Japanese just to navigate — Photo: MaedaAkihiko / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Knowing a handful of kanji like exit and entrance helps where English runs out — Photo: Basile Morin / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Many smaller restaurants have Japanese-only menus, where a few food phrases earn their keep — Photo: Syced / CC0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Izakaya alleys are where polite phrases like sumimasen and kanpai pay off — Photo: 運転太郎 / CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
• Station names appear in English and romaji on every metro map and platform sign — Photo: 663highland / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons