Your Shinkansen Ticket Is Actually Two Tickets. The Gate Wants Both.
To say limited express ticket (the second ticket) in Japanese, say 特急券 (tokkyūken).
The gate shuts on you at Tokyo Station. You only fed it one ticket.
In this video
- 特急券もお願いします。 tokkyuuken mo onegai shimasu. The express ticket as well, please.
- 二枚一緒に入れてもいいですか？ nimai issho ni irete mo ii desu ka? Is it okay to put both in together?
Kanji in this phrase
- 特急券
- とっきゅうけん
- 乗車券
- じょうしゃけん
- 二枚
- にまい
- 一緒
- いっしょ
Why this phrase
A shinkansen fare is two separate pieces of card: the base fare for the distance, and the express ticket for the fast train and your seat. They go into the gate stacked together, and the machine hands both back. Getting this wrong is the single most common shinkansen fumble, and it bites hardest in the middle of August when every gate has a queue behind it.
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