Learn Japan in 30-second reels
Real phrases for the konbini, the restaurant, the train — each with romaji and English, ready to use the second you land.
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Survival
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Your Backpack Just Hit the Beam. That Sign Is Not the Temple's Name.
Zujō chūi · Watch your head.
Survival
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That Little Card Owns the Table
yoyaku-seki · reserved table
Survival
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You Let the Red Sign Drive Past. That Taxi Was Empty.
Kūsha · vacant
Survival
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You Ate It Cold
Kanetsu shite kudasai · Please heat this before you eat it.
Survival
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That Red Button Stops the Train
hijō teishi · emergency stop
Survival
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Housekeeping Walked In
Okosanaide kudasai · Please don't wake me.
Survival
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Your Disney Costume Doesn't Work Today
zenshin kasō · a full-body costume
Survival
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Your Shoes Stink All the Way Home.
ginnan no mi o fumanaide kudasai · Please don't step on the ginkgo fruit
Survival
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Those Two Kanji Were the Fee.
haikanryō · the fee to view a temple or garden
Survival
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Google Walked You Into a Loading Dock. That Sign Is Not a Suggestion.
kankeisha igai tachiiri kinshi · staff only, no entry
Survival
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The Photo Spot Has a 40-Minute Line and One Word on the Sign.
Kōyō ga migoro desu · The autumn leaves are at their peak
Survival
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Stop Pushing. That Train Door Is Waiting on You.
hanjidō · semi-automatic (you open this door)
Survival
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The Platform Does Not Say Your Stop. It Says a City Past It. That Is Your Train.
hōmen · in the direction of
Survival
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You Walked Past the Bathroom Six Times. The Sign Said Makeup Room.
keshōshitsu · restroom (literally makeup room)
Survival
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Every Locker at Tokyo Station Is Shut. Two Kanji Mean You're Walking.
manpai · full (lockers, parking, a box). Not 満員.
Survival
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Silver Week Starts Saturday. Those Empty Shinkansen Seats Will Still Leave Without You.
zensha shitei-seki · all cars reserved seating
Survival
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That Camera With a Slash Is Not a Suggestion. One Click and Staff Appear.
satsuei kinshi · No photography
Survival
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Google Said Go Straight. Two Red Kanji Disagreed.
tsūkō-dome · road closed, no through traffic
Survival
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You Dipped the Skewer Twice. The Whole Counter Went Quiet.
nidozuke kinshi · no double-dipping
Survival
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They Handed You a Rubber Key. Walk Out Without It and Your Shoes Stay in Japan.
getabako · shoe box (the numbered cabinet)
Survival
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You Paid 700 Yen for an Umbrella. The Hotel Barrel Was Free.
kashigasa · umbrellas for loan
Survival
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Every September Japan Puts an Egg on a Burger. The Reason Is About a Thousand Years Old.
tsukimi · moon viewing. The egg is the moon.
Survival
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Japan's Stop Sign Is a Red Triangle, and Missing It Is the Country's Number One Ticket
tomare · STOP (sign wording)
Survival
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You Read the Right Kanji Last Night. Tonight the Same Door Is the Women's Bath.
danjo irekae · men's and women's baths swap over
Survival
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The Only Empty Seats on a Packed Tokyo Train Are Upstairs. Sitting In One Costs Extra.
guriin-sha · the paid upgrade car, a separate ticket
Beginner
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The Photo Booth Corner in Japan Has a Sign About You. It Isn't What You'll Assume.
dansei dake demo daijōbu desu ka? · Is it okay if it's just guys?
Survival
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The Machine Has Your Note and Keeps Spitting It Back. One Small Light Says Why.
tsurisen-gire · out of change (exact coins only)
Survival
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Same Room, Two Prices. The Cheaper One Is Not a Discount.
shukuhaku · an overnight stay (the other row, 休憩, is a short rest block)
Survival
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People Here Hold a Cafe Table With Just a Phone. So Why Does the Station Warn You About This?
okibiki · theft of a bag you set down
Survival
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The Yellow Bumpy Strip in Every Japanese Station Is Not Decoration.
tenji burokku · tactile paving
Survival
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Your IC Card Opens Every Gate in Tokyo. Out Here There Is No Gate, and No Anybody.
mujin-eki · unstaffed station
Survival
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The Card Machine Turns to Face You. Four Kanji, a Blinking Box, and a Queue Behind You.
anshou bangou · PIN
Survival
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The Beach Was Packed Last Week. Today One Small Sign Is Keeping Everyone Out of the Water.
kurage chuui · caution: jellyfish
Survival
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The Festival Stall Still Has a Queue. The Little Board at the Front Says the Food Ran Out Ages Ago.
urikire · sold out
Survival
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Two Weeks In and Everything You Own Is Damp. The Machine Only Speaks Kanji.
kansou · dry
Survival
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You Get to Your Tokyo Hotel at Midnight and There Is No Toothbrush. Nothing Is Missing.
gojiyū ni otori kudasai · Please help yourself
Survival
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An Empty Taxi Drove Straight Past You in Tokyo With Your Arm in the Air. Two Kanji in the Window Had Already Said No.
kaisō · out of service
Survival
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You Grabbed the Melon Pan With Your Hand. Everyone Saw. Nobody's Going to Say a Word.
tongu o otsukai kudasai · Please use the tongs.
Survival
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You've Been Walking the Museum Backwards This Whole Time.
junro · the set route (follow the arrows)
Survival
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Two Date Stamps on Japanese Food. One Is a Suggestion, One Is a Deadline.
shōhi kigen · use-by date (the safety deadline)
Survival
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The Shop Looks Closed. That Curtain In The Doorway Is Telling You It's Open.
eigyouchuu · Open for business
Survival
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Japan Just Made a New Word for Hot Official. It Starts at Forty Degrees.
kokushobi · a brutally hot day, forty degrees and up
Survival
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Your Tokyo Hotel AC Is Running and the Room Is Still Thirty Degrees. Read One Word on the Remote.
reibō · cooling mode
Survival
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Every Line on This Japanese Menu Has a Price. One Line Has Two Kanji Instead.
jika · market price, whatever it costs today
Survival
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Your Ryokan Looked Like a Bargain. One Word on the Booking Page Says Dinner Isn't Coming.
sudomari · room only, no meals
Survival
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Two Hundred People Are Waiting and You Can't See Where the Line Starts. One Sign Says Where.
saikoubi · the end of the line
Survival
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The Museum Closes at Five. It Stopped Letting People In at Four Thirty.
saishū nyūjō · last admission
Survival
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The Matcha Tin Is Six Thousand Yen and You Still Can't Buy Two. The Shelf Says Why.
o-hitorisama itten made · One item per customer.
Page 1 of 2 · 60 videos
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