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.
All videos
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.
Survival
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The Sign at the Trailhead Isn't Decoration. It's a Warning About What Lives Up There.
kuma shutsubotsu chūi · Caution: bears in the area.
Survival
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That Japanese Timetable Has Two Columns. Reading the Wrong One Costs You an Hour.
donichishuku · Saturdays, Sundays and holidays
Survival
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One of These Two Kanji Is Quietly Costing You Money All Over Japan.
muryou / yuuryou · free / costs money
Survival
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The Ticket Gate Just Shut on You in Japan. The Screen Is Telling You Why.
zangaku busoku · not enough balance left
Survival
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It Is Thirty Six Degrees and the Locals Are Walking Straight Past the Coolest Car on the Train.
jakureibōsha · the mildly air-conditioned car
Survival
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Japan Cancelled Tomorrow's Trains. It Is Sunny Outside and the Notice Is Already Up.
keikaku unkyū · planned suspension of service
Survival
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You Walked Twenty Five Minutes in the Heat. The Card on That Door Says Closed Every Tuesday.
teikyūbi · regular weekly closing day
Survival
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The Izakaya Is Full, the Lights Are On, and They Just Turned You Away at the Door.
kashikiri · privately booked, reserved for one group
Survival
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The Big Number on a Japanese Price Tag Is Not the One You Pay.
zeikomi · tax included
Survival
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Don't Knock. The Little Window Already Answered You.
shiyouchuu · in use / occupied
Survival
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This Sign Means All You Can Eat. The Number Next to It Is a Countdown.
tabehoudai · all you can eat
Survival
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In Japan, Dinner Gets 50% Cheaper Right Before Closing. You Just Have to Read Two Kanji.
hangaku · half price
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