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 purchasing train tickets, we recommend getting the JR, a card that allows you to travel on most train lines throughout Japan.
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Catching the tremor in Japan
In Japan, you pay per station, tickets are sold in automatic machines, do not abandon your ticket as it is also used to exit the station. You must pay close attention to the cars, some trains have exclusive cars for women and smokers. that train 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 likely need to speak or hear during your train ride in Japan. Study them well and be prepared because you may not hear the exact phrases below.
「山の手線」はどこですか？
[yamanote sen] wa doko desu ka;
Where is the [Yamanote Line]?
「秋葉原駅」に行きたいですが。
[Akihabara eki] ni ikitai desu ga;
I want to go to [Akihabara Station]
「山の手線」のホームはどこですか？
[yamanote sen] no hoomu wa doko desu ka;
Where is the platform for [Yamanote Line]?
この電車は「東京駅」行きですか？
kono densha wa [toukyou eki] yuki desu ka;
Is this the train that goes to Tokyo station?
十一時の電車に乗ります。
juuichiji no densha ni norimasu;
I'm taking the 11 o'clock train
渋谷で電車をのりかえなければならない。
Shibuya de densha o norikaenakereba naranai;
You have to change trains in Shibuya.
あなたはその列車に間に合わないでしょう。
Anata wa sono ressha ni maniawanaideshou;
You will not be able to catch the train.
電車を乗り違えていますよ。
Densha o nori chigaete imasu yo;
You're on the wrong train.
電車が遅れている。
Densha ga okurete iru;
The train is delayed.
電車を乗り間違えた。
Densha o nori machigaeta;
I took the wrong train.
その列車はすでに出発してしまった。
Sono ressha wa sudeni shuppatsu shite shimatta;
The train has already left.
列車は午後２時半に出る。
Ressha wa gogo 2-jihan ni deru;
The train leaves at 2:30 PM.
汽車はまだ着きません。
Kisha wa mada tsukimasen;
The train hasn't arrived yet.
Vocabulary related to trains in Japanese
What is the difference between the words densha (電車), kisha (汽車) and ressha (列車)? The word "densha" is used for electric trains, while "kisha" refers to steam trains, and the word "ressha" can be used for both and refers to the carriages that form the train. There is also the bullet train called shinkansen (新幹線).
If you are traveling for the first time by train in Japan, keep an eye out for these words from the list below.
- 時刻表 (jikoku hyou) - Agenda / Calendar
- 二等車 (nitou sha) - 2nd class
- 窓側の席 (mado gawa no seki) - window seat
- 通路側の席 (tsuro gawa no seki) - aisle seat
- 自由席 (jiyuu seki) - Free seat
- 優先席 (yuusen seki) - Priority seat
- 指定席 (shitei seki) - Reserved seat
- 定期券 (teiki ken) - Subscription ticket
- 乗車券 (jousha ken) - enger ticket
- 切符 (kippu) - Ticket
- 窓口 (mado guchi) - Box office
- 取り消し (tori keshi) - Cancel
- 禁煙車 (kinen sha) - Non-smoking car
- グリーン車 (guri-n sha) - Green Car / First Class
- 駅長 (ekichou) - Stationmaster / Manager
- 車掌 (shashou) - Train conductor
- 行き先 (iki saki) - Destination
- 方面 (houmen) - Direction
- 駅員 (ekiin) - Employee / gas station attendant
- 改札口 (kaisatsu guchi) - Station entrance
- 駅 (eki) - Station
- 急行 (kyuukou) - Express that stops at the main stations
- 3 番線 (san ban sen) - track 3
- 発車時刻 (hassha jikoku) - Time to go
- 線路 (senro) - Line
- 本線 (honsen) - Main line
- 特急 (tokkyuu) - Faster than the express
- 自動券売機 (jidou kenbai ki) - Ticket vending machine
- 座席番号 (zaseki bangou) - Seat number
- 始発 (shi hatsu) - First train
- 所要時間 (shoyou jikan) - Necessary time
- 回数券 (kaisuu ken) - Bilhete
- 列車 (ressha) - Train with more than 2 carriages
- 乗り換え (norikae) - Train transfer / change
- 新幹線 (shin kan sen) - Bullet train
- 準急 (junkyuu) - Express train
- 普通 (futsuu) - Train stopping at all stations
- 各駅停車 (kakueki teisha) - Train stopping at all stations
- 電車 (densha) - Train
- お釣り (otsuri) - Exchange / Exchange money
- 終点 (shuu ten) - Last stop / Terminal
- 喫煙車 (kitsuen sha) - Smoking car
- 車両 (sharyou) - Vehicle / Locomotives
- 往復 (ou fuku) - Round trip
- 片道 (kata michi) - One-way trip
- 最終電車 (saishuu densha) - Last train
- 終発 (shuu hatsu) - Last train
- 終電 (shuu den) - Last train
We also recommend reading: Everything about trains in Japan - Trivia
