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Escaping the City (Travel & Ryokan)
When you leave Tokyo, you step into a world where traditional hospitality rules. Booking a Shinkansen ticket requires knowing the difference between reserved and unreserved seats. And staying at a Ryokan (traditional inn) means navigating the highest, most respectful levels of Japanese Keigo from the staff.
Scenes
Scene Vocabulary
ご出発
go-shuppatsuDeparture (Polite)何時頃
nan-ji goroAround what time〜発〜
~hatsuDeparting at...空席くうせき
kusekiEmpty seats / Vacancies自由席
jiyuusekiUnreserved seat指定席
shiteisekiReserved seatどちら
dochiraWhich one (of two)なさいますか
nasaimasu kaWill you do/choose?窓側
madogawaWindow side切符
kippuTicket1414
170円170
170-en170 yen21号21
21-gouNo. 21空いて
aiteOpen / Free空いています
aiteimasuIs open/availableあります
arimasuThere is / I haveでしょう
deshouRight? / Probablyでは
dewaWell then土曜日
doyoubiSaturdayございます
gozaimasuIs / Existsはい
haiYesいい
iiGood / Fine行きたい
ikitaiWant to go15分15ふん
jyuugo-fun15 minutesかしこまりました
kashikomarimashitaCertainly / Understoodこちら
kochiraThis way / This person / Here今週
konshuuThis week京都きょうと
kyotoKyoto9時9とき
kyu-ji9 o'clockまで
madeUntil / Toなります
narimasuBecomeのぞみ
nozomiNozomi (Bullet train name)お願いします
onegaishimasuPleaseおります
orimasuI amすみません
sumimasenExcuse me / I'm sorryよろしい
yoroshiiGood / FineDialogue A: Booking Shinkansen Tickets
You are at the JR Ticket Office (Midori no Madoguchi) at Tokyo Station. You want to buy a ticket to Kyoto for this weekend. You need to specify that you want a reserved seat (shiteiseki) on the fastest train (Nozomi).
Display Options
You
すみません、今週の土曜日に京都まで行きたいんですが。Sumimasen, konshuu no doyoubi ni Kyoto made ikitai n desu ga.
Excuse me, I would like to go to Kyoto this Saturday.
Clerk
かしこまりました。ご出発は何時頃がよろしいでしょうか？Kashikomarimashita. Go-shuppatsu wa nan-ji goro ga yoroshii deshou ka?
Understood. Around what time would you like to depart?
You
朝9時頃の「のぞみ」がいいです。Asa kyu-ji goro no Nozomi ga ii desu.
A Nozomi around 9:00 AM would be good.
Clerk
9時15分発の「のぞみ21号」が空席あります。自由席と指定席、どちらになさいますか？Kyu-ji jyuugo-fun hatsu no Nozomi 21-gou ga kuseki arimasu. Jiyuuseki to shiteiseki, dochira ni nasaimasu ka?
There are open seats on Nozomi 21 departing at 9:15. Will you take an unreserved seat or a reserved seat?
You
指定席でお願いします。窓側の席は空いていますか？Shiteiseki de onegaishimasu. Madogawa no seki wa aiteimasu ka?
A reserved seat, please. Are there any window seats open?
Clerk
はい、空いております。では、こちらが切符になります。14,170円でございます。Hai, aite orimasu. Dewa, kochira ga kippu ni narimasu. 14,170-en de gozaimasu.
Yes, they are open. Then, here is your ticket. That will be 14,170 yen.