Learning Japanese for a Trip: What to Study Before You Go

If your trip to Japan is a few weeks away, learn for the situations you will meet, not a full course. Focus on short polite phrases you can say, the phrases staff will say to you, numbers and prices, katakana for menus, and a few words on signs. Use one audio source so you hear real pronunciation, and one daily review loop. Start a textbook only if you plan to keep studying after you get home.

What to learn first

Phrases you will say

Use the polite です/ます form with everyone you meet as a visitor. It is correct with strangers, and as a customer you do not need more formal language for shops, hotels or stations. These cover most daily transactions:

• すみません (sumimasen): excuse me, or sorry. Use it to get attention before you ask anything.
• ありがとうございます (arigatō gozaimasu): thank you.
• これをください (kore o kudasai): this one, please. Point at the menu or the item.
• トイレはどこですか (toire wa doko desu ka): where is the restroom? Swap in 駅 (eki, station) or another place.
• いくらですか (ikura desu ka): how much is it?
• カードで払えますか (kādo de haraemasu ka): can I pay by card?
• 英語のメニューはありますか (eigo no menyū wa arimasu ka): do you have an English menu?

Phrases you will hear

Listening matters as much as speaking, because staff questions come fast. Practice recognizing a few common ones:

• いらっしゃいませ (irasshaimase): welcome. Staff say it when you enter a shop or restaurant. A nod is a fine response.
• 何名様ですか (nanmei-sama desu ka): how many people? Answer with 一人です (hitori desu, one person) or 二人です (futari desu, two people), or hold up fingers.
• 袋はご利用ですか (fukuro wa go-riyō desu ka): do you need a bag? You may also hear 袋はお付けしますか (fukuro wa otsuke shimasu ka).
• 温めますか (atatamemasu ka): shall I heat it up? You may hear this at a convenience store. Answer はい、お願いします (hai, onegai shimasu, yes, please) or いいえ、大丈夫です (iie, daijōbu desu, no, that’s fine).

Numbers, katakana and signs

Learn the numbers to 10,000 so you can catch a price in 円 (en, yen). Learn katakana, because menus write loanwords in it: コーヒー (kōhī, coffee), ビール (bīru, beer). The two-week kana guide and the kana quiz fit a pre-trip schedule. For signs, learn a few kanji as whole words: 出口 (deguchi, exit), 入口 (iriguchi, entrance), 男 (otoko, men) and 女 (onna, women).

A plan for the weeks before you go

This is a suggested schedule. Adjust it to the time you have.

• Six weeks or more: learn hiragana and katakana in the first two weeks, with 10 minutes of phrase audio each day. Then add numbers, prices and the phrases above.
• Two to four weeks: start with phrases and numbers, and add katakana for menus. Hiragana reading can wait if time is short.
• The last week: stop adding new material. Say each phrase aloud, listen to the audio again, and rehearse one full scene, such as ordering a meal from greeting to payment.

Resources that fit a trip

• NHK World-Japan Easy Japanese is free. Its lesson site lists 48 lessons covering daily greetings and travel phrases, with sightseeing hints and cultural tips. MP3 audio and PDF textbooks can be downloaded free for personal use. Pick the lessons that match your trip rather than working through all 48 before you leave.
• Pimsleur is a paid audio course built around speaking aloud, and its Japanese page offers a free lesson. It suits a commute. It is audio-first, so pair it with kana practice.
• Inku includes casual, polite and travel phrase packs in its prepared catalog, according to its help center. It is a review tool, not a course. After a free first lesson on the web, studying in the web app needs a paid Inku Pro plan, and the iPhone app has its own paid plans. Its iPhone and web versions have separate plans and progress, and there is no Android app yet. Anki is the alternative if you would rather build a deck from your own list. Its desktop app, AnkiWeb sync and AnkiDroid for Android are free, and its iPhone app is paid.
• A tutor on italki can role-play ordering or check-in in one or two lessons. The tutor timing guide explains when a dated goal like a trip makes a lesson worth paying for.

Keep a translation app as a backup, not as your study plan. The Google Translate app can translate text through your phone camera, which helps with menus and notices, according to Google’s help page.

Limits

A few weeks of study will not make you conversational. Expect to catch a key word rather than a whole reply, and expect some staff to switch to English or gestures. That is still a better trip: you can read a sign, order without pointing at a photo, and thank people in their language. If you want to keep going afterward, the daily study plan guide shows how to turn trip practice into a regular routine.

Next step: write down ten phrases you will actually need on your itinerary, starting with the list above. Find each one in an audio lesson, say it aloud every day this week, and practice katakana with one menu photo from a place you plan to visit.

Sources

• NHK WORLD-JAPAN Easy Japanese — 48 free lessons covering daily greetings and travel phrases, with sightseeing hints and cultural tips; MP3 audio and PDF textbooks downloadable free for personal use. (checked 2026-10-16)
• Pimsleur: Learn Japanese — Audio language lessons aimed at speaking from the first day; a free lesson is offered. (checked 2026-10-16)
• Inku help center — The prepared catalog includes 436 phrases across casual, polite and travel packs; free first web lesson; web study then needs Inku Pro; iPhone plans are sold through Apple; iPhone and web have separate accounts and progress; a native Android app is not available yet. (checked 2026-10-16)
• Google Translate Help: Translate images — The Translate app can translate text through the phone camera or from saved images. (checked 2026-10-16)
• Anki official apps page — Anki desktop, the AnkiWeb sync service and AnkiDroid are free; AnkiMobile for iOS is purchased. (checked 2026-10-16)

Prepared by our editorial team with AI assistance. Product details are checked against the sources below.

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