Traveling around Japan doesn’t have to be intimidating as long as you’ve made the necessary arrangements. In cities like Tokyo or Osaka, there are endless booking portals that let you reserve hotels, hotels and even ryokan (traditional Japanese inns) in English. However, if you venture out into the countryside or try to make reservations too late into high season, you might not find yourself as lucky. In times like these, calling hotels directly and making reservations in Japanese can come in handy.
In this post, let’s go over the basics of making reservations in Japanese so you can get out of the house and explore Japan to your heart’s content. You’ll find that it’s not as complicated as long as you know a few handy phrases and the right Japanese counters.
Hotel Reservations in Japanese
Here is what a typical conversation will sound like when making hotel reservations in Japanese. English support is harder to come by when booking accommodations in the Japanese countryside, so communicate the details of your trip clearly and concisely.
In terms of payment methods, most accommodations will take credit cards and other forms of cashless payment but always bring enough cash, especially if you plan on booking in more remote locations.
Sample Reservation Dialogue
Just like making reservations anywhere else, you need to know the exact dates, how many people will be joining and what type of room you would like to reserve.
Speaker Japanese Romaji English Hotel staff: もしもしやまぐちホテルでございます。 Moshimoshi, Yamaguchi hoteru de gozaimasu. Hello, it’s Hotel Yamaguchi. You: 予約お願いします。 Yoyaku onegai-shimasu. I would like to make a reservation. Hotel staff: いつからお泊りになりますか？ Itsukara otomari ni narimasu ka? From when will you be staying? You: 来週の金曜日から3泊です。 Raishuu no kinyoubi kara san-haku desu. Three nights, starting Friday of next week. Hotel staff: 何名様でございますか？ Nan-mei-sama de gozaimasu ka? How many people will there be? You: 二名です。 Ni-mei desu. It will be 2 people. Hotel staff: ご一緒でございますか？ Goissho de gozaimasu ka? Will this be one room? You: いえ、別々のシングルをお願いします。 Ie, betsu betsu no singuru wo onegaishimasu. No, I’d like separate singles. Hotel staff: お名前は？ Onamae wa? What name will it be under? You: メイソンと言います。いくらでか？ Meison to iimasu. Ikura desu ka? Mason. How much will it be? Hotel staff: メイソン様。では、18日の金曜日から2泊と言うことで、シングルを二部屋お取りして起きます。34500円です。 Meison sama. De wa juu hati niti no kinyoubi kara, ni-haku to iu koto de, singuru o huta-heya otori-site okimasu. Sanman yon sen go hyaku en desu. Ms. Mason. OK, three nights, starting Friday the 18th. I’ll hold two single rooms. It will cost ¥34,500.
Japanese Counters
Unlike English, the Japanese language uses several types of counters for all sorts of objects, animals and people. Using the correct counter in context is not only crucial but also shows your grasp of the language. Here are a few to keep in mind when you plan on making a reservation in Japanese.
Number of People (one to five)
When there are more than two people, always use nin and the common word for the associated number of people. To book restaurants and train tickets, you’ll also need to familiarize yourself with these counters. In Japan, it’s not uncommon for hotel room prices to be determined by the number of people using the room.
No. of People Japanese Romaji One person １人 Hito ri Two people ２人 Futa ri Three people ３人 San nin Four people ４人 Yo nin Five people 5人 Go nin
Number of Nights and Rooms
These are some essential terms that can help you communicate how long you’ll be staying and how many rooms you will need to reserve.
How many nights of stay? How many rooms? 何泊 nan-paku いく部屋 iku-heya
Counting Nights of Stay Counting Rooms １泊 ip-paku １部屋 hito-heya ２泊 ni-haku ２部屋 huta-heya ３泊 san-paku ３部屋 mi-heya ４泊 yon-paku ４部屋 yo-heya ５泊 go-haku ５部屋 itu-heya
Types of Hotel Rooms
The room types listed below are some of the most common types you’ll find when staying at different accommodations in Japan. In some cases, like ryokan or hostels, some rooms may not have an ensuite bathroom.
Type of Room Japanese Romaji Single room シングル singuru Double room ダブル daburu Room with twin beds ツイン tsuin Western-style room 洋間 youma Japanese-style room 和室 washitsu Room with a bath バス付き basu tsuki
Booking Seat Reservations in Japanese
While most shinkansen (bullet train) and regular transit ticket kiosks have English options, if you make a mistake while booking your ticket you have to talk to an actual human and there’s a chance they won’t know much English. Similar to making reservations for hotel stays, you’ll need to let them know about your party size and exact travel dates, in addition to the type of seating and train you plan on riding.
Basic Train Vocabulary
Even in this digital age, handling multiple sheets of paper train tickets in Japan isn’t uncommon. Here’s a short breakdown of the ticket types and how to locate the nearest counter to you.
Item Japanese Romaji Ticket 切符 kippu Ticket counter 切符売り場 kippu-uriba Passenger ticket 乗車券 jousha-ken Express ticket 急行券 kyuukou-ken Special express ticket 特急券 tokkyuuken
Types of Train Cars and Seating in Japan
You won’t need to reserve all trains in Japan, but if you plan on traveling across prefectures, it might be worth looking into. For more specific shinkansen-related vocabulary, refer to this post.
Item Japanese Romaji Reserved seat 指定席 shiteiseki Unreserved seat 自由席 jiyuuseki Green car グリーン車 guriinsha Regular train 普通 futsuu
Now that you’ve familiarized yourself with the basics of making reservations in Japanese, we hope that this post will help you make the most out of your next trip to Japan. Be it for trains, restaurants or hotels, most of the vocabulary words and counters will remain the same. Safe travels!
Do you have any tips for making reservations in Japanese? Let us know in the comments!
