Buying a Train Ticket

Welcome to Chapter 3: Transportation! In this lesson you will learn how to buy a train ticket in Japan. You will practice asking for the fare to your destination, finding ticket windows and vending machines, asking a Japanese person to buy a ticket for you, and counting numbers up to 999.

Dialogues (会話)

Situation 1 — Where Is the Ticket Window?

Ms. Spencer wants to go to Shibuya from Tokyo Station. She decides to take the subway.

Romaji	English
Supensaa: Sumimasen. Shibuya e ikitai n desu ga, kippu uriba wa doko desu ka?	Excuse me. I want to go to Shibuya, but where is the ticket window?
Nihonjin: Chikatetsu desu ka, JR-sen desu ka?	The subway or the JR line?
Supensaa: Chikatetsu desu.	The subway.
Nihonjin: Aa, jaa, koko o massugu itte, kaidan o agatte, chotto itta…	Oh, well, go straight from here, go up the stairs and go a little further…
Supensaa: Sumimasen. Wakarimasen.	Sorry, I don’t understand.
Nihonjin: Soo desu ka. Jaa, tsurete itte agemashoo.	Oh. Well then, I’ll take you there.
Supensaa: Doomo arigatoo.	Thank you very much.

Situation 2 — How Much Is the Fare?

Ms. Norris is at Tokyo Station heading to Kamakura for sightseeing.

Romaji	English
Norisu: Sumimasen. Kamakura e ikitai n desu ga, ikura desu ka?	Excuse me. I want to go to Kamakura, but how much is it?
Nihonjin: Eeto… Koko kara Kamakura made kyuuhyaku-en desu.	Let me see… It’s 900 yen from here to Kamakura.
Norisu: Soo desu ka. Doomo.	I see. Thanks.

Situation 3 — Buying Tickets at the Window

Mr. Murphy is at a station in Hakone, heading home to Shinjuku. He goes to a ticket window.

Romaji	English
Maafii: Sumimasen. Shinjuku e ikitai n desu ga, kippu wa koko desu ka?	Excuse me. I want to go to Shinjuku, but is this where tickets are sold?
Madoguchi no hito: Ee, soo desu yo.	Yes, that’s right.
Maafii: Jaa, Shinjuku, ni-mai.	Well then, two tickets to Shinjuku.
Madoguchi no hito: Sen nihyaku hachijuu-en desu.	That’s 1,280 yen.

Key Vocabulary (語彙)

Romaji	English	Kana
ikitai n desu ga	I want to go (but…)	いきたいんですが
ga	but (softens the transition)	が
kippu	ticket	きっぷ
kippu uriba	ticket window	きっぷうりば
kaidan	stairway	かいだん
agatte	go up (TE form of agarimasu)	あがって
ikura	how much?	いくら
en	yen	えん
hyaku	hundred	ひゃく
jidoo hanbaiki	vending machine	じどうはんばいき
madoguchi	(sales) window	まどぐち
…ban	number…	…ばん
shirimasen	don’t know	しりません
kaisuu-ken	coupon tickets	かいすうけん
teeki-ken	season pass / commuter ticket	ていきけん
ryookin seesanjo	fare adjustment window	りょうきんせいさんしょ
katte kudasaimasen ka?	won’t you buy (it) for me?	かってくださいませんか
kaisatsuguchi	gate (at station)	かいさつぐち
…mai	counter for flat objects (tickets)	…まい

Counting Hundreds

Number	Romaji	Number	Romaji
100	hyaku	600	roppyaku
200	nihyaku	700	nanahyaku
300	sanbyaku	800	happyaku
400	yonhyaku	900	kyuuhyaku
500	gohyaku

Practice reading these: 132, 243, 356, 404, 580, 671, 765, 818, 927, 999.

Grammar & Usage Notes

1. Expressing Desire: V-tai n desu

To express your desire to do something, use the pattern V-tai n desu, where V is the verb stem:

• Ikitai n desu. — I want to go.
• Ginza e ikitai n desu. — I want to go to the Ginza.

Add ga (“but”) to smoothly transition to a question:

• Ginza e ikitai n desu ga, kippu uriba wa doko desu ka? — I want to go to the Ginza — where is the ticket window?
• Toranomon e ikitai n desu ga, ikura desu ka? — I want to go to Toranomon — how much is it?

2. Asking the Fare

Use ikura desu ka? (“How much is it?”) to find out prices and fares.

3. Buying Tickets

To buy tickets, simply state your destination and the number of tickets:

Romaji	English
Ginza, ichi-mai.	One ticket to the Ginza.
Toranomon, ni-mai.	Two tickets to Toranomon.
Yokohama, san-mai.	Three tickets to Yokohama.

The counter -mai is used for thin, flat objects like tickets. The number stays the same pattern regardless of quantity.

4. Asking Someone to Buy for You

If you can’t read the fare chart (which is usually in kanji), you can ask a nearby person:

• (Destination) e ikitai n desu. Kippu o katte kudasaimasen ka? — I want to go to (destination). Would you please buy a ticket for me?

5. Tsurete itte agemashoo — “I’ll take you there”

When directions would be too complicated, a Japanese person may simply offer to walk you there. This generous expression means “I’ll take you there.”

Practice Exercises (練習)

A. Translation Exercise

Say the following in Japanese:

1. One ticket to Ueno
2. Two tickets to Yokohama
3. Four tickets to Shinjuku
4. Three tickets to Shibuya
5. Five tickets to Asakusa
6. One ticket to the Ginza

B. Substitution Drill — Where Is It?

Base sentence: Kippu uriba wa doko desu ka?

Substitute:

1. JR-sen no eki (JR station)
2. Chikatetsu no eki (subway station)
3. Chikatetsu no kippu uriba (subway ticket window)
4. JR-sen no kippu uriba (JR ticket window)
5. Jidoo hanbaiki (vending machine)

C. Fare Inquiry Drill

Base sentence: ___ e ikitai n desu ga, ikura desu ka?

Practice with these destinations:

1. Tokyo
2. Nagoya
3. Fukuoka
4. Kyoto
5. Osaka
6. Yokohama

D. Fare Chart Exercise

Using the fare chart below, practice asking and answering fare questions:

From	To	Fare
Tokyo	Ginza	120 yen
Tokyo	Toranomon	180 yen
Tokyo	Shinjuku	360 yen
Ginza	Toranomon	180 yen
Ginza	Shinjuku	320 yen
Toranomon	Shinjuku	300 yen

Example:

• A: Tokyo kara Ginza made ikura desu ka?
• B: Hyaku nijuu-en desu.

Cultural Notes

Types of Tickets

• Regular tickets can usually be bought from vending machines. Find the fare on the chart above the machines, insert coins, and press the correct price button.
• Kaisuu-ken (回数券) — coupon tickets: a sheet of eleven tickets for the price of ten. Valid only between designated stations.
• Teeki-ken (定期券) — season pass / commuter ticket: available for one, three, or six months. Can save nearly 50% of the regular fare.

Tip: Can’t Read the Fare Chart?

If you can’t read the kanji station names on the fare chart, buy the lowest fare ticket from the machine. When you arrive at your destination, go to the ryookin seesanjo (fare adjustment window) before exiting and pay the difference.

Public Transportation Overview

• JR-sen — Japan Railway operates many electric train services. The Yamanote-sen loop line circles the heart of Tokyo, stopping at major sub-centers (Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ueno, Ikebukuro, etc.). It takes about 62 minutes for one complete loop.
• Chikatetsu — The subway is the quickest and cheapest way to travel in Tokyo. Lines start at 5 a.m. and stop just before midnight. Stations have English signs on every platform.
• Basu — Buses are useful for short distances between subway and JR stations, but routes can be confusing without language skills or prior knowledge.

Reading Practice (漢字)

Kanji	Romaji	English
大人	otona	adult
小人	kodomo	child(ren)
運賃表	unchinhyoo	fare list
発売中	hatsubaichuu	on sale
発売中止	hatsubai-chuushi	not on sale
両替機	ryoogaeki	money changing machine