In this lesson you will learn how to ask where the restroom is, ask directions to the nearest station, pharmacy, or other location, and understand directions that contain words like “on the right/left,” “in front of/behind,” “next to,” and “this/that way.”

Dialogues (会話)

Situation 1 — Where is the restroom?

At a restaurant, Mr. Moore asks a waitress where the restroom is.

Romaji	English
Muaa: Sumimasen.	Excuse me.
Ueetoresu: Hai.	Yes.
Muaa: (O-)tearai wa doko desu ka?	Where is the restroom?
Ueetoresu: Achira desu. (pointing)	It’s over there.
Muaa: Doomo arigatoo.	Thank you.

Situation 2 — Is there a public phone nearby?

Mr. Roberts was involved in a car accident while driving in Tokyo. He decides to call the embassy for assistance and asks a passerby if there is a phone nearby.

Romaji	English
Robaatsu: Sumimasen, kono hen ni kooshuu-denwa ga arimasu ka?	Excuse me, is there a public phone near here?
Nihonjin: Eeto… A, asoko desu. Tabako-ya ni arimasu yo.	Let me see… Oh, it’s over there. It’s at the tobacco shop.
Robaatsu: Doomo arigatoo.	Thank you.
Nihonjin: Doo itashimashite.	You’re welcome.

Situation 3 — Is there a subway station in this vicinity?

After shopping in the Ginza, Ms. Taylor wants to go home by subway. She asks for directions.

Romaji	English
Teeraa: Sumimasen. Kono hen ni chikatetsu no eki ga arimasu ka?	Excuse me. Is there a subway station in this vicinity?
Nihonjin: Chikatetsu no eki desu ka? Soko ni arimasu yo. Kooban no tonari desu.	A subway station? There is one over there. It’s next to the police box.
Teeraa: Soo desu ka. Doomo arigatoo.	Oh, I see. Thank you.
Nihonjin: Iie, doo itashimashite.	Don’t mention it.

Situation 4 — Where is the American Pharmacy?

Mrs. Douglas is going to the American Pharmacy, which her friend recommended. She knows it’s very close to the station where she got off.

Romaji	English
Dagurasu: Sumimasen, Amerikan Faamashii wa doko desu ka?	Excuse me, where is the American Pharmacy?
Ekiin: Nikkatsu Biru ni arimasu yo.	It’s in the Nikkatsu Building.
Dagurasu: Nikkatsu Biru wa doko desu ka?	Where is the Nikkatsu Building?
Ekiin: Eki no mae ni arimasu.	It’s in front of the station.
Dagurasu: Doomo.	Thanks.
Ekiin: Doo itashimashite.	You’re welcome.

Key Vocabulary (語彙)

Location and direction words

Romaji	Kana	English
kono hen	このへん	this vicinity, this area
(o-)tearai	(お)てあらい	bathroom, toilet, restroom
achira	あちら	that way, over there (polite)
kooshuu-denwa	こうしゅうでんわ	public telephone
denwa	でんわ	telephone
eeto	ええと	let me see… (hesitation word)
asoko	あそこ	over there
tabako-ya	たばこや	tobacco shop
chikatetsu	ちかてつ	subway
soko	そこ	there
kooban	こうばん	police box
tonari	となり	next to
mae	まえ	front, in front of
ushiro	うしろ	back, behind
migi	みぎ	right
hidari	ひだり	left

Other vocabulary

Romaji	Kana	English
hon-ya	ほんや	bookstore
kusuri-ya	くすりや	drugstore
erebeetaa	エレベーター	elevator
hijooguchi	ひじょうぐち	emergency exit
tatte kudasai	たってください	please stand
shingoo	しんごう	traffic light
gakkoo	がっこう	school

Direction words — ko/so/a series

Romaji	Kana	English
kochira	こちら	this way (toward the speaker)
sochira	そちら	that way (toward the listener)
achira	あちら	that way over there
kotchi	こっち	this way (casual)
sotchi	そっち	that way (casual)
atchi	あっち	that way over there (casual)

Grammar & Usage Notes

Summary of basic location words

”Here,” “there,” “over there”

Building on the ko-, so-, a- pattern from Lesson 3:

Pattern	Things/people	Places	Directions
ko- (near speaker)	kore	koko	kochira
so- (near listener)	sore	soko	sochira
a- (far from both)	are	asoko	achira
do- (question)	dore	doko	dochira

Position words

Romaji	English
migi	right
hidari	left
mae	front
ushiro	back
tonari	next to
mukoo	beyond

The particle no with place expressions

Position words combine with no (“of”) to describe relative locations:

eki no migi — “to the right of the station”
kooban no tonari — “next to the police box”
depaato no mae — “in front of the department store”
kusuri-ya no hidari — “to the left of the drugstore”

Full sentence pattern:

Depaato wa eki no migi desu. — “The department store is to the right of the station.”
Depaato wa eki no migi ni arimasu. — “The department store is to the right of the station.”

Kono hen vs. kono chikaku

Both mean “in this area” or “near here” and can be used interchangeably:

Kono hen ni kooshuu-denwa ga arimasu ka? — “Is there a public phone near here?”
Kono chikaku ni chikatetsu no eki ga arimasu ka? — “Is there a subway station near here?”

Practice Exercises (練習)

Substitution drill — Asking “where is…?”

Practice with the pattern: Sumimasen, (o-)tearai wa doko desu ka?

Substitute
kooshuu-denwa
chikatetsu no eki
kooban
tabako-ya

Transformation drill

Transform the question pattern from doko desu ka? to doko ni arimasu ka?

Original	Transformed
Kooban wa doko desu ka?	Kooban wa doko ni arimasu ka?
Kooshuu-denwa wa doko desu ka?	Kooshuu-denwa wa doko ni arimasu ka?
(O-)tearai wa doko desu ka?	(O-)tearai wa doko ni arimasu ka?
Tabako-ya wa doko desu ka?	Tabako-ya wa doko ni arimasu ka?
Hon-ya wa doko desu ka?	Hon-ya wa doko ni arimasu ka?

Response drill — Using relative positions

Ask about a location and get an answer using position words:

Question	Answer
(O-)tearai wa doko ni arimasu ka?	Kooshuu-denwa no mae desu.
Depaato wa doko ni arimasu ka?	Eki no mae desu.
Kooban wa doko ni arimasu ka?	Depaato no migi desu.
Chikatetsu no eki wa doko ni arimasu ka?	Kooban no hidari desu.
Hon-ya wa doko ni arimasu ka?	Kusuri-ya no tonari desu.
Resutoran wa doko ni arimasu ka?	Depaato no chikaku desu.

Reading comprehension — Map exercise

Read each description and identify the correct location on a map:

Watakushi no mae ni depaato ga arimasu. Hidari ni kooshuu-denwa ga arimasu.
Watakushi no ushiro ni shingoo ga arimasu. Migi ni kooban ga arimasu.
Watakushi no mae ni gakkoo ga arimasu. Watakushi no hidari ni shingoo ga arimasu.
Watakushi no migi wa eki desu. Mae ni resutoran ga arimasu.
Mukoo ni kooban ga arimasu. Watakushi no mae ni kissaten ga arimasu.

Communication exercise — Pointing directions

Student A asks the location of a place. Student B selects an appropriate place word and points in that direction:

Place to find	Possible answers
erebeetaa (elevator)	koko / soko / asoko
(o-)tearai	kotchi / sotchi / atchi
hijooguchi (emergency exit)	mukoo / achira / kochira

Cultural Notes

Restroom signs in Japan use various Kanji. Common ones include:
- 化粧室 (keshooshitsu) — “powder room”
- 御手洗 (otearai) — “toilet, restroom”
- 婦人用 (fujin-yoo) — “for ladies”
- 殿方用 (tonogata-yoo) — “for gentlemen”
- 男 (otoko) — “men”
- 女 (onna) — “women”
Police boxes (kooban) are small neighborhood police stations found throughout Japan. Officers there are knowledgeable about the local area and are a reliable source of directions.
Tobacco shops (tabako-ya) are another excellent place to ask for directions. The clerks know their neighborhood very well, and public telephones are often located at these shops.

Some Basic Place Expressions

What You Will Learn

Lesson Material