Language & Customs
Many websites cite that all Japanese people study English at school and therefore most Japanese people can understand basic English, but this is not the case. The degree of English spoken varies widely across the ski resorts of Japan. The highly Westernised
Niseko is at one end of the spectrum where Japanese is barely spoken! At the other end of the continuum there are small off the beaten track ski resorts where not a word of English is spoken or understood. This scenario is somewhat more common in the remote areas of Hokkaido.
Most large ski resorts have some restaurants that have English menus. Less “discovered” places may only have photos on the menu or food models, whilst the really interesting places only have a Japanese menu! If you don’t speak fluent Japanese it will be incredibly handy to carry a phase book, even if only to ensure that you don’t order eel or horse sashimi for dinner!
Even if you can’t read Japanese kanji it’s easy to find your way around Japan. Road signs commonly use the Western alphabet or roads are numbered, and the major train stations have signs in English. Shop fronts also commonly display signs using the Western alphabet.
The Japanese love people who make an effort to communicate in their language and indulge in their culture. The following are some of our favourite phrases:
|
English
|
Japanese Phonetic Pronunciation
|
Comments
|
|
yes
|
hai
|
|
|
no
|
iie
|
|
|
thank you
|
arigato
|
THE most important word to learn
|
|
thank you very much
|
arigato gozaimas
|
The 2nd most important phrase to learn
|
|
you're welcome
|
doitashi mashitay
|
|
|
good morning
|
o hi yo gozaimas
|
Add the gozaimas to be extra polite
|
|
good afternoon (or "hello")
|
kon nee chee wa
|
|
|
good evening
|
kon ban wa
|
|
|
good-bye
|
sayonara
|
|
|
please
|
kudasai
|
|
|
please (as in "go ahead" or “after you”)
|
dozo
|
The towies will say this a lot to you
|
|
excuse me
|
sumimasen
|
|
|
snow
|
yuki
|
|
|
I'm sorry
|
Gomen nasai
|
|
|
Cheers!
|
Kanpai!
|
You might use this one a few times!
|
|
happy
|
gen ki
|
|
|
delicious
|
oy shee
|
|
|
great
|
segoi
|
|
|
fantastic
|
subararshi
|
|
|
wait a moment, please
|
chotto matte kudasai
|
|
|
where is the toilet?
|
toilet wa doca desu ka?
|
They’ll understand the Western word “toilet”
|
|
Let’s go!
|
ickie ma-shaw!
|
A favourite for skiing
|
|
Cold
|
samui
|
Plenty of opportunity to use this word
|
The numbers are different depending upon the context. The use of “ichiban” (number one) is different to when ordering one beer – “biero hitotsu”. Numbers 1-4 are probably the most important to learn, as it’s too difficult to carry more than 4 beers anyway!
|
Number in English
|
Japanese Phonetic Pronunciation
|
|
one
|
hitotsu
|
|
two
|
futatsu
|
|
three
|
mittsu
|
|
four
|
yotsu
|