Trip to Japan in a month

Japanese
#1

Hey there

I’m going to Japan in a month and was wondering whether anyone has any tips on what I should shift my study focus to in preparation.

Obviously I’m not going to make any amazing improvements in a month, I’m not asking for tricks here, more like a “oh, this might come in really handy if you do it”.

For example I was thinking of shifting my focus to speaking a bit more but I don’t really know how to do that without spending lots of money on iTalki lessons.

I assume there’s also specific vocabulary/phrases/kanji/maybe even grammar that makes less sense to train when you’re just generally learning but makes a lot of sense for a tourist. I’d be happy to hear any advice on that!

(For reference, my listening comprehension is good enough that I almost always understand Natives as long as they speak clearly and maybe adjust words if I haven’t understood them so this probably isn’t the area I need to put any focus on)

I have a bit of extra time on my hands this months so I would love to use that effectively. Thanks in advance!

3 Likes
#2

It depends a bit on what you’ll be doing but I assume you are going to want to eat, so vocab/kanji you’ll see on menus falls nicely into the category you describe. Knowing the kanji names of the places you’ll be visiting can also be helpful, but those generally have rōmaji.

4 Likes
#3

From my experience, just jump in blindly and figure it out as you go. I used to be a careful planner of planning, then I realized that most planning is just useless productivity grinding that got me nowhere.

Instead, try thinking about the types of donuts they sell at Mister Donut. Maybe join a side in the classic きのこの山 versus たけのこの里 candy war. You’ll remember way more from trying to order the wrong donut than from a dozen mock conversations.

Let the ideas flow and have a damn good experience in Japan when you arrive.

3 Likes
#4

So happy for you that you are going to Japan! Somewhere you could start with is learning how to order food and common phrases. I recommend あけね的日本語教室 to get a general feel. Words like お会計 (bill), 持ち帰り (to-go), 店内 (inside the store), 別々 (separate), and 袋 (bag) come to mind as being pretty commonplace.

1 Like
#5

I believe there are some youtube channels with “typical interactions at X” type of videos.
Just being aware of some standard phrases that you always hear at conbini/hotel/station/transport/eatery can make everything much more comfortable.

For example, unless you buy ferry tickets, how often do you really run into the word 往復.

Personal anecdote: I’ve noticed some people at a shrine get their visit seal written. But since I had no idea what it’s properly called, I came up with a word to ask the shrine clerk about it. In retrospect it must’ve sounded quite funny and/or weird.

1 Like
#6

Have a note of the places that you want to go and the kanji could help as some signs don’t have romaji. A lot of places have machines where you order the items before go in. Thankfully most of them have English menu but sometimes they don’t…

Also like the basic ideas: Anno, sumimasen. Osusumewa (what do you recommend)? Toire wa doko desu ka?

Things like: My name is ____. I am from _________ . I like Japan because __________.
I am studying Japanese because ____________.

Don’t be afraid to just ask staff for things and talk. I would go to a store and just make hand signs and use broken Japanese for help. Eg for hand soap, I did hand gestures and said something along the lines of “Te wo arau toki tsukau”. :sweat_smile:

Just trying to say be open and go for it. Some sentences / topics are so common. There were lots of times when staff / random people would go and start conversations with me. A few times, we would bond on games / manga. Eg This character is cool. I really like Ishitar (from Fate). lol. I got into anime because _____ .