station employee -- ekiin platform -- houmu track No. 1 -- ichi-ban sen track No. 2 -- ni-ban sen track No. 3 -- san-ban sen which track? -- nan-ban-sen bus stop No. 1 -- ichi-ban-noriba bus stop No. 2 -- ni-ban-noriba bus stop No. 3 -- san-ban-noriba which bus stop? -- nan-ban-noriba bus No. 1 -- ichi-ban no basu bus No. 20 -- nijuu-ban no basu which bus number? -- nan-ban no basu From which track does the Hikari No. 1 leave? -- Hikari ichi-gou wa nan-ban-sen desu ka. NOTE: gou is the counter for scheduled train runs From which stop does the bus bound to Shinagawa leave? -- Shinagawa-yuki wa nan-ban-noriba desu ka. Where is bus No. 5? -- Go-ban no basu wa doko desu (or: deshou) ka. Is this Hikari No. 1? No. The Hikari No.1 is the next one. -- Kore wa Hikari ichi-gou desu ka. Iie. Hikari ichi-gou wa kono tsugi desu. Does this (train) go to Atami? Yes, it does. -- Kore wa Atami e ikimasu ka. Ee, ikimasu yo. Does this train stop at Atami? -- Kore wa Atami ni tomarimasu ka. Excuse me, does this (train) stop at Kichijoji? No, it doesn't. Trains stopping at Kichijoji leave from track No. 4. -- Sumimasen, kore wa Kichijouji ni tomarimasu ka. Iie, tomarimasen yo. Kichijouji wa yon-ban-sen desu. How much further is it to Shinjuku? -- Shinjuku made ato dono gurai desu ka. NOTE: [Your destination] made ato dono gurai desu (or:deshou) ka. It takes ten more minutes. -- Ato jup-pun desu. NOTE: ato+amount of time+desu/deshou. It takes about five more kilometers. -- Ato go-kiro gurai deshou. NOTE: ato+distance+desu/deshou (It's) after (stopping at three) more stations. -- Ato mit-tsu desu. NOTE: ato+number of stations+desu/deshou Very soon. -- Mou sugu desu. As for (buying) a souvenir, what would be good? -- O-miyage wa nani ga ii deshou ka. NOTE: X wa nani ga ii deshou ka. Where would you recommend/suggest having a meal? (lit. Which place would be good?) -- Shokuji wa doko ga ii deshou ka. NOTE: X wa doko ga ii deshou ka. As for autumn leaves, when would you recommend (to go)? -- Kouyou wa itsu ga ii deshou ka. I'd like to buy a souvenir... -- O-miyage o kai-tai-n desu ga NOTE: verb (here: kaimasu), drop -masu, add -tai-n desu ga I'd like to go to Nikko soon... -- Kondo Nikkou e iki-tai-n desu ga... I'd like to go to see cherry blossoms, where would you recommend? -- Sakura o mi ni iki-tai-n desu ga, doko ga ii deshou ka. NOTE: [Object] o [verb] ni iki-tai-n desu ga ... I'd like to buy a souvenir for my mother, what would you recommend? -- Haha ni miyage o kai-tai-n desu ga, nani ga ii deshou ka. I'd like to go to the festival in Kamakura, how should I go? -- Kamakura no matsuri ni iki-tai-n desu ga, dou ittara ii deshou ka. NOTE: event = particle ni festival -- matsuri want to go -- iki-tai (verb: ikimasu) want to return home -- kaeri-tai (verb: kaerimasu) want to see/watch -- mi-tai (verb: mimasu) want to eat -- tabe-tai (verb: tabemasu) want to drink -- nomi-tai (verb: nomimasu) want to buy -- kai-tai (verb: kaimasu) want to do -- shi-tai (verb: shimasu) As for (viewing) autumn leaves, I recommend Nikko. (lit. Nikko is good) -- Kouyou wa Nikkou ga ii desu yo. NOTE: [Topic] wa [recommended place/time/thing] ga ii desu yo. Very straightforward. As for (viewing) autumn leaves, how about Nikko? -- Kouyou wa Nikkou wa dou desu ka. NOTE: [Topic] wa [recommended place/time/thing] wa dou desu ka. It's more indirect. As for cameras, I recommend Shinjuku. There are a lot of cheap stores, so... -- Kamera wa Shinjuku ga ii desu yo. Yasui mise ga takusan arimasu kara. NOTE: [Suggestion/recommendation]. [Reason] kara. As for sushi. I recommend Tsukiji. It's inexpensive and good, so... -- Sushi wa Tsukiji ga ii desu yo. Yasukute oishii desu kara. autumn leaves -- kouyou many, a lot -- takusan