14-Day Conversational Japanese Brush-Up (Travel)
Trip: ~7 Nov 2026 · Start: Sat 25 Oct 2026 · Level: can speak a little · Goal: handle everyday travel situations in Japanese, understand the fast set phrases staff throw at you, and recover gracefully when you don't understand.
Daily format (~40 min)
| Block | Time | What |
|---|---|---|
| Review | 10 min | Anki/flashcards of previous days' phrases. Say each one aloud, don't just read. |
| New material | 15 min | The day's phrases below. Write your own 2–3 sentences using them. |
| Speaking | 10 min | Role-play the day's scenario out loud, both sides. Record yourself on day 7 and 13. |
| Listening | 5 min | Shadow a short clip (Comprehensible Japanese, Nihongo con Teppei, or a Japanese vlog in the day's setting). |
Rules of thumb:
- Polite form (です / ます) everywhere. It's never wrong as a visitor.
- Learn the question and the likely answers together. Asking is useless if you can't catch the reply.
- Every scenario has a bail-out phrase. Drill those hardest.
Week 1 — Survival functions
Day 1 (Sat 25 Oct) · Reactivate the basics
Topic: greetings, politeness toggles, filler/aizuchi, the five magic words.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| すみません | sumimasen | excuse me / sorry / to get attention |
| お願いします | onegai shimasu | please (requesting) |
| ありがとうございます | arigatou gozaimasu | thank you (polite) |
| 大丈夫です | daijoubu desu | I'm fine / no thanks / it's OK |
| 結構です | kekkou desu | no thank you (firm, polite) |
| はい / ええ / そうですね | hai / ee / sou desu ne | yes / yeah / I see, right |
| ちょっと… | chotto... | um, that's a bit… (soft refusal) |
| 日本語が少しだけ話せます | nihongo ga sukoshi dake hanasemasu | I can speak a little Japanese |
| もう一度お願いします | mou ichido onegai shimasu | once more please |
Drill: say goodbye/hello for morning, day, evening, leaving a shop (ありがとうございました → nothing needed back, or a nod + どうも).
Day 2 (Sun 26 Oct) · Numbers, money, time
Topic: prices, counting people and things, telling time.
- Numbers 1–10,000. Focus on hearing 百 / 千 / 万 combos fast: 1,980円 = せんきゅうひゃくはちじゅう円.
- Counters you'll actually use: 〜人 (people: ひとり, ふたり, さんにん), 〜つ (generic: ひとつ, ふたつ, みっつ), 〜枚 (tickets, flat things), 〜本 (bottles).
- Time: 〜時 / 〜分 / 半. 何時に閉まりますか (what time do you close?).
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| いくらですか | ikura desu ka | how much is it? |
| 二人です | futari desu | two people |
| これを二つください | kore o futatsu kudasai | two of these please |
| 何時からですか / までですか | nanji kara / made desu ka | from / until what time? |
| 現金で / カードで | genkin de / kaado de | by cash / by card |
Drill: read out 10 random prices; have someone (or a TTS app) say prices and write them down.
Day 3 (Mon 27 Oct) · Restaurants, cafés, konbini
Topic: getting seated, ordering, paying; the konbini script.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 何名様ですか → 二人です | nanmei-sama desu ka → futari desu | how many? → two |
| おすすめは何ですか | osusume wa nan desu ka | what do you recommend? |
| これをお願いします | kore o onegai shimasu | this one please (pointing) |
| 〜抜きでお願いします | ~nuki de onegai shimasu | without ~ please |
| 〜アレルギーがあります | ~arerugii ga arimasu | I'm allergic to ~ |
| お会計お願いします | okaikei onegai shimasu | the bill please |
| 別々でお願いします | betsubetsu de onegai shimasu | separate bills please |
| ごちそうさまでした | gochisousama deshita | thanks for the meal (leaving) |
Konbini listening — what they say, and your reply:
- 袋はご利用ですか / 袋いりますか → いります / 大丈夫です
- 温めますか → お願いします / 大丈夫です
- ポイントカードはお持ちですか → ないです
- お箸おつけしますか → お願いします
Drill: full role-play from entering to paying. Both sides.
Day 4 (Tue 28 Oct) · Trains, buses, taxis
Topic: stations, platforms, transfers, IC cards, taxis.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 〜までいくらですか | ~made ikura desu ka | how much to ~? |
| 〜行きはどのホームですか | ~yuki wa dono hoomu desu ka | which platform for the train to ~? |
| 何番線ですか | nanbansen desu ka | which track number? |
| この電車は〜に止まりますか | kono densha wa ~ni tomarimasu ka | does this train stop at ~? |
| 乗り換えが必要ですか | norikae ga hitsuyou desu ka | do I need to transfer? |
| 〜までお願いします | ~made onegai shimasu | to ~, please (taxi) |
| ここで降ります | koko de orimasu | I'll get off here |
| チャージお願いします | chaaji onegai shimasu | top-up please (IC card) |
Listening: 次は〜、〜です。お出口は右側です。 / 急行 vs 各停 vs 快速 (express / local / rapid).
Day 5 (Wed 29 Oct) · Shopping
Topic: asking for things, sizes, trying on, tax-free, paying.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 〜はありますか | ~wa arimasu ka | do you have ~? |
| 見てるだけです | miteru dake desu | just looking |
| 試着してもいいですか | shichaku shite mo ii desu ka | may I try it on? |
| もっと大きい / 小さいのはありますか | motto ookii / chiisai no wa arimasu ka | do you have a bigger / smaller one? |
| 他の色はありますか | hoka no iro wa arimasu ka | other colours? |
| 免税できますか | menzei dekimasu ka | can I get tax-free? |
| これください | kore kudasai | I'll take this |
| 袋は大丈夫です | fukuro wa daijoubu desu | no bag needed |
Grammar focus: 〜てもいいですか (may I ~?) — reuse it everywhere (写真を撮ってもいいですか).
Day 6 (Thu 30 Oct) · Directions and asking for help
Topic: where is ~, understanding the answer, being lost.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 〜はどこですか | ~wa doko desu ka | where is ~? |
| トイレ / 駅 / 出口 / 改札 | toire / eki / deguchi / kaisatsu | toilet / station / exit / ticket gate |
| まっすぐ / 右 / 左 / 突き当たり | massugu / migi / hidari / tsukiatari | straight / right / left / end of the street |
| 歩いて何分ですか | aruite nanpun desu ka | how many minutes on foot? |
| 近いですか / 遠いですか | chikai / tooi desu ka | is it near / far? |
| 道に迷いました | michi ni mayoimashita | I'm lost |
| 地図で教えてもらえますか | chizu de oshiete moraemasu ka | can you show me on the map? |
Listening: answers you'll hear — あそこです / 二つ目の角を右 / 信号を渡って / すぐそこ.
Day 7 (Fri 31 Oct) · Review + record
- Re-run all six scenarios aloud without notes. Record yourself. Note what you fumbled.
- Rebuild your Anki deck: drop anything you now know cold, keep anything you hesitated on.
- Light day. 20 min max.
Week 2 — Depth, listening, recovery
Day 8 (Sat 1 Nov) · Hotel / ryokan
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| チェックインお願いします | chekku-in onegai shimasu | check in please |
| 予約した〇〇です | yoyaku shita ~ desu | I have a reservation, name ~ |
| 荷物を預けてもいいですか | nimotsu o azukete mo ii desu ka | can I leave my luggage? |
| チェックアウトは何時ですか | chekku-auto wa nanji desu ka | what time is checkout? |
| Wi-Fiのパスワードは何ですか | waifai no pasuwaado wa nan desu ka | what's the Wi-Fi password? |
| 朝食は何時からですか | choushoku wa nanji kara desu ka | what time does breakfast start? |
| タオルをもう一枚お願いします | taoru o mou ichimai onegai shimasu | one more towel please |
| 鍵をなくしました | kagi o nakushimashita | I lost the key |
Onsen etiquette phrases to recognise: 入れ墨 / タトゥー (tattoo policy), 貸切 (private bath), 男湯 / 女湯.
Day 9 (Sun 2 Nov) · Small talk
Topic: the conversation you'll have with a taxi driver, izakaya neighbour, or shop owner.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| シンガポールから来ました | shingapooru kara kimashita | I'm from Singapore |
| 日本は初めてです / 二回目です | nihon wa hajimete / nikaime desu | first / second time in Japan |
| 一週間くらいいます | isshuukan kurai imasu | I'm here about a week |
| 〜に行く予定です | ~ni iku yotei desu | I plan to go to ~ |
| 〜が好きです | ~ga suki desu | I like ~ (food, place) |
| おいしかったです | oishikatta desu | it was delicious |
| 日本語お上手ですね → いえいえ、まだまだです | nihongo ojouzu desu ne → ie ie, madamada desu | "your Japanese is good" → "no no, still a long way" |
| 寒いですね / 暑いですね | samui / atsui desu ne | cold / hot, isn't it |
Grammar focus: past tense (〜ました / 〜かったです) to talk about yesterday. 昨日、京都に行きました。きれいでした。
Day 10 (Mon 3 Nov) · Decoding staff speech (keigo)
Topic: pure listening. These are said fast and formulaic. You don't need to produce them, only recognise them.
| You'll hear | Meaning | Your reply |
|---|---|---|
| いらっしゃいませ | welcome | (nothing) |
| こちらでお召し上がりですか、お持ち帰りですか | for here or to go? | ここで / 持ち帰りで |
| 少々お待ちください | one moment please | はい |
| こちらへどうぞ | this way please | はい |
| 以上でよろしいですか | is that everything? | はい / あと〜 |
| お待たせしました | sorry for the wait | (nothing / どうも) |
| 恐れ入りますが… | I'm terribly sorry but… (a "no" is coming) | listen carefully |
| 申し訳ございません | we're very sorry | 大丈夫です |
| ご注文はお決まりですか | ready to order? | はい / もう少し待ってください |
| 〜円になります / 〜円のお返しです | that'll be ~ yen / ~ yen change | はい |
| レシートはご利用ですか | need the receipt? | 大丈夫です |
Drill: listen to konbini / café / station announcement clips and tick off each phrase as you catch it.
Day 11 (Tue 4 Nov) · Recovery and troubleshooting
Topic: the phrases that save every other phrase.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ゆっくり話してもらえますか | yukkuri hanashite moraemasu ka | could you speak slowly? |
| 書いてもらえますか | kaite moraemasu ka | could you write it down? |
| 英語のメニューはありますか | eigo no menyuu wa arimasu ka | is there an English menu? |
| 〜はどういう意味ですか | ~wa dou iu imi desu ka | what does ~ mean? |
| 〜は日本語で何と言いますか | ~wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka | how do you say ~ in Japanese? |
| わかりません | wakarimasen | I don't understand |
| 間違えました | machigaemashita | I made a mistake |
| 〜をなくしました | ~o nakushimashita | I lost ~ (財布, パスポート, スマホ) |
| 薬局はどこですか / 頭痛 / 風邪薬 / 胃薬 | yakkyoku / zutsuu / kazegusuri / igusuri | pharmacy / headache / cold medicine / stomach medicine |
| 具合が悪いです | guai ga warui desu | I feel unwell |
Day 12 (Wed 5 Nov) · Grammar tune-up
Pick the five patterns that cover 90% of what you'll need. Make three sentences each, aloud.
- 〜をください / 〜をお願いします — give me / please (requests)
- 〜てもいいですか — may I ~?
- 〜てもらえますか — could you ~ for me?
- 〜たいです / 〜に行きたいです — I want to ~ / want to go to ~
- 〜はありますか / 〜はどこですか — is there ~? / where is ~?
Bonus: 〜と思います (I think), 〜かもしれません (maybe) — softeners for small talk.
Day 13 (Thu 6 Nov) · Full-day simulation
Script a whole day and act it out, start to finish, without notes:
- Hotel breakfast → ask what time it ends.
- Station → buy ticket, ask platform, confirm transfer.
- Lunch → get seated, ask recommendation, request no ~, pay separately.
- Shop → ask for size, try on, tax-free, decline bag.
- Get lost → ask directions, confirm by repeating back.
- Izakaya → small talk with a neighbour: where from, how long, what you did today.
- Konbini → the full script.
- Back at hotel → ask for a towel, confirm checkout time.
Record it. Compare with the Day 7 recording.
Day 14 (Fri 7 Nov) · Taper and cheat-sheet
- No new material. 15 min Anki, then stop.
- Build a one-page cheat-sheet (phone note) with: the five magic words, recovery phrases (Day 11), numbers/counters, and your personal intro lines (Day 9).
- Pack it. Go.
Resources
- Anki (or a notes app) for the phrase tables above. Add audio with the built-in TTS if you can.
- Shadowing: Comprehensible Japanese (YouTube), Nihongo con Teppei (podcast), Japanese train/konbini POV vlogs.
- Dictionary: Jisho.org, Takoboto app.
- In-trip: Google Translate camera for menus, Google Maps for routes; use Japanese for the human interactions.