[Unit 2 Phrases] – Useful Phrases at the Airport

When you get off the aeroplane, the first thing you need to do is to go through the immigration. Some airports have separate gates for Japanese passport holders and others. If that is the case, make sure you line up for one of the non-Japanese passport holders’ gates. Gates for Japanese passport holders do not have a finger print scanner, so if you accidentally queue up for those, you will have to join another queue!

JR pass users

Also, these days, people are encouraged to use an automated immigration gate. However, if you are using your JR pass, you may need to go through a manned gate and have your passport stamped. If you can’t see any signpost where to go for that, you can say the following to any of the immigration personnel and hopefully they will direct you in the right direction.

I’m using a JR pass.	JR pasu o tsukai_masu.
Please stamp my passport.	Pasupooto ni sutampu o oshite kudasai.

Questions and Answers at Immigration

If you are going through a manned booth, questions you may have to answer are more or less the same everywhere. Most common questions you’ll get asked would be:

1. Purpose of your trip
2. How long you are going to stay
3. Where you are staying.

The exact wording could be different but try to listen to the keyword.

	Possible Question	Key phrase to listen for
1
2
3

Then the possible answers would be:

1	It’s Sightseeing.	kankou desu.
2	2 weeks.	nishuukan desu.
3	At Hilton Hotel.	Hiruton Hoteru desu.

The reason why they are asking these questions is to make sure that you are not going to overstay and that you have somewhere to stay, so if you are not sure what is being asked and/or how to answer them, you can show your booking confirmations for your return flight and your accommodation.

Other useful phrases at the airport

(At a currency exchange) Could you please change this into yen?	Kore o en ni kaete kudasai.		The Japanese currency is called “yen” in English, but we don’t say/write “y.” Simply “en.”
I’d like to cash these travellers’ cheques.	kono travellers cheque o genkin ni shi_tai_desu.		I’m not sure how many people use travellers’ cheques these days but…
(At a courier counter) I’d like to send this luggage to my hotel in [Kyoto].	kono nimotsu o [Kyoto] no hoteru ni okuri_tai_desu.		I usually send my suitcases from the airport to my destination. Please change Kyoto into your destination. If you are using this service, have the address of the destination handy.
When will it arrive?	itsu tsuki_masu_ka.		To understand the answer to this question, knowing the days of the week may be handy. Watch this video for that.
Where is the toilet?	Toire wa doko desu_ka.
Where is the taxi stand?	Takushii noriba wa doko desu_ka.
Where is the train station?	densha no eki wa doko desu_ka.
Where can I catch a bus?	Basu noriba wa doko desu_ka.