Useful phrases in Japanese for a trip to Japan

Basic words

Yes = Hai (はい)

No = Iie (いいえ)

Thanks = Arigato (ありがとう), or the more formal Arigato gozaimasu

You're welcome = Doo Itashimashite (どういたしまして)

Excuse me (for example before asking for information) = Sumimasen (すみません)

Sorry = Gomen nasai (ごめんなさい)

Greetings and common expressions

Good morning = Ohayou gozaimasu (おはよございます)

Good afternoon = Konnichiwa (こんにちは)
[widely used]

Good evening = Konbanwa (こんばんは)

Good night = Oyasumi nasai (おやすみなさい) or simply Oyasumi

Good bye = Sayonara (さようなら)

How are you= Ogenki desu ka? (おげんきですか)
(answer) I'm fine = Genki desu (げんきです)

Good luck! = Ganbatte! (がんばって!)

Nice to meet you = Hajimemashite (はじめまして)

While eating

Enjoy your meal = Ittadakimasu (いただきます)

Thank you for the delicious food (after you have finished eating) = Gochisoosama deshita (ごちそうさまでした)

It is delicious! (referring to something you are eating) = Oishii desu! (おいしいです)

Cheers! (before toasting) = Kampai! (乾杯)

Useful phrases for travel

My name is Sean Connery / I'm Sean Connery = Watashi wa Sean Connery desu (わたしは Sean Connery です)

"Excuse me, where is Shinjuku station?" = Sumimasen, Shinjuku-eki wa doko desu ka? (すみません、新宿駅はどこですか？)
[For any other station, just replace "Shinjuku" with the name of the station, for any other place, just replace "Shinjuku-eki" with the Japanese word for the place you're looking for]

"Excuse me, what time is it?" = Sumimasen, ima nanji desu ka? (すみません、今何時ですか？)
[let him/her also understand, by signs, to show you the mobile phone or the watch rather than answering in Japanese]

"I can't understand Japanese" = Nihongo ga wakarimasen (日本語が分かりません) or wakarimasen (a simple "I can't understand")

"How much is this?" = Kore wa ikura desu ka? (これはいくらですか？)

Guided tours, activities and other things to do

If you are planning a trip to Japan and you want to do something more than just visiting famous places and monuments, we suggest you to use Rakuten Travel Experiences.

How to use Rakuten Travel Experiences

Rakuten Travel is a very useful website to enrich your travel experience, especially if you are going solo or it's your first time in Japan.
Because of the language barrier (and more), in Japan it is very difficult to interact with the locals and to get off the tourist track.
Thanks to Rakuten Travel you can find a lot of interesting and sometimes unique guided tours and activities all over Japan (and not only in Japan), that you would otherwise never be able to enjoy.
But there's more: on Rakuten Travel you can also buy tickets for several famous attractions, events, transportation and other useful services for tourists. Last but not least, you can reserve a table in hundreds of restaurants.

Some examples

You can buy tickets in advance to visit some very popular attractions and skip the queue at the ticket office, such as the Tokyo Tower, the Tokyo Sky Tree, Tokyo Disneyland or Universal Studios Osaka
You can book unique and funny tours and activities, like driving around Tokyo or Osaka on a go-kart dressed as Super Mario, or dueling with real Sumo Wrestlers
You can learn about traditional Japan, for example by joining a tea ceremony in Kyoto or by attending a crash course on Japanese Calligraphy
You can reserve your table in a lot of cafes and restaurants, for example one of the legendary 3-star Michelin restaurants in Japan, or crazy cafes like a unique Owl Cafe in Tokyo or one of the many and nowadays worldwide famous maid cafes
...

Take a look at Rakuten Travel Experiences