Language in Tokyo

Without a doubt one of the most complicated things to manage when visiting Japan is the language. The official language is Japanese, and is the only language spoken by the vast majority of the population.

If you're looking for someone who speaks English, you're likely to have more luck the younger the person is, although it's not guaranteed.

As difficult as the Japanese language is when spoken, it's even more difficult when written down. Japanese has three different alphabets, kanji, hiragana and katakana. Added to these three is Romaji, the Japanese language represented using the Latin alphabet. 

Basic Japonese Expressions

Courtesy

Hello
Konnichiwa
Goodbye
Sayônara
Good Morning
Ohayô gozaimasu
Good Evening
Konnichiwa
Good Night
Konbanwa
See you later
Matta ne
Please
Douzo
Thank you
Arigato
You're welcome
Dô itashimashite
Excuse Me
Sumimasen
Sorry
Gomen nasai
How are you?
O genki desu ka?
Very well, thankyou
Totemo genki desu, arigatô
Welcome
Yookoso

Useful Words

Yes
Hai
No
No

Numbers

One
Ichi
Two
Ni
Three
San
Four
Yon/Shi
Five
Go
Six
Roku
Seven
Nana/Shichi
Eight
Hachi
Nine
Kyû/Ku
Ten

Useful Expressions in Restaurants:

Water
Mizu (水)
Beer
Biru