Japan Travel Navi

Survival cards

When words fail, show the screen

Twelve big-character Japanese scripts for the moments your phrasebook gives out: the card that won't go through, the taxi driver waiting on an address, the pharmacy counter, the ryokan front desk. Open the card you need before you walk up to the counter or wave the taxi down, then simply show it — the polite, direct Japanese does the talking, and every script ends the way a real conversation here should: with a thank-you. Each card also prints cleanly on one page, so a few folded copies in your wallet make a fine no-battery backup.

Payments

When the card reader rejects you and the till has no change.

Paying with Cash

You're at a small restaurant, shrine shop, or market stall and want to confirm cash is fine before ordering.

Card Won't Go Through

The card reader rejects your card, or the shop is cash-only — the moment every traveler eventually meets.

Getting Around

Taxi addresses, platform checks, and the right exit out of the station maze.

Taxi: Please Go Here

You've hailed a taxi and the driver can't read your English address — show this screen together with the address.

Is This the Right Train?

Standing on the platform, unsure whether this local or rapid train actually stops at your station.

Which Station Exit?

Big stations have a dozen numbered exits, and picking the wrong one means a ten-minute detour around the block.

Food & Health

Ordering within your diet and explaining symptoms at a pharmacy counter.

Vegetarian or Allergies

Ordering when you don't eat meat or fish, or need to flag a food allergy at a counter or restaurant.

Help Me Order

No English menu, no pictures, and the waiter is waiting. Open this and point at anything that looks good.

Pharmacy: My Symptoms

You need over-the-counter medicine and have to explain what is wrong at the drugstore counter.

Staying & Emergencies

Front desks, lost property, and the genuinely-lost rescue.

Late Arrival, Store My Bags

Arriving before check-in, leaving after checkout, or getting in late — front desks solve all three.

I Lost Something

Wallet, phone, or passport missing — and you need to find the nearest police box to report it.

I Need a Doctor

You feel genuinely unwell and need someone to help you get medical attention, fast.

English, and Slowly Please

The conversation is outrunning you — use this to slow it down or find an English speaker.