KON-NICHI-WA AND OTHER EXPRESSIONS

Arigatou – Thank-you

Dou itashimashite – You’re welcome

Sayonara - Goodbye

Onegaishimas - Please

Someone told me that when you go to Japan you are deaf, dumb and blind. You can’t understand, speak or read the language. Well, we managed quite well for 11 days on our recent trip to Japan with only the above expressions in our repertoire and survived.

Most Japanese people we spoke to had some knowledge of English. Most of the signs were written in Kanji as well as English. The above expressions were virtually all we needed to express our gratitude and compliment the ever-so-polite Japanese people. Some of the English terms used in signs and shop names left a bit to be desired. I would have expected some quality assurance to be applied before registering a business, but it seems it is not necessary in Japan. Here are some examples we came across.