🇯🇵 ✈️ Travel · Almost a beginner (A0)

🚉 Taking the train

🎯 Ask which train or platform and buy a ticket

Use the usual 50-minute plan: warm-up → key phrases → challenges → role-play → discussion → wrap-up. Share this page on Zoom so the student can see the phrases, but keep "Your card" to yourself.

💬 Warm-up questions

でんしゃによくのりますか？ (Do you take trains often?)
とうきょうにいきたいところは？ (Where do you want to go in Tokyo?)

🔑 Key phrases

〜までいくらですか (… made ikura desu ka)How much to …?
このでんしゃは〜にいきますか (kono densha wa … ni ikimasu ka)Does this train go to …?
なんばんせんですか (nanbansen desu ka)Which platform?
のりかえはどこですか (norikae wa doko desu ka)Where do I transfer?
つぎは〜ですか (tsugi wa … desu ka)Is the next stop …?
すみません、おります (sumimasen, orimasu)Excuse me, I'm getting off

📚 Useful words

えき (eki) — station
きっぷ (kippu) — ticket
〜ばんせん (…bansen) — platform …
のりかえ (norikae) — transfer
きゅうこう (kyūkō) — express
かいさつ (kaisatsu) — ticket gate

⚡ Speaking challenges

Ask 3 questions at a station.
Say platform numbers 1–10 (いちばんせん…).
Ask a stranger to let you off a crowded train.
Read station names in katakana/hiragana.

🎭 Role-play

Tokyo Station. The student wants to go to Shibuya.

🧑‍🎓 Student's card

Ask the station staff how much it costs, which platform, and if you need to transfer.

🧑‍🏫 Your card (tutor)

Be station staff. Give the answer in natural Japanese with a number: 'さんばんせんです。しんじゅくでのりかえです'.

🌀 Twist (halfway through): The train is delayed: 'でんしゃがおくれています'. The student asks how long.

🗣️ Discussion questions

どこにいきたいですか？ (Where do you want to go?)
でんしゃとバス、どっちがすき？ (Train or bus?)
にほんのでんしゃはどうですか？ (What do you think of Japanese trains?)

📌 Homework

Plan a train trip on a map app and write the questions you'd ask地図アプリで電車移動を計画し、聞く質問を書く