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Saturday, May 28, 2016

Osaka: Navigating the Many Namba Stations

Figure 1.  Nankai-Namba Station

When you arrive at Kansai International Airport (symbol: KIX) and try to reach your destinations via trains, sometimes you need to make connections at Namba Station (see Fig. 2).

Namba Station is one of the main connection points (the other two are Umeda and Tennoji Stations). But, Namba Station actually means 4 different stations on Google map (see Fig. 3&4) :
  • Namba Station (subway station)provides access to the Osaka Subway Midousuji (see Fig. 4), Sennichimae, and Yotsubashi lines. These lines travel to Osaka Station, Koreatown, Honmachi, and Nippombashi.
  • JR-Namba Station:  is smaller than other JR stations, containing only four tracks and two platforms. It is located in the Osaka City Air Terminal (OCAT) building, and the door for street-level entry is small and nondescript. JR Namba Station is connected to the other train stations via an underground pathway.
  • Nankai-Namba Station: provides access to Wakayama Prefecture and Kansai Airport (KIX) on the Nankai Railways.
  • Osaka-Namba Station (sometimes called Kintetsu Namba Station): serves both Kintetsu Railways and Hanshin Railways, providing access to Nara, Nagoya, Kyoto, and Kobe.


Figure 2.  Osakan trains operate on a network of private rail companies

JR and Other Private Railways in Kansai Region


On Internet, Japan Rail Pass (JR Pass) is often recommended for traveling throughout Japan, which can be used on the railway, bus and ferry services that are provided by Japan Rail Group with few exceptions.

If you are traveling within Kansai region, however, most train services are provided by a myriad of private railway companies. See the caption of the Figure 2 for some of them.


Figure 3.  Four different Namba Stations (top Namba Station is subway station & bottom Namba Station is Nankai-Namba Station)

Figure 4.  Four different Namba Stations (highlighted in green; Osaka Metro Route Map)

Which Namba Station?


To search for train routes, Jorudan becomes a handy tool. However, most likely you will find the following stations (name pair used by Google/Jorudan):
  • JR-Namba Station / JR-Namba
  • Nankai-Namba Station / Nankai-Namba
  • Osaka-Namba Station / Osaka-Namba
  • Namba Station / Namba
which are highlighted in yellow-colored rectangles of the above map (click to enlarge). Based on which railways you ride on, you might arrive at different Namba station. For connections, you may need to walk over to the nearby Namba station which is serviced by another railway company. For example, if you ride on trains serviced by Nankai Railways, you could arrive at Nankai-Namba Station. To reach Nara, you may want to take trains serviced by Kintetsu Railways. In that case, you need to take a 12-mins walk to Osaka-Namba Station (see map below).



References

  1. Kansai Thru Pass (Surutto Kansai)
  2. Hyperdia
  3. Japan Rail Pass
  4. Japan Rail Group
  5. How to enjoy Osaka
  6. KIX to Namba Station serviced by Nankai Limited Express Rapi:t
    • KIX → Tengachaya → Shin-Imamiya → Namba
    • Departure from KIX roughly every 30 mins
    • Regular seat: 1130 yen (downloaded on 05/30/2016)
    • How to purchase a ticket
  7. Living in: The world's safest cities
    • Osaka, Amsterdam, Sydney,  Singapore, Stockholm
  8. Best Things to do in Osaka - Overnight City Guide (video)
  9. Namba Station: Trains, transfers and getting around
  10. Midosuji Line M20 Namba Station
  11. Kintetsu Railways
  12. Osaka Area Route Map
  13. Japan Transit Planner (Jorudan)
  14. Osaka Metro Route Map (pdf)

Figure 5.  Midosuji Line M20 Namba Station (M19: Shinsaibashi)


Thursday, May 26, 2016

Japanese: Top 15 Questions to Learn


You can watch Risa teaching "Top 15 Questions to Learn" from youtube here.

In this article, we list those questions in written forms.  So, you can practice them repeatedly or you can copy the phrases from here and paste them to japandict.com or a Japanese language-learning tool for further research.


Section 1


When is your birthday?
        たんじょうび
あなたの   誕生日   は いつですか
Anata no tanjōbi wa itsudesuka


How old are you?
   いく
お 幾つ ですか?
Oikutsu desuka



How are you?
   げんき
お  元気  ですか?
Ogenki desuka?


What's your name?
     なまえ
お  名前  
Onamae wa


What's this?
      なん
これは  何  ですか?
Korewa nan desuka?


Where are you from?
  しゅっしん
ご 出身  は どちらですか?
Go shusshin wa dochira desuka?


Where is the bathroom?
トイレ は どこ ですか?
Toire wa dokodesu ka?





Section 2


Where do you work?
     はたら
どこで  働  いて いますか?
doko de hataraiteimasuka?


Where did you learn Japanese?
      にほんご   なら
どこで  日本語 を 習  いました か?
Doko de nihongo o naraimashitaka?



Where do you live?
     
どこに 住んで いますか?
Doko ni sundeimasuka?


How long have you been studying Japanese?
        にほんご   なら
どの くらい日本語 を 習て いますか?
Dono kurai nihongo o naratteimasuka



What did you say?
なに   
何  て 言いましたか
Nanite iimashitaka



Have you been to Japan?
にほん     
日本  に  来 たことがありますか?
Nihon ni kita koto ga arimasua?





Section 3


Do you like Japanese Food?
にほん   りょうり    
日本 の 料理 が 好き ですか?
Nihon no ryōri ga suki desuka?


What's your phone number?
でんわ ばんごう    なんばん
電話  番号  は 何番 ですか?

Tenwabangō wa nan-ban desuka

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Survival Japanese—How to Order 丼ぶり

(どん / don) or 丼ぶり (どんぶり / donburi) in Japanese means:
  • Bowl of rice with food on top
Rice-bowl dish in Japan can consist of various ingredients which are simmered together and served on the top of rice.

In this article, we will introduce some  丼ぶり (どんぶり / donburi)  and show you how to order them.



丼物


As shown in the picture, there are many kinds of 丼物 / どんぶりもの / donburimono.   In Japan, there are large chain stores such as Yoshinoya (吉野屋), Sukiya (すき屋), Matsuya (松屋); They offer 丼物 at a low price.

Here we introduce some common ones:
  • 親子丼 / おやこどん / oyako don
  • 天丼 / てんどん / ten don
    • tempura served over a bowl of rice
  • カツ丼 / カツどん / katsu don
    • breaded pork on rice
  • 鰻丼 / うなどん / unadon (or うなぎ丼 / うなぎどんぶり / unagidonburi)
    • bowl of eel and rice
  • 若鳥丼 / わかどりどん / wakadori don 
    • young chicken on rice
  • 玉子丼 / たまごどん / tamago donburi 
    • bowl of rice topped with boiled eggs
  • 鉄火丼 / てっかどん / tekkadonburi  
    • vinegared rice topped with sliced raw tuna
  • 牛丼 / ぎゅうどん / gyuudon
    • rice covered with beef and vegetables
  • 豚丼 / ぶたどん / butadon
    • rice covered with pork and vegetables
  • カレー丼 / kare-don
    • rice Bowl Topped with Japanese Curry
For more choices, read information from this site.

How to Order


How to order in Japanese at Restaurant. - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np25r_FJVmw

Oct 9, 2011 - Uploaded by komori841
This theme is requested by the viewer. I am telling how to order food at Japan. Now you can come Japanese ...

8. How to order food from a menu in Japanese - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn3eEIF22Js

Jan 24, 2015 - Uploaded by Learn Japanese Pod
In this video we learn some useful phrases for ordering or buying things at arestaurant or shop.

How to Order at Restaurant 【Japanese Conversation Lesson ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fEV-InZZSE

Aug 9, 2014 - Uploaded by Japanization
How to Order at Restaurant 【Japanese Conversation Lesson】 ... 1:29 - Voice says "i jou yoroshii deshou ka ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krAYxSBI3-g

May 5, 2015 - Uploaded by LearnJapanese123 Video
LearnJapanese123 Video: - Making an order at Japanese ... How to order, eat and pay for sushi in Japan (at ...

Japanese conversation 1: ordering in a restaurant - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_6RKPN5sqE

Jun 20, 2015 - Uploaded by 英会話のEnglish Garden
Japanese conversation 1ordering in a restaurant. 英会話のEnglish ... We ...

References

  1. OKsfood.com
  2. Food and Drinks in Japan
  3. Cultural Immersion: Experiencing a Traditional Market in Kyoto (Travel for a Purpose)
  4. Chickens and Eggs (親子)


Sunday, May 22, 2016

Essential Japanese for Vegetarian Travelers

In you stay at a temple in the Mount Koya area, you may be able to enjoy a vegetarian food named
  • 精進料理  /  しょじん りょり  /  Shojin ryori 
    • This is a buddhist temple food
But, normally Shojin ryori is not served outside the temple.


Survival Guides


If you are a vegetarian traveling in Japan, you may want to read the following general guides first:
In this article, we try to offer more suggestions and helps for a vegetarian traveling in Japan.

Most Common Japanese Vegetarian Foods


If you are a vegetarian, you may want to consider the following common vegetarian dishes in Japan:[1]
  1. Mochi /  / もち / mochi
  2. Eggplant /  なす / nasu (and other vegetable side dishes)
  3. Skewer  /  串物  / くしもの / kushi-mono
  4. Pickles  /  漬物 / つけもの / tsukemono
  5. Daikon / 大根 / だいこん / daikon
  6. Beans /  / まめ / mame
  7. Nori seaweed (and kelp) / 海苔 / のり / nori
  8. Tofu / 豆腐 / とうふ / tofu
  9. Burdock root (and sometimes carrot) 
  10. / 金平/ きんぴら / kinpira
  11. Rice / 米 /  コメ / kome
If you stay in Kyoto area, you will find more vegetarian choices like:
  • Tofu skin / 湯葉 / ゆば / yuba 
  • Wheat Starch  / なマーフ  / nama-fu 
  • Kyoto-style vegetables / 京野菜 / きょ やさい / kyo yasai 
  • Dark seaweed / 鹿尾菜  / ひじき / hijiki
  • Dried daikon strips / きりぼし大根 /  kiriboshi daikon 

Dashi Broth


Dashi (だし)is a Japanese stock or broth, and it is a fundamental ingredient in many Japanese dishes including vegetarian dishes. Dashi is made from kombu (dried kelp), bonito flakes (dried and smoked skipjack tuna that is shaved into thin flakes), anchovies/sardine (iriko or niboshi), or a combination of all or two of them.

In case you are a vegan, maybe you want to pay more attention to what ingredients are used in the Dashi (だし) broth.

Useful Japanese Phrases


As a vegetarian, you can watch Yuka's video here to learn some useful phrases while you travel in Japan:

I am a vegetarian

わたし
 私 は ベジタリアン です
Watashi wa bejitarian desu


I don't eat meat 

わた     にく    
 私  は お肉 を 食べません
Watashi wa Oniku wo tabemasen


I don't eat seafood 

わたし      さかな     た
  私 は お 魚 を 食べません
Watashi wa Osakana wo tabemasen


I don't eat egg 

わたし       たまご      
私 は お 玉子 を 食べません
Watashi waō tamago o shoku bemasen

Is bonito used in the dashi broth?
             ぶし    つか
おだし に  かつお節 わ 使って いますか
Odashi ni Katsuobushi wa tsukatte imasuka?


I'm a vegan 

わたし   かん ぜん さい しょく しゅぎしゃ

 私 は 完  全  菜  食 主義者   です
Watashi wa kan zen saishoku shugisha desu

Photo Credit

References

  1. 10 vegetarian foods you can order at almost any Japanese restaurant
  2. 食べログ (Tabelog
    • Restaurant search in Japan
  3. Meaning of Japanese
    • Pronunciation sounds good
  4. Japan Guide: 4 Useful JAPANESE Phrases for Vegetarians :JAPAN 101 (video)
  5. Japan Travel Guide: 5 Things You Should Know about Restaurants in Japan (video)
  6. Japan Guide : 5 Things You should Know about Restaurants in Japan #2 : Japan Travel Guide (video)
    • Need to know about what otoshi (or cover charge) is at izakaya (居酒屋).  
      • Normally, you cannot avoid paying for otoshi.
  7. Eating vegan in Japan – survival guide
  8. Some vegan restaurants in Kyoto (2008)
  9. Groceries in Japan – A Short Guide
  10. Survival Japanese at Restaurants (Travel for a Purpose)
  11. Romanization of Japanese
  12. yōshoku (洋食)—Western-style Japanese Foods
  13. Survival Japanese at Restaurants (Travel for Life)
  14. 111 Japanese Phrases for Beginners (video).
  15. HOW TO SAY HELLO IN JAPANESE (video)
  16. Japanese: Top 25 Adjectives to Learn (Travel for Life)
  17. Japanese: Top 15 Questions to Learn (Travel for Life)