When you first arrive in Tokyo, the signs can feel like a wall of mystery. The good news: you do not need to 'learn Japanese' to start reading the most useful things. Japanese writing mixes three systems, and just recognising a couple of dozen shapes will let you find the right exit, the toilet, and an open shop. This is a gentle starting point, not a course — the goal is to make daily life a little less stressful.
The three writing systems, in one minute
- Hiragana (ひらがな) — rounded, flowing characters. A set of ~46 sounds used for Japanese grammar and native words. Great first thing to learn because the shapes repeat everywhere.
- Katakana (カタカナ) — sharper, more angular. Same ~46 sounds, but used mostly for foreign and loan words. If you can sound these out, you can read コーヒー (coffee), ビール (beer), and トイレ (toilet).
- Kanji (漢字) — characters borrowed from Chinese that carry meaning. There are thousands, but the handful on signs repeats constantly. You can recognise these by shape long before you can write them.
The ~30 kanji you actually see every day
- 入口 (iriguchi) — entrance
- 出口 (deguchi) — exit
- 非常口 (hijōguchi) — emergency exit (usually a green running-person sign)
- 止 / 止まれ (tomare) — stop
- 危険 (kiken) — danger
- 注意 (chūi) — caution / attention
- 禁止 (kinshi) — prohibited / forbidden
- 立入禁止 (tachiiri-kinshi) — no entry
- 駅 (eki) — station
- 改札 (kaisatsu) — ticket gate
- トイレ / お手洗い (toire / otearai) — toilet
- 男 (otoko) — men
- 女 (onna) — women
- 円 (en) — yen (¥), seen after prices
- 営業中 (eigyōchū) — open (for business)
- 準備中 (junbichū) — getting ready / not open yet
- 閉店 (heiten) — closed / shop closed
- 押 (osu) — push (on doors)
- 引 (hiku) — pull (on doors)
- 開 (hiraku/kai) — open
- 閉 (shimeru/hei) — closed / shut
- 右 (migi) — right
- 左 (hidari) — left
- 上 (ue) — up / above
- 下 (shita) — down / below
- 中 (naka/chū) — inside / middle
- 大 / 小 (dai / shō) — large / small (common on toilet flush buttons)
- 水 (mizu) — water
- 火 (hi/ka) — fire
- 無料 (muryō) — free of charge
- 有料 (yūryō) — paid / fee required
Learn 非常口 (emergency exit) first. In an earthquake, fire, or any emergency, this green sign with a running figure points you to safety. Tokyo's official disaster guides for foreign residents are worth bookmarking before you ever need them.
- Confusing 営業中 (open) with 準備中 (preparing / not yet open) — both hang on shop doors. 営 looks busy; 準 starts with three water drops on the left.
- Mixing up 入口 (entrance) and 出口 (exit) — remember 入 looks like a person stepping in, 出 looks like stacked boxes going out.
- Reading katakana too slowly and giving up — many katakana words are just English in disguise (メニュー = menu, レジ = register/checkout).
- Pushing a 引 (pull) door — a small kanji on the glass tells you which way it opens.
- Assuming every sign has an English version. Major stations do; small shops, residential streets, and older buildings often do not.
- Do I really need to learn kanji to live in Tokyo?
- Not to survive — translation apps and English signage at major stations cover a lot. But recognising even 20 to 30 common kanji by shape makes daily errands faster and far less stressful, and it is genuinely satisfying. Start with the ones above.
- Should I learn hiragana or katakana first?
- Most learners start with hiragana because it appears most often in everyday Japanese. Katakana is a close second and is especially handy for menus and product names since many words come from English. Free official courses (linked below) teach both with audio and stroke order.
- What is the fastest way to read a sign I do not understand right now?
- Use your phone's camera translation (Google Translate or Apple's built-in translation) — point it at the sign for an instant overlay. It is not perfect, but it is great for menus and notices. Learning the kanji above is the long-term shortcut so you rely on it less.
