Question
We went to Japan for a holiday last December. Having come from a tropical country, Japan was very cold to us. When we first arrived at our accommodation, the staff was showing us around the apartment.
She switched on the air-con for ventilation but it was already freezing for us. I wanted to ask whether the apartment has a heater instead of the air-con.
How do I ask “Do you have a heater?” in Japanese?
Answer by Professional Japanese Teacher
暖房(だんぼう)はありますか。
Danboo wa arimasu ka.
Do you have a heater?
Air-conditioners in Japan usually come with both heating and cooling functions. You can simply switch to the heating function by pressing the heater button on the remote control.
In this case, this is the 暖房(だんぼう) danboo button. So when you ask danboo ga arimasu ka, the staff would probably show you the danboo button on the air-con remote control.
You can then adjust the temperature yourself by pressing the up or down button.
Conversely, if you need air-conditioning, you can select the cooling function or the 冷房(れいぼう) reiboo button.
