Question
I’m planning my first trip to Japan and I want to ride the shinkansen between Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hiroshima. I’d like to grab a paper route map at the station so I can plan as I go, but I’m not sure what to ask for. How do I ask “Is there a bullet train route map?” in Japanese?
Answer by Professional Japanese Teacher
新幹線（しんかんせん）の路線図（ろせんず）はありますか。
Shinkansen no rosenzu wa arimasu ka?
Is there a bullet train route map?
Great question — staff at JR ticket offices and information counters can usually hand you a foldable map if you ask. Shinkansen means “bullet train” and rosenzu means “route map”, so this phrase works the same way at airports and hotel front desks too.
Once you have the map, the colors do most of the work. The Tōkaidō Shinkansen runs Tokyo–Nagoya–Kyoto–Osaka and is the one most travelers ride first. From Osaka, the San’yō Shinkansen continues west to Hiroshima and Hakata. Going north from Tokyo, the Tōhoku Shinkansen heads to Sendai and Aomori, the Jōetsu Shinkansen goes to Niigata, and the Hokuriku Shinkansen runs out through Kanazawa to Tsuruga (extended in March 2024). Kyushu has its own line from Hakata down to Kagoshima.
If you’d like an English version, just add eigo no in front: eigo no rosenzu wa arimasu ka.
