Asking How to Transfer at Tokyo Station — JLPT N4 Japanese Conversation
The situation
Yattan (ヤッタン) stops a station staff member (駅員さん) inside Tokyo Station to figure out how to transfer to the line for Akihabara.
すみません、秋葉原に行きたいんですが、どこで乗り換えればいいですか。
すみません、あきはばらに いきたいんですが、どこで のりかえれば いいですか。
Excuse me, I want to go to Akihabara — where should I transfer?
山手線に乗り換えてください。
やまのてせんに のりかえてください。
Please transfer to the Yamanote Line.
山手線は何番線ですか。
やまのてせんは なんばんせんですか。
Which platform is the Yamanote Line on?
このまままっすぐ行くと、右に階段があります。それを上ってください。
このまま まっすぐ いくと、みぎに かいだんが あります。それを のぼってください。
If you keep going straight, there are stairs on the right. Please go up them.
切符はこのまま使えますか。それとも、買い直したらいいですか。
きっぷは このまま つかえますか。それとも、かいなおしたら いいですか。
Can I use this same ticket, or should I buy a new one?
同じJRなので、そのまま使えますよ。
おなじ ジェイアールなので、そのまま つかえますよ。
It's all JR, so you can use it as is.
よかった！本当にありがとうございます。
よかった！ほんとうに ありがとうございます。
What a relief! Thank you so much.
Key expressions
- どこで乗り換えればいいですか — "Where should I transfer?" The ば-conditional plus いいですか is the go-to way to ask for instructions. See the ば-form (conditional) for how 乗り換える becomes 乗り換えれば.
- 買い直したらいいですか — "Should I buy a new one?" The たら-conditional does the same "what should I do?" job, and often feels a touch softer or more hypothetical. Compare it in the たら-form guide.
- 何番線ですか / 何線ですか — "Which platform / which line?" 何線 asks for the line's name (山手線, 中央線), while 何番線 asks for the numbered track. Both are essential when transferring.
- まっすぐ行くと — "If you go straight, …" The particle と here marks a natural or automatic result: do the first thing, and the second reliably follows. It is how staff give step-by-step directions.
- 〜てください — "Please do ~." 乗り換えてください and 上ってください are て-form requests; see 〜てください and requests.
About Tokyo Station
Tokyo Station (東京駅) is enormous, and the biggest trap for travelers is that JR lines and the Tokyo Metro subway have completely separate ticket gates — transferring between them means exiting one system and re-entering another with a different ticket. Within JR, though, a single ticket covers your whole route, which is why Yattan could keep the same one. Lines are color-coded (the Yamanote Line is green, the Chūō Line orange), and locals lean on transfer apps like 乗換案内 (Norikae Annai) to time connections. Your one survival phrase here: 「〜線はどこですか」 ("Where is the ~ line?").
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between 〜ばいいですか and 〜たらいいですか?
Both ask 'what should I do?' and are usually interchangeable when seeking advice. 〜たらいいですか can feel slightly softer or more about a specific hypothetical case, while 〜ばいいですか leans a bit more general. At a station, either one sounds perfectly natural.
Do I need a new ticket when I transfer?
It depends on the operator. If you stay within JR, one ticket covers the whole trip. But transferring from JR to the Tokyo Metro (or vice versa) means passing through separate gates and paying each company separately. An IC card like Suica or Pasmo handles this automatically.
How do I ask which platform a line uses?
Use 何番線ですか ('which platform number?') for the track, or 何線ですか ('which line?') for the line's name. For example: 山手線は何番線ですか ('Which platform is the Yamanote Line on?').