Japanese Store Signs: 営業時間, 定休日 and Floor Guides

You've found the shop, but is it actually open? Japanese store signs will tell you, as long as you can read a handful of kanji. This guide walks you through the signs on the door, the floor guide by the escalator and the section names inside.

You'll also pick up the few phrases you need when you can't find something, plus what staff are likely to say back. Every word has audio, so you can hear it as you go.

Don't worry if kanji looks scary. Most of these signs reuse the same few characters, so once you know 営業えいぎょう (eigyou, business) and 階かい (kai, floor), loads of signs suddenly make sense.

There's a 29-card deck of every word in this guide at the bottom. Go to the flashcards ↓

What Do Japanese Store Signs on the Door Mean?

Before you push the door, check the sign hanging on it or the little board next to it. These are the ones you'll see most.

Spot the 休きゅう (kyuu) in four of them? It's a person (亻) leaning on a tree (木), taking a rest. If you see 休きゅう on a shop door, the shop is probably taking a rest too.

A few of these, like 営業中えいぎょうちゅう and 準備中じゅんびちゅう, also turn up on restaurant doors. There are more everyday ones in kanji signs you'll see every day.

How Do You Read Opening Hours in Japanese?

Opening hours usually sit on a small board by the entrance or on the shop's website. Here's what a typical one says, line by line.

The tricky bit is the day. 定休日ていきゅうび is almost always followed by a day of the week, and every day ends in 曜日ようび (youbi). Learn the first kanji of each one and you're sorted.

Signs often shorten these to just the first kanji, so 水すい on its own means Wednesday. Not sure if they're open late? Just ask: 今日きょうって何時なんじまでですか？ (kyou tte nanji made desu ka?), how late are you open today?

How Do You Read a Floor Guide?

Big shops and department stores have a floor guide near the entrance and by the lifts. It's called 館内案内かんないあんない (kannai annai) or just フロアガイド (furoa gaido), and it lists what's on each floor.

Here's the big one to remember: in Japan, 1階いっかい (ikkai) is the ground floor, the one you walk in on. So if you're used to British floors, Japan's 2階にかい (nikai) is your first floor.

Now try reading a whole guide. Every shop is different, but food in the basement and restaurants near the top is a pattern you'll see a lot in department stores.

Notice all the 服ふく (fuku)? It means clothes. 婦人ふじん (fujin) is a polite word for women and 紳士しんし (shinshi) means gentlemen, the same kanji you'll spot on some toilet doors.

What Are Sections Called Inside the Shop?

Inside, each section is a 売うり場ば (uriba), literally a selling place. You'll see it stuck onto the end of signs, like 靴くつ売うり場ば (kutsu uriba, the shoe section).

Hanging signs tell you which way to go, with an arrow (矢印やじるし, yajirushi) pointing the way. Stations work the same way: follow the arrows to exits like 南口みなみぐち (minamiguchi, south exit).

The way out to the street is 出口でぐち (deguchi) and the toilet is お手洗てあらい (otearai) or トイレ (toire). The section names are all in the vocabulary table further down.

What Will Staff Say to You?

Shop staff in Japan usually speak super politely, which can sound like a different language at first. Here's what you're likely to hear, and an easy reply for each.

How Do You Ask for Help?

Look for a desk marked インフォメーション (infomeeshon), 案内所あんないじょ (annaijo) or サービスカウンター (saabisu kauntaa). Or just catch anyone in the shop's uniform and say すみません (sumimasen, excuse me).

Then use one of these. Press play and say each one out loud a couple of times.

That って (tte) is the chatty version of は (wa). It sounds friendly and natural, and with です (desu) on the end it's still perfectly polite.

Can't remember the Japanese word for what you want? Point at a photo on your phone and say これありますか？ (kore arimasu ka?), do you have this? It works surprisingly well.

What If You Lose Something in a Shop?

It happens to everyone. Here's how a chat at the information desk might go if you've left your bag behind.

忘わすれちゃった (wasurechatta) is the casual way to say 忘わすれてしまった (wasurete shimatta), I went and forgot it. Adding んですけど (n desu kedo) on the end softens it, like saying "so, um…" in English.

If the shop doesn't have it, don't give up. Tokyo's police suggest contacting the business where you lost it, and filing a lost property report at a police station or police box (交番こうばん, kouban).

Vocabulary

Most of these mix kanji with hiragana and katakana. If the kana parts slow you down, a few rounds of hiragana flashcards and katakana flashcards will speed things up.

Test Yourself

Flashcards

Tap a card to flip it.

Frequently asked questions

Ready to Read Japanese Store Signs for Real?

You can now tell if a shop is open, find the right floor and ask for help when you're stuck. That covers most of what Japanese store signs will throw at you on a normal shopping trip.

Put it to work in the shopping test. The Store Hours, Store Map, Store Sections, Station Directory, Finding Help, Store Staff and Lost Bag questions all use the words from this guide.

References

• Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, If you have lost something: report lost property at a police station or police box, and contact the business where you left the item. https://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/multilingual/english/finding_services/lost_and_found/lost_something.html
• Readings and meanings of every word checked against JMdict, via jisho.org.