In this lesson you will learn how to go out for entertainment in Japan. You will practice arranging a time and place to meet, inviting someone for a drink or dinner, accepting or declining an invitation, proposing an alternative, and buying tickets for events. This lesson covers essential social language for after-work outings — a cornerstone of Japanese social life.

何時に会いましょうか。 — Nan-ji ni aimashoo ka. — “What time shall we meet?”

Dialogues (会話)

Situation 1 — Ms. Nakajima invites Ms. Marshall to dinner

Romaji	English
Nakajima: Maasharu-san, konban issho ni shokuji ni ikimasen ka?	Ms. Marshall, how about having dinner with me this evening?
Maasharu: Sore wa ii desu ne. Doko e ikimashoo ka?	That sounds good. Where shall we go?
Nakajima: Chuugoku-ryoori wa doo desu ka?	How about Chinese food?
Maasharu: Ii desu ne.	Fine.
Nakajima: Jaa, ii resutoran o shitteimasu kara, soko e ikimashoo. Nan-ji ni shimashoo ka?	Well, I know a good restaurant; let’s go there. What time shall we make it?
Maasharu: Shichi-ji wa doo desu ka?	How about seven o’clock?
Nakajima: Ee, ii desu yo. Jaa, watakushi ga Amerikan Sentaa e ikimasu.	Fine. Then I’ll come to the American Center.
Maasharu: Soo desu ka. Jaa, onegaishimasu.	All right. Thanks!

Situation 2 — Mr. Tanaka invites Mr. Burns to see sumo

Romaji	English
Tanaka: Baanzu-san, sumoo o mi ni ikimasen ka?	Mr. Burns, shall we go see a sumo match?
Baanzu: Ii desu ne. Itsu desu ka?	That sounds great. When is it?
Tanaka: Do-yoobi desu.	On Saturday.
Baanzu: Soo desu ka. Zannen desu ga, Do-yoobi wa chotto…	Oh. That’s too bad. Saturday isn’t so good for me.
Tanaka: Soo desu ka? Nichi-yoobi mo dame desu ka?	Is that so? Is Sunday bad too?
Baanzu: Aa, Nichi-yoobi wa ii desu yo.	Oh, Sunday is fine.
Tanaka: Jaa, Nichi-yoobi ni shimashoo. Akasaka Mitsuke no eki no mae de yo-ji ni aimashoo.	Then let’s make it Sunday. Let’s meet at four in front of Akasaka Mitsuke station.
Baanzu: Wakarimashita. Nichi-yoobi, yo-ji desu ne?	OK. At four, this Sunday, right?

Situation 3 — Ms. Smith buys tickets at the Kabukiza ticket window

Romaji	English
Sumisu: Juugo-nichi no kippu, san-mai onegaishimasu.	Three tickets for the 15th, please.
Nihonjin: Hiru no bu desu ka, yoru no bu desu ka?	The afternoon performance or the evening performance?
Sumisu: Yoru no bu desu.	The evening performance.
Nihonjin: Dewa, koko to koko ga nokotteimasu.	OK. Here and here are still available.
Sumisu: Koko, onegaishimasu.	Here, please.
Nihonjin: Hai. Ni-man-en de gozaimasu.	All right. That’ll be 20,000 yen.

Key Vocabulary (語彙)

Romaji	Kana	English
shokuji	しょくじ	meal
shokuji ni ikimasen ka	しょくじにいきませんか	would you like to go out for dinner?
nomi ni ikimasen ka	のみにいきませんか	would you like to go out for a drink?
Chuugoku-ryoori	ちゅうごくりょうり	Chinese cuisine
sumoo	すもう	sumo wrestling
mi ni ikimasen ka	みにいきませんか	would you like to go see…?
zannen desu ga	ざんねんですが	it’s too bad, it’s unfortunate
dame	だめ	no good, won’t do
aimashoo	あいましょう	let’s meet
hiru no bu	ひるのぶ	afternoon performance
yoru no bu	よるのぶ	evening performance
nokotteimasu	のこっています	remain, be left (available)
kippu	きっぷ	ticket
…mai	まい	counter for flat objects (tickets)

Grammar & Usage Notes

1. Inviting someone with -masen ka

The negative question form is used as a polite invitation:

Nomi ni ikimasen ka? — “Shall we go out for a drink?” Shokuji ni ikimasen ka? — “Shall we go out for a meal?” (Kabuki) o mi ni ikimasen ka? — “Shall we go see (Kabuki)?“

2. Accepting or declining

Accepting: Ii desu ne. / Sore wa ii desu ne. / Ee, ikimashoo. — “Sounds good / Let’s go.”

Declining indirectly: Kyoo wa chotto… — “Today is (not so good for me)…” The sentence trails off — a polite, indirect refusal typical of Japanese.

3. Proposing a time and place to meet

Proposing a time: (Time) wa doo desu ka? — “How about (time)?” Proposing a place: (Place) wa doo desu ka? — “How about (place)?”

Using -mashoo ka: (Time) ni shimashoo ka? — “Shall we make it (time)?” (Place) de aimashoo ka? — “Shall we meet at (place)?”

Note that ni is used after time expressions and de is used after place expressions.

Mitsukoshi no mae de san-ji ni aimashoo ka? — “Shall we meet in front of Mitsukoshi at 3:00?“

4. Buying tickets

Specify the date, performance type, and number of tickets:

(date) no kippu, (number)-mai onegaishimasu.

For plays with matinee and evening shows, you may need to specify hiru no bu (afternoon) or yoru no bu (evening).

5. Types of cuisine

Romaji	English
Nihon-ryoori / washoku	Japanese cuisine
Chuugoku-ryoori	Chinese cuisine
Furansu-ryoori	French cuisine
Itaria-ryoori	Italian cuisine

Practice Exercises (練習)

A. Production — Buying Shinkansen tickets

Buy reserved-seat tickets using the formula:

(Date) (time) no (train name) no shitee-seki, (destination) made (number)-mai onegaishimasu.

#	Date	Time	Train	Destination	Tickets
1	2nd	11:00 a.m.	Kodama	Shizuoka	1
2	8th	4:40 p.m.	Hikari	Hakata	3
3	20th	7:28 a.m.	Hikari	Nagoya	1
4	4th	8:30 a.m.	Hikari	Kyoto	4
5	1st	9:16 a.m.	Kodama	Atami	1
6	14th	5:00 p.m.	Hikari	Shin Osaka	3

Time note: a.m. = gozen (午前), p.m. = gogo (午後)

B. Production — Inviting and responding

Round 1: The instructor invites you to go out for a drink or dinner. Accept with Ii desu ne. Ikimashoo. or decline with Kyoo wa chotto…

Round 2: You invite the instructor using these prompts:

#	Invitation
1	Go out for dinner tonight
2	Go to a restaurant
3	See a show at the National Theater
4	Go to a beer garden tonight
5	Go out for a drink tonight

C. Comprehension and Production — Proposing alternatives

Student A proposes, Student B suggests an alternative:

Student A proposes	Student B suggests
Itaria-ryoori	Furansu-ryoori
ku-ji (9:00)	hachi-ji (8:00)
bifuteki (steak)	osushi
Do-yoobi (Saturday)	Nichi-yoobi (Sunday)
wain (wine)	osake
baa (bar)	biagaaden (beer garden)

Pattern: A: (option) ni shimashoo ka? → B: (alternative) wa doo desu ka?

D. Production — Deciding when and where to meet

Student A asks when to meet. Student B answers from the list:

#	Meeting time
1	10 a.m. tomorrow
2	8 p.m. at night
3	Sunday morning
4	Wednesday afternoon
5	3 p.m. on the fifth

E. Production — Deciding time and place

#	Place	Time
1	coffee shop	3:00
2	in front of Mitsukoshi	5:30
3	American Consulate	2:00
4	bookstore	4:30
5	in front of U.S. Embassy	6:00

Pattern: Dokode nan-ji ni aimashoo ka? → (Place) de (time) ni aimashoo.

Cultural Notes

Going out for drinks in Japan

Japanese colleagues, especially men, often go out for drinks after work. Common destinations include:

Romaji	English
biagaaden	beer garden (seasonal, usually on rooftops)
sunakku	snack bar (small bar with a mama-san)
baa	bar
yakitori-ya	yakitori (grilled chicken) shop

When a Japanese colleague invites you with Konban nomi ni ikimasen ka?, it is a friendly gesture and an important part of building relationships.

Buying event tickets

Tickets for major plays, sports events, and movies are usually available at pureegaido (Play Guide) counters located in department stores and major shopping areas. For Kabuki and other traditional theater, some performances have both an afternoon (hiru no bu) and evening (yoru no bu) show.

Shinkansen reserved seats

Long-distance train tickets and reserved-seat tickets (shitee-ken) for the JR Shinkansen can be bought at the Midori no madoguchi (Green Window) at train stations, identified by a green sign.

Going Out for Entertainment

What You Will Learn

Lesson Material