Twenty-two situations you will actually be in
Not a phrasebook. Each card is one counter, one machine or one doorway: the line to hold up in Japanese large enough to read across a counter, the replies you'll get back, and the one thing not to do.
$9.99 free for now
Enter an email and the download link is on the next page. No account, no newsletter, and the date is on the badge above rather than on a countdown.
Free until September 15 — then this pack is $9.99. If you download before September 15: you keep every card you took, and every correction to those cards, forever. That was the promise and it stands — nothing is taken back and nothing expires. Cards released after September 15 are part of the paid packs, for everyone. No newsletter unless you ask for it.
Every Japanese line on this site is a draft written from standard, high-frequency phrasing. None of it has been through a native-speaker register check, and that check is the thing standing between these cards and a price. What has and has not been checked is written out in full.
One card
This is what a card looks like
What is in it
Cards by category
| Category | What it covers | Cards |
|---|---|---|
| Food | Ramen, izakaya, sushi counter, coffee, standing soba, the check | 8 |
| Shops | Convenience store, drugstore, tax-free, sizes, the money tray | 5 |
| Transport | Taxi, IC cards, platforms, changing lines | 4 |
| Stay | Hotel check-in, luggage, the onsen | 3 |
| Help | “I don't understand”, and the allergy card | 2 |
The deal
Free until September 15, then $9.99 — and 13 of 22 cards drawn
Free until September 15, then $9.99. Enter an email above and the download link is on the next page. If you download before September 15: you keep every card you took, and every correction to those cards, forever. That was the promise and it stands — nothing is taken back and nothing expires. Cards released after September 15 are part of the paid packs, for everyone.
13 of the 22 Core cards are drawn today. The rest are not, and this page gives them no date, because a date here is a promise made to someone holding a receipt. They appear at your download link as they land, and the changelog records each one.
Every Japanese line on this site is a draft written from standard, high-frequency phrasing. None of it has been through a native-speaker register check, and that check is the thing standing between these cards and a price. What has and has not been checked is written out in full.
If a card turns out to be wrong we would rather know than look right — send it back and the correction ships to everyone, free. See refunds.
Compare
Against the other packs
Every card on the site, one email, one download.
- All 23 cards at full resolution — the 13 core situations plus the 10 night cards
- The printable sheet and one-file ZIP
- Works offline — images, not an app
- Free until September 15 — what you take now stays free forever
Ten cards for the smallest rooms in Japan: yatai and yokocho.
- 10 cards for yatai stalls and yokocho bars: getting in, the cover charge, ordering, paying, leaving
- Decoder cards for yakitori, oden, Hakata ramen and the drinks menu
- One printable PDF sheet, grayscale, cut marks
- Free until September 15, then $4.99. Email for the link
All 22 situation cards, phone and print.
- 13 of 22 cards drawn today, at 1080 × 1620, for the camera roll
- Print sheets, 4-up with cut marks, US Letter and A4
- Works offline — they are images, not an app
- Corrections and updates free forever for early downloaders
Questions
Before you download
What format are the cards?
JPEG images at 1080 × 1620, the same 2:3 ratio as a Pinterest pin, plus a PDF of print sheets in both US Letter and A4. No app, no account, no login. You download a zip once.
Do they work without signal?
Yes — that is the whole point. They are images in your camera roll. They work on the plane, in a subway tunnel, and on a phone in airplane mode with a dead eSIM.
Why is it free? What's the catch?
It is not a launch deal any more, it is a gate: the Japanese on these cards has not had a native-speaker register check, so nothing here is for sale. Free until September 15, then $9.99. If you download before September 15: you keep every card you took, and every correction to those cards, forever. That was the promise and it stands — nothing is taken back and nothing expires. Cards released after September 15 are part of the paid packs, for everyone. The only email you get is your download link — no newsletter unless you ask for it.
What is the difference from Complete?
Core is food and transport — the 22 situations you hit in the first 48 hours. Complete adds 20 more: shopping and services, staying somewhere, and the six-card recovery set for when something has already gone wrong.
Can I print them?
Yes, at 300 DPI, 4-up with cut marks, grayscale. Cut on the marks and a card is about the size of a passport. Printing all 22 takes six sheets and no colour ink.
What if a card turns out to be wrong?
Tell us and we will fix it and ship the correction to every downloader, free. Corrections are logged publicly in the changelog.