DAY 01

Nice to meet you — Greetings and introductions

Why this matters

At a Niseko workplace, the first words you say each day set the tone of trust. If you nail the first three seconds, every grammar mistake after that will be forgiven.

Today's goals

✓あいさつを時間帯で使い分けられる(朝/昼/夜)
✓名前と出身国を言える
✓『〜は〜です』の基本文型が作れる
✓お礼とあやまりを場面で使い分けられる

How it works

Japanese sentences are built around a topic marker は (pronounced *wa*) and a copula です (desu, polite "to be").

Pattern: [topic] は [thing] です — "The [topic] is [thing]."

·わたしはジョンです。 — I am John.
·わたしはカナダ人です。 — I am Canadian.

Three greetings for three times of day:

·おはようございます (ohayō gozaimasu) — morning, until roughly 10 a.m. The casual form is just おはよう.
·こんにちは (konnichiwa) — midday to evening.
·こんばんは (konbanwa) — after dark.

In a Niseko kitchen or lodge, the morning greeting carries more weight than any other. It is the single sentence that signals "I am here, ready to work." Say it loud enough to be heard.

Thanks and sorry are not interchangeable in English, but in Japanese they sometimes overlap. ありがとうございます is pure thanks. すみません can mean *excuse me*, *sorry*, or even *thank you for the trouble you took*. When someone holds a door, すみません is more natural than ありがとう.

Words & patterns

vocabおはようございますohayōgozaimasu

Good morning (polite)

vocabこんにちはkonnichiwa

Hello / Good afternoon

vocabこんばんはkonbanwa

Good evening

vocabありがとうございますarigatōgozaimasu

Thank you (polite)

vocabすみませんsumimasen

Excuse me / Sorry / Thanks (for trouble)

vocabはじめましてhajimemashite

Nice to meet you (first time)

vocabよろしくおねがいしますyoroshikuonegaishimasu

I look forward to working with you / Please treat me well

vocabわたしwatashi

I / me

grammar〜は〜です~ha~desu

[Topic] is [thing] — the core polite copula sentence.

わたしはジョンです。
watashihajondesu.
— I am John.
わたしはカナダ人です。
watashihakanadajindesu.
— I am Canadian.
ニセコは、はじめてです。
nisekowa,hajimetedesu.
— This is my first time in Niseko.

dialogue宿のスタッフルームで、初日の朝のあいさつ

First-morning greeting in a lodge staff room

Aおはようございます。

ohayōgozaimasu.

— Good morning.

Bおはようございます。はじめまして。

ohayōgozaimasu.hajimemashite.

— Good morning. Nice to meet you.

Aわたしはジョンです。カナダから来ました。

watashihajondesu.kanadakarakimashita.

— I'm John. I came from Canada.

Bよろしくおねがいします。

yoroshikuonegaishimasu.

— Looking forward to working with you.

Drills

Q01translate_x2ja

Translate to Japanese: 'I am John.'

Q02pick

You arrive at work at 7:30 a.m. What do you say first?

Q03reorder

Make a correct Japanese sentence: です / は / わたし / カナダ人

Q04translate_ja2x

すみません。

Q05output_free

Imagine it is your first morning at a Niseko lodge. Write a 3-line self-introduction out loud (type it here). Include a greeting, your name, where you came from, and a closing.

Common pitfalls

Using こんにちは to coworkers in the morning

CAUSE Translating 'hello' directly from English

FIX Before 10 a.m., always おはようございます. こんにちは signals you just arrived from outside, which is awkward if you work there.

Saying ありがとう when すみません is expected

CAUSE English 'thank you' maps to both

FIX If someone did something small for you (held a door, picked up a dropped glove), すみません is warmer than ありがとう.

Introducing yourself with just the name and no よろしく

CAUSE In English the greeting ends after 'nice to meet you'

FIX Japanese introductions almost always close with よろしくおねがいします. Leaving it off feels like hanging up mid-sentence.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow: numbers and prices. The one skill that pays itself back on day one at the register.