Conversational Japanese Quiz: Discussing Transportation
10 questions · exam conditions
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Discussing TransportationQuestion 1 of 10

Hana is asking her colleague Ryo about his commute: Hana: 「毎日どうやって通勤しているの？」 Ryo: 「家から駅まで歩いて十分かかって、電車で三十分、それから会社まで五分歩くよ。でも最近、駅の近くに引っ越したから、歩く時間が半分になった。」

Based on Ryo's description, how long does his total commute take now after moving closer to the station?

Ryo's total commute now takes thirty-five minutes: five minutes walking to the station, thirty minutes by train, and no walk from the station to the office.
Ryo's total commute now takes thirty minutes: he only rides the train now since moving near the station eliminated all walking time.
Ryo's total commute now takes forty-five minutes: ten minutes walking to the station, thirty minutes by train, and five minutes walking to the office.
Ryo's total commute now takes forty minutes: five minutes walking to the station, thirty minutes by train, and five minutes walking to the office.
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Conversational Japanese Quiz

Conversational Japanese Quiz: Discussing Transportation

Practice Discussing Transportation in Conversational Japanese with focused quiz questions that help you check what you know, review explanations, and build confidence with test-style prompts.

What this quiz covers

This quiz focuses on Discussing Transportation, giving you a quick way to practice the rules, question types, and explanations that matter most for Conversational Japanese.

How to use this quiz

Try each quiz question before looking at the correct answer. Use the explanations to review missed ideas, then come back to similar questions until the pattern feels familiar.

All questions

Question 1

Hana is asking her colleague Ryo about his commute: Hana: 「毎日どうやって通勤しているの？」 Ryo: 「家から駅まで歩いて十分かかって、電車で三十分、それから会社まで五分歩くよ。でも最近、駅の近くに引っ越したから、歩く時間が半分になった。」

Based on Ryo's description, how long does his total commute take now after moving closer to the station?

  1. Ryo's total commute now takes thirty-five minutes: five minutes walking to the station, thirty minutes by train, and no walk from the station to the office.
  2. Ryo's total commute now takes thirty minutes: he only rides the train now since moving near the station eliminated all walking time.
  3. Ryo's total commute now takes forty-five minutes: ten minutes walking to the station, thirty minutes by train, and five minutes walking to the office.
  4. Ryo's total commute now takes forty minutes: five minutes walking to the station, thirty minutes by train, and five minutes walking to the office. (correct answer)
Explanation: When reading Japanese passages that describe changes to a routine, pay close attention to what changes and what stays the same. Ryo's passage has two phases: before and after moving (引っ越した). Before moving, Ryo's commute broke down as: 10 minutes walking to the station + 30 minutes by train + 5 minutes walking to the office = 45 minutes total. After moving closer to the station, he says 「歩く時間が半分になった」— "the walking time became half." The key word here is 歩く時間 ("walking time"), not 電車の時間 ("train time"). His total walking time was 10 + 5 = 15 minutes, and half of that is 7.5 minutes... but wait — only his walk to the station changed (10 minutes → 5 minutes), since that's what moving near the station affects. His 5-minute walk from the station to the office remains unchanged. So his new total is 5 + 30 + 5 = 40 minutes, making D correct. A is wrong because it assumes moving eliminated the walk from the station to the office entirely — but that walk is to his company, not to his home station, so it's unaffected. B is wrong because it overcorrects by eliminating all walking, which the passage never says. C describes Ryo's original commute before moving — it ignores the change described by 引っ越した altogether. As a study tip: watch for before/after contrasts signaled by 〜から ("since/because") or 〜た ("past tense of change"). Identify exactly what changed — Japanese passages often test whether you can isolate one variable while keeping others constant.

Question 2

A traveler asks: 「この電車は新宿に止まりますか？」The station attendant responds: 「この電車は急行ですので、新宿には止まりません。各駅停車に乗り換えてください。次の各駅停車は三番線から十五分後に出ます。」If the traveler needs to reach Shinjuku and follows the attendant's instructions, which action should the traveler take first?

  1. Board the current express train and ride it to its final destination, then transfer to a local train heading back toward Shinjuku.
  2. Stay on the current platform and wait fifteen minutes, since the local train to Shinjuku will arrive at this same platform shortly.
  3. Go to platform three and wait for the local train, which departs in fifteen minutes and will stop at Shinjuku along its route. (correct answer)
  4. Ask a second station attendant to verify the platform number before moving, since express and local trains often share platforms at busy stations.
Explanation: When reading Japanese station announcements or attendant responses, your job is to extract who, what, where, and when from the dialogue — then map those details directly onto the answer choices. The attendant's response contains three key pieces of information: (1) this train is an 急行 (kyūkō, express) and does not stop at Shinjuku, (2) the traveler should transfer to a 各駅停車 (kakueki-teisha, local train), and (3) 「次の各駅停車は三番線から十五分後に出ます」— the next local train departs from platform three in fifteen minutes. Combining these facts, the correct move is to go to platform three and wait for the local train. That's exactly what C describes, making it the right answer. A is wrong because the attendant never suggests riding the express to its final destination and doubling back — that would be unnecessarily complicated and is not supported by anything in the dialogue. B contains a critical location error: it says to stay on the current platform, but the attendant specifically said 三番線 (platform three), implying the traveler needs to move. Ignoring that detail would put the traveler in the wrong place. D introduces hesitation not suggested anywhere in the conversation — the attendant gave clear, specific information, and there is no reason in the text to seek a second opinion. A useful habit: when Japanese dialogue gives you a number (platform, time, price), treat it as a test anchor. Wrong answers often swap, omit, or contradict those numbers, so always double-check them against each choice.

Question 3

Yuki is planning a trip from Osaka to Tokyo. She asks her friend Kenji for advice. Kenji says: 「新幹線は速いけど、高速バスの方が安いよ。でも、バスは時間がかかる。」Yuki responds: 「時間より値段が大切だから、バスにする。」

Based on the conversation, which statement best describes Yuki's decision and her reason for making it?

  1. Yuki chooses the Shinkansen because it is faster and she values arriving on time more than saving money on the trip.
  2. Yuki chooses the highway bus because it is cheaper, and she prioritizes cost over travel time for her trip. (correct answer)
  3. Yuki chooses the highway bus because Kenji recommended it as the fastest option available for the Osaka-Tokyo route.
  4. Yuki chooses the Shinkansen because the highway bus does not run on the day she plans to travel to Tokyo.
Explanation: When reading Japanese comprehension passages, your job is to track two things simultaneously: what each character does or decides, and why they make that choice. This question tests both layers. Let's look at the key sentence from Yuki: 「時間より値段が大切だから、バスにする。」This breaks down as: jikan yori nedan ga taisetsu da kara ("because price is more important than time") + basu ni suru ("I'll go with the bus"). The grammar pattern XよりYが大切 means "Y is more important than X" — so Yuki is explicitly saying cost matters more to her than travel time. She then confirms her choice: the highway bus. That makes B the correct answer — she chooses the bus because it's cheaper, and she prioritizes cost over time. A is wrong because Yuki does the opposite — she picks the bus, not the Shinkansen, and she values price over speed, not the other way around. C is a trap that distorts Kenji's words. Kenji described the Shinkansen as the fast option and the bus as the cheaper (but slower) option — he never recommended the bus as the fastest. D introduces information that simply doesn't exist in the passage. No scheduling conflict is mentioned at all. As a study tip: watch for から (because) and comparison structures like よりの方が in reading passages — they almost always signal the reason behind a character's decision, which is exactly what comprehension questions love to test.

Question 4

A tourist asks a station employee: 「すみません、渋谷駅まで何番線に乗ればいいですか？」The employee replies: 「この駅から山手線に乗って、三駅目で降りてください。渋谷は終点ではありませんから、乗り過ごさないように気をつけてください。」

What is the most important warning the station employee gives the tourist about taking the train to Shibuya?

  1. The employee warns that the Yamanote Line does not stop at Shibuya Station and the tourist must transfer to a different line partway through the journey.
  2. The employee warns that Shibuya is not the final stop, so the tourist should be careful not to ride past the station and miss it. (correct answer)
  3. The employee warns that the tourist must board at a specific platform number or the train will bypass Shibuya Station entirely on that route.
  4. The employee warns that the train is very crowded and the tourist should wait for the next train to ensure getting a seat before Shibuya.
Explanation: When reading Japanese dialogue passages, focus on the exact warning phrases used — these signal what the speaker most wants the listener to remember. The employee's key sentence is: 「渋谷は終点ではありませんから、乗り過ごさないように気をつけてください。」Break this down: 終点 (しゅうてん) means "final stop/terminus," 乗り過ごす (のりすごす) means "to ride past one's stop," and ように気をつける means "to be careful to/not to." So the employee is explicitly saying: "Since Shibuya is not the final stop, please be careful not to miss it." This confirms B as the correct answer — the warning is about accidentally riding past Shibuya without getting off. A is wrong because the employee never says the Yamanote Line skips Shibuya or that a transfer is needed — in fact, the employee says to ride the Yamanote Line directly and get off at the third station (三駅目). C fabricates a detail entirely; no specific platform number is mentioned, and no warning about the train "bypassing" Shibuya is given. D is also invented — the employee says nothing about crowds or waiting for the next train. A useful study tip: watch for the grammar pattern 〜ないように気をつけてください in Japanese listening and reading comprehension. It almost always signals a specific caution or warning, making it a reliable anchor for identifying the main piece of advice in a passage. Train yourself to spot these functional phrases — they frequently appear in exam questions asking about the speaker's main point or warning.

Question 5

Takeshi tells his coworker: 「今日は電車が遅れているから、タクシーで会社に来た。いつもより三十分早く出たのに、会議に五分遅刻してしまった。」

Which conclusion can be logically drawn from Takeshi's statement about his commute today?

  1. Takeshi's normal commute by train takes less time than today's taxi ride, since he left earlier but still arrived late to the meeting. (correct answer)
  2. Takeshi usually arrives exactly on time for meetings, which means his normal commute by train takes the same amount of time as today's taxi ride.
  3. The train delay was shorter than thirty minutes, which is why Takeshi should have waited for the train instead of taking a taxi to the meeting.
  4. Takeshi left thirty minutes earlier than usual and arrived five minutes early to the office, but the meeting had already started ahead of schedule.
Explanation: When a question asks you to draw a logical conclusion from a statement, your job is to work only with the information explicitly given — no assumptions, no outside knowledge. Break the passage into its key facts before evaluating any answer choice. Takeshi tells us three things: (1) the train was delayed, so he took a taxi, (2) he left thirty minutes earlier than usual, and (3) he still arrived five minutes late to the meeting. Now do the math: if he left 30 minutes early but still ended up 5 minutes late, his taxi commute took 35 minutes longer than his usual train commute would need to take to arrive on time. This means today's taxi ride — even with the train delayed — took more time than his normal train journey. That directly supports A: his normal train commute is faster than today's taxi ride, because leaving earlier still wasn't enough to compensate. B is incorrect because there's no basis for claiming Takeshi "usually arrives exactly on time." The passage never mentions his typical arrival time relative to meetings. C introduces a comparison between the train delay duration and thirty minutes that the passage never supports — we don't know how long the delay was, only that it prompted him to take a taxi. D directly contradicts the passage; Takeshi says he arrived late to the meeting, not early, and there's no mention of the meeting starting ahead of schedule. A useful strategy: on inference questions, eliminate any answer that requires information beyond what the passage states. If an answer adds details or makes comparisons the passage doesn't support, it's a trap.

Question 6

Maria is visiting Japan and has this exchange with a local: Maria: 「空港までどうやって行けばいいですか？」 Local: 「電車でもバスでも行けますよ。電車は乗り換えが一回あるけど、四十分で着きます。バスは乗り換えなしで、一時間かかります。」 Maria: 「荷物が多いので、乗り換えは難しいです。」

Given the information in the conversation, which option will Maria most likely choose, and approximately how long will her journey to the airport take?

  1. Maria will likely take the train with one transfer and arrive at the airport in approximately forty minutes from her current location.
  2. Maria will likely take the bus with no transfers and arrive at the airport in approximately sixty minutes from her current location. (correct answer)
  3. Maria will likely take the train because despite the transfer, carrying heavy luggage on the train is easier than on the bus for long distances.
  4. Maria will likely take the bus to avoid the transfer, but she will arrive in approximately forty minutes since buses run on an express schedule.
Explanation: When reading Japanese conversations like this one, your job is to track both what is said and what is implied by each speaker. Maria's final line is the key: 「荷物が多いので、乗り換えは難しいです」— "Because I have a lot of luggage, transferring is difficult." This is her stated reason for choosing one option over the other, so you need to match her concern (avoiding transfers) to the correct transportation option. The local explains that the bus has 「乗り換えなしで、一時間かかります」— no transfers, and takes one hour (sixty minutes). This directly addresses Maria's concern. B is correct: Maria will take the bus, arriving in approximately sixty minutes. A is tempting because the train is faster (forty minutes), but it requires one transfer (乗り換えが一回). Maria explicitly says transferring is difficult with heavy luggage, so she would not choose this option despite the shorter travel time. C invents a reason not supported by the conversation — the text says nothing about trains being easier for heavy luggage over long distances. Never choose an answer that introduces information not found in the passage. D contains a factual error: the passage states the bus takes one hour, not forty minutes. There is no mention of an express schedule anywhere in the conversation. This is a classic distractor that mixes correct details (bus, no transfer) with invented ones (forty minutes). As a strategy: in comprehension questions, always locate the speaker's stated reason for a preference. Japanese passages often embed the answer in a cause-and-effect structure using 「ので」or 「から」— train yourself to spot these connectors immediately.

Question 7

Your Japanese friend asks: 「週末、どうやって駅まで来る予定？」You want to say that you plan to come by bicycle because it is close, but if it rains, you will take the bus instead. Which response expresses this most accurately?

  1. 「駅は近いから、自転車で行くつもりだよ。でも、雨が降ったらバスにする。」 (correct answer)
  2. 「雨が降らなければバスで行くけど、近いから自転車の方が好きだと思う。」
  3. 「自転車かバスで行くかもしれないけど、まだ決めていないし、天気次第かな。」
  4. 「バスで行くつもりだけど、天気がよければ自転車も考えている。駅は遠くないから。」
Explanation: When answering questions like this, focus on two things: does the response match the intended meaning exactly, and are the grammar structures used correctly? The question asks for a response that (1) states the primary plan is bicycle because it's close, and (2) presents rain as a conditional exception leading to the bus. Option A does this perfectly. 「自転車で行くつもりだよ」clearly expresses a firm primary plan using つもり (intention/plan), and the reason 「駅は近いから」justifies it naturally. Then 「雨が降ったらバスにする」uses the ~たら conditional to express "if it rains, I'll take the bus instead" — a clean, accurate structure that matches your intended meaning exactly. Option B reverses the logic entirely. It frames the bus as the default plan ("if it doesn't rain, I'll take the bus") and treats the bicycle as a preference, which contradicts the original intent. The negated conditional 「降らなければ」also introduces unnecessary complexity and the wrong nuance. Option C avoids committing to any plan at all. 「まだ決めていない」("I haven't decided yet") and 「天気次第」("it depends on the weather") make the whole response vague and indecisive — the opposite of what was asked. Option D makes the bus the primary plan and only considers the bicycle as a secondary option if the weather is good. This completely swaps the main plan and the contingency, which is the opposite of the original intent. As a study tip, always identify the logical hierarchy in a scenario — what's the main plan versus the exception — before evaluating answer choices. Japanese conditional structures like ~たら and ~ば can easily flip meaning if misapplied.

Question 8

Two friends are making plans: Aki: 「土曜日、一緒に水族館に行かない？」 Ben: 「いいね！電車で行く？」 Aki: 「電車だと乗り換えが二回あって面倒だから、車で行こうよ。駐車場代はかかるけど。」 Ben: 「でも、土曜日は渋滞がひどいって聞いたよ。」 Aki: 「じゃあ、電車にしようか。」

Which statement most accurately summarizes the final decision and the main factor that changed Aki's mind about transportation?

  1. Aki and Ben decide to take the train because the parking fee for the car was determined to be more expensive than two train tickets for the round trip.
  2. Aki and Ben decide to take the car despite the traffic because Aki feels the two train transfers are still more inconvenient than sitting in traffic on Saturday.
  3. Aki and Ben decide to take the train after Ben mentions that Saturday traffic is very bad, which outweighs Aki's concern about the two train transfers. (correct answer)
  4. Aki and Ben decide to take the train because Ben points out that the aquarium does not have a parking lot available for visitors on weekends.
Explanation: When reading a dialogue in Japanese, pay close attention to how each speaker's statements build on or counter the previous one — this passage is essentially a back-and-forth negotiation about transportation, and the question asks you to track what ultimately shifted Aki's opinion. Aki initially prefers the car because taking the train requires two transfers (乗り換えが二回), which she finds troublesome (面倒). However, Ben raises a new concern: Saturday traffic is reportedly very bad (渋滞がひどい). Aki's response — 「じゃあ、電車にしようか」("Well then, should we take the train?") — shows that Ben's point about traffic directly caused her to reverse her preference. The phrase じゃあ ("in that case / well then") is a key signal that she's changing her mind because of what Ben just said. That makes C the correct answer. A is incorrect because no one in the conversation compares parking fees to train ticket prices — that specific cost comparison never happens. B is wrong because it describes the opposite conclusion: Aki does switch to the train, she does not stick with the car. D is a fabrication — the passage never mentions anything about the aquarium lacking a parking lot on weekends; that detail simply doesn't exist in the text. A useful strategy: watch for transitional words like じゃあ, でも, and だから in Japanese dialogues — they signal cause-and-effect or shifts in reasoning, which are exactly what comprehension questions tend to test. If you can trace why someone changes their mind, you'll almost always find your answer.

Question 9

A Japanese speaker wants to politely ask a stranger at a bus stop which bus goes to the museum. Which sentence is the most natural and appropriate way to ask this in Japanese?

  1. 「博物館まで行くバスは何番ですか？すみません、教えていただけますか。」
  2. 「博物館、バス、何番？ちょっと聞きたいんだけど、どれ？」
  3. 「すみません、博物館へ行きたいのですが、何番のバスに乗ればいいでしょうか。」 (correct answer)
  4. 「博物館に行くバスはどこですか、乗り場を教えてください、お願いします。」
Explanation: 見知らぬ人に丁寧に質問する場面では、敬語・丁寧語の使い方と文の自然な流れの両方が問われます。日本語では、会話の相手や状況に応じて言葉遣いを調整することがとても重要です。 選択肢Cの「すみません、博物館へ行きたいのですが、何番のバスに乗ればいいでしょうか。」が最も適切です。まず「すみません」で相手に声をかけ、「〜たいのですが」という柔らかい前置きで意図を伝え、「〜ばいいでしょうか」という丁寧な疑問形で質問を締めています。この構造は見知らぬ人への配慮が自然に表れており、実際の日常会話でも広く使われます。 選択肢Aは内容は正確ですが、「すみません、教えていただけますか」が文の後ろに置かれているのが不自然です。依頼の言葉は冒頭に来るのが自然な日本語の流れです。選択肢Bは「博物館、バス、何番？」「どれ？」など、くだけた話し言葉や省略が多く、初対面の見知らぬ人には失礼な印象を与えます。友達同士の会話には合いますが、この場面には不適切です。選択肢Dは「乗り場を教えてください」と「お願いします」を並べており、質問の焦点が「乗り場」にずれています。また、文の繋ぎ方がぎこちなく、全体的にまとまりがありません。 学習のコツ：「〜のですが、〜でしょうか」という表現は、丁寧に質問・依頼する際の定番パターンです。公式な場面や見知らぬ人への会話問題では、この形を基準に選択肢を比べるとよいでしょう。

Question 10

A Japanese speaker says: 「終電に乗り遅れたので、タクシーで帰りました。」Which situation does this sentence most accurately describe?

  1. The speaker missed the last train of the night and therefore had to return home by taxi as an alternative means of transportation. (correct answer)
  2. The speaker took the final train home but found it too crowded, so they got off early and took a taxi the rest of the way.
  3. The speaker decided in advance not to take the last train and planned to use a taxi for the entire journey home that evening.
  4. The speaker arrived at the station just as the last train departed but managed to board it at the last moment before it left.
Explanation: When reading Japanese sentences, pay close attention to grammar structures that express cause and result — particularly the conjunction ので (node), which means "because" or "so." The sentence 「終電に乗り遅れたので、タクシーで帰りました。」breaks into two connected clauses: a cause and its consequence. Let's unpack the key vocabulary. 終電 (shūden) means "the last train of the day." 乗り遅れる (noriokureru) is a compound verb combining 乗る (noru, "to ride/board") and 遅れる (okureru, "to be late/miss"), meaning "to miss a train or vehicle." So 終電に乗り遅れた means "missed the last train." The second clause, タクシーで帰りました, means "returned home by taxi." Together, the sentence reads: "Because I missed the last train, I went home by taxi." This matches A precisely — the speaker missed the last train and used a taxi as an alternative. B is wrong because 乗り遅れる means missing the train entirely, not boarding it and getting off early. There is no indication of crowding or a partial journey. C is wrong because ので signals an unplanned, reactive consequence — the taxi was a result of missing the train, not a decision made in advance. D is the opposite of what 乗り遅れる means; this verb specifically indicates failing to board in time, not barely making it. Your study tip: memorize 乗り遅れる as a standalone vocabulary item. It's a common compound verb that students confuse with simply "being late" — but it always means missing the vehicle entirely.