Katakana Menu Decoder
Katakana is secret English. Learn the characters, and half the menu reads itself.
コーヒー
What’s on the menu?
Streak: 0
駅弁Travel Japanese for iPhone
Travel Japanese, one bento at a time.
Tell Ekiben when you fly. It paces 3–10 minute lessons to your departure, trains your ear for what staff will say back, and turns into an offline phrase card the moment you land.
Coming soon to the App Store For iPhone · iOS 17+
Browse free phrase guides - No account
- Works offline
- 17 stops free
A plan paced to your flight
When do you fly?
Ekiben works backwards from your departure date. Change the trip below and watch the plan rebuild itself with the same pacing the app uses.
乗車券 · Trip ticket ✓ On track
From Home
To Tokyo 東京
10 lessons before departure · about 5 min a day
Same pacing as the app: a new stop every 2 days, plus a daily bento of review.
21 days 13 Nov
発車案内 Departures Tokyo
Every phrase on this board is from the app. Tap one to hear it.
Your first word
Meet the word you’ll say twenty times a day.
Ekiben teaches it before you finish setting up the app. Get attention, apologize, thank someone who held the door: すみません does all three.
すみません
Excuse me · Sorry · Thanks for the trouble
One app, the whole trip
A coach before you fly. A card in your pocket. A keepsake after.
- Before
A plan paced to your flight
Pick your date and daily goal. Each day brings a small bento of review, listening, sign reading and a culture tip, plus a new stop every few days. Fall behind and it simply says “2 stops to catch up”, never “you failed”.
- In Japan
Show Cards that talk back
Hand your phone over with a phrase in big, clear Japanese. Staff tap their reply, and you read the translation. No signal needed: everything except AI Talk works offline.
- After
A stamp book full of stations
Every stop you finish presses a real-looking eki stamp into your book, from Narita Airport to Fushimi Inari. Collect a whole line, keep the memories.
Ride the lines
Learn by situation, like stops on a metro map.
9 lines, 37 stops, each one a real place: order ramen in Hakata, buy a shinkansen ticket at Tokyo Station, check in to a ryokan in Hakone. Start anywhere: there’s no locked order.
Essentials
The Magic Word
成田空港 · Narita Airport
Key phrase
すみません
sumimasen
Excuse me. / Sorry.
Hear what they’ll say
Most apps teach you to talk. Ekiben also teaches you to listen.
The scary part isn’t ordering. It’s the question that comes back. Every stop trains you on what staff actually say, at real speed, then shows you how to answer.
1 of 6
What did they ask?
温めますか？
温めますか？
atatamemasu ka?
Shall I heat it up?
Asked when you buy a bento or another ready meal.
Answer with
はい、お願いします
hai, onegaishimasu
Show Cards
You show the phrase. They tap the answer.
In Japan, open any phrase full screen. Staff see a polite note asking them to tap a reply, and you see the translation. Try it: you’re the staff member now.
Pick a phrase
Works offline · Screen stays on
トイレはどこですか？
toire wa doko desu ka?
Where's the toilet?
恐れ入りますが、下からお選びください。
Staff: please tap a reply below
They said
Collect station stamps
Finish a stop, press a stamp.
Japanese stations keep ink stamps for travellers to collect. Ekiben gives you one for every stop: the place in kanji, the stop number and the date you earned it.
8 of 37 collected
Side trips
Little detours that pay off big.
Number & Price Ear
Hear a price, pick the number. From ¥10 to ¥50,000, including the tricky ones like さんびゃく.
How much did you hear?
Sign Reader
Exit, ticket gates, push, pull, cash only. 46 signs you’ll see on day one.
Tap a sign to flip it
AI Talk · Ekiben Pass
Then try it for real, with AI staff and locals.
Free conversation in 6 everyday scenes, from a busy ramen counter to a chat at an izakaya. Each one has goals to tick off, and gentle coaching after every reply. Type or speak, in Japanese or romaji.
Scenes
- Ramen Shop
- Konbini Checkout
- Hotel Check-in
- Shinkansen Tickets
- At the Drugstore
- Izakaya Chat
Your first conversation is free. AI Talk needs a connection. Messages are processed by our AI provider, DeepSeek; please don’t share personal information.
Ramen Shop
A small ramen shop in Shinjuku with eight counter seats. It's lunchtime and busy.
- Say how many people you are
- Order a bowl of ramen
- Say how you like your noodles or add a topping
- Ask for the bill and pay
-
いらっしゃいませ！何名様ですか？
irasshaimase! nanmei-sama desu ka?
Welcome! How many people?
-
一人です
hitori desu
Just one person.
✅ Great! Natural and polite.
-
ご注文はお決まりですか？
gochuumon wa okimari desu ka?
Are you ready to order?
-
これをお願いします
kore o onegaishimasu
This one, please.
✅ Great! Natural and polite.
-
麺のかたさはどうしますか？
men no katasa wa dou shimasu ka?
How firm would you like your noodles?
-
麺はかためでお願いします
men wa katame de onegaishimasu
Firm noodles, please.
✅ Great! Natural and polite.
Ekiben Pass
Start free. Ride every line with the Pass.
No ads, ever. Safety phrases and the allergy card are always free.
USD 0
Forever
- 17 stops, including all Essentials and every emergency phrase
- Daily bento, review and Show Cards for those stops
- Allergy & diet card and taxi address card
- First two levels of every side trip
- One AI Talk conversation
7-day free trial for new subscribers
USD 29.99
per year
- All 37 stops and their scenes
- AI Talk, every day
- Every side trip level
Auto-renews. Cancel anytime in Settings.
Doesn’t auto-renew
USD 14.99
for 60 days
- All 37 stops and their scenes
- AI Talk, every day
- Every side trip level
Covers your prep and your trip, then simply ends.
USD 59.99
one time
- All 37 stops and their scenes
- AI Talk, every day
- Every side trip level
For the Japan regulars.
Prices in US dollars; the App Store shows your local price. Payment is charged to your Apple ID.
Questions
Before you board
Do I need to know any Japanese to start?
None at all. You learn すみません (sumimasen) in the first minute. Every phrase shows Japanese, kana, romaji and a translation, and you can hide romaji later when you feel ready.
How much time does it take each day?
You choose 3, 5 or 10 minutes. Ekiben spreads the stops between today and your departure date, so a three-week runway at 5 minutes a day covers about ten stops plus daily review.
Does it work offline in Japan?
Yes. Lessons, review, the phrasebook, Show Cards and your allergy and address cards all work without a connection. Only AI Talk needs internet.
What is free, and what does the Pass add?
17 stops are free forever, including the whole Essentials line, every emergency phrase and the allergy & diet card. The Ekiben Pass unlocks all 37 stops, AI Talk and every side trip level.
Does the Trip Pass renew automatically?
No. The Trip Pass gives you 60 days and then ends. Buying another one adds 60 more days. Only the Annual plan auto-renews, and you can cancel it in Settings at least 24 hours before it renews.
Do I need an account?
No sign-up and no login. Your progress, trip details and cards stay on your iPhone, and you can delete our server-side data from Settings at any time.
Is Ekiben available on Android or iPad?
Ekiben is made for iPhone (iOS 17 or later). We are not on Android yet.
Will this prepare me for the JLPT?
Ekiben teaches practical survival Japanese for travel, roughly a useful slice of JLPT N5. It is built for ordering, asking and understanding on a trip, not for exam grammar.
What happens to my AI Talk messages?
They are sent to our server and processed by DeepSeek, an AI provider based in China, to write the replies. Transcripts are deleted after 30 days. Please don’t share personal information in AI Talk.
Your bento is ready.
Five minutes today. Zero panic at the ramen counter later.
Coming soon to the App Store
