Time Station
You are the station announcer for a week. Open each morning with おはようございます and the day, announce the arriving trains, and post notices about other days — all in Japanese.
Learn to Tell Time in Japanese at a Train Station
Time Station makes you the PA announcer of a Japanese railway station for one working week, Monday to Sunday, one day at a time. Each day opens at 5:30 with 「おはようございます。きょうは かようびです。」, then the trains come in and you announce them — with the greeting that fits the clock (おはようございます, こんにちは or こんばんは) and the exact departure time. Between trains you post notices about other days: tomorrow's cancelled service, a new line starting next Friday, a timetable change from April, an umbrella left on yesterday evening's train, an apology for last week's delay. For each one the station clock fast-forwards or rewinds to that day, so the sky, the calendar board and even the season change in front of you. The day ends with the last train.
A real week, a few new words at a time
There are no levels. The days of the week, greetings, the hours (with the tricky よじ, しちじ and くじ), ごぜん/ごご on a 24-hour station clock, はん and the ふん/ぷん minutes, あさ/ひる/ゆうがた/よる, きのう and あした, せんしゅう and らいしゅう, the months and せんげつ/らいげつ are all mixed into the same days. New words arrive a few at a time with a short tip card, and the ones you miss come back more often. Because the week is real, relative words mean something: on Wednesday, きのう is the Tuesday you just worked. Every weekday is named after an element and each train is painted in its colour — 火 fire is the red train, 水 water the blue one. There is no timer and no score: each day ends with what you learnt — the new words, the ones getting stronger, how many you got right first time — and Sunday closes with a week report.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to read kanji?
No. You fill in the announcements with hiragana. After each one the full kanji version (for example 明日の午後7時半発金沢行きは運休です。) is shown, so you learn to read real station notices as you go.
Why is there a voice?
When your browser has a Japanese voice installed, the station announcer reads your finished announcement aloud, so you hear how the time is said. You can turn the voice or all sound off with the buttons above the scene.
Is it free?
Yes — completely free, no account needed. Your week and your mastery are saved in your browser, and it works with a mouse, a keyboard (keys 1–4) or a touchscreen.