It has been suggested that a few Japanese phrases may be useful, particularly for occasions when phone calls have to be made to Japan - a few useful expressions are given here.
The traditional way of saying `hello' on the phone in Japanese is moshi moshi.
However, if ringing a place such as ISAS, the switchboard operator will usually say `This is ISAS': Oo-choo Ka-gaku Ken-kyoo Sho des'.
If you wanted to speak to Murata-san, a simple polite way of requesting this is Murata-san o-nair-gah-ee shi-muss.
To ensure you get the right Murata-san, by specifying the person you want works in Hirax's group: Hirabayashi-ken no Murata-san o-nair-gah-ee shi-muss.
If you want to try the Operations Room: Oon-yoh Shitsu oh-nair-gah-ee shi-muss.
If you need to resort to numbers to give a phone number listed in the VMOH for example:
| zero | zair-oh or ray | five | go |
| one | ichi | six | rock-oo |
| two | ni | seven | nana |
| three | sun | eight | hachi |
| four | yon or shi | nine | kyoo |
If someone has been very helpful, thank them! Doh-moh A-ri-guh-toe.
If all else fails, ask if they can speak English: Ay-goh de-ki-muss-ka?
A few other useful expressions:
| Good morning | O-high-oh go-zai-ee-muss |
| Hello | Kon-ni-chi-wuh |
| Good evening | Kon-bun-wuh |
| Sorry | Sue-mee-muss-sen |
| How about a beer? | Bee-roo wuh ik-kar-guh dess-ka? |
The above pronunciations are not transliterations from Japanese, but are intended to illustrate the way the word is pronounced. Japanese is generally spoken with no emphasis on any particular syllable.