Getting your photo taken

Hi again. Niko here.

This week’s prompt

You’re looking at the cherry blossoms in Yoyogi Park. You want to get a picture of yourself in front of them, but you’re by yourself. You go up to a group of people having a hanami party. Maybe one of them will take your photo for you.

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Last week’s corrections

You’re at みどりの窓口[まどぐち], where they sell shinkansen tickets, at a train station in Tokyo. You want to buy a ticket to Kyoto. You go up to the counter.

I think I would go with something like:

京都までの新幹線のチケット買いたいんですけど
きょうと まで の しんかんせん の チケット かいたい んです けど
I’d like to buy a shinkansen ticket to Kyoto.
Lit. Kyoto + まで + の + bullet train + の + ticket + want to buy + んです + けど

It’s easy to get in my head and think about saying all the stuff I want — a window seat! — but that stuff will come up as the conversation progresses.

I could have sworn that a teacher once told me that you’re supposed to say 切符[きっぷ] for a train ticket, and not チケット, and I asked Rei about it, and she thinks チケット sounds fine… but maybe people (used to) say 切符 more… we don’t know.

I noticed that a few of the submissions have 乗車券[じょうしゃけん] for “ticket,” which also isn’t wrong… but sounds to us like something a train company employee would be more likely to use than your average person… but again, you’re talking to a train company employee, so maybe it’s called for.

Language is subjective. ^_^

Here’s Satoko with feedback: