The story behind TabiTalk
TabiTalk is for travellers who don’t just want to survive Japan — they want to take part in the small, everyday conversations that make a trip feel human.
It started with a simple frustration: after years of study, phrasebooks, and apps, real conversations in Japan still felt much harder than they should. Menus were confusing. Station signs were overwhelming. And the tools that were great at home weren’t built for the moments when someone is standing in front of you waiting for an answer.
From scattered notes to a travel companion
Before TabiTalk, there was a long, messy notes app full of phrases picked up on trains, in tiny izakaya, and at convenience stores. Little things like how to ask if a train stops at your station, how to politely get a server’s attention, or how to say you’re lost without sounding rude.
Those notes worked incredibly well on trips, but they weren’t easy to share. Friends kept asking for “that list of phrases” before their own travels. Eventually, it became clear that this should be more than a personal cheat sheet.
TabiTalk is that notes app, reimagined: organised, searchable, and built around the exact situations you meet in Japan.
What makes TabiTalk different
- Trip-first, not test-first. TabiTalk focuses on the conversations you’re most likely to have on a trip: buying tickets, ordering food, asking for help, and chatting politely. You can absolutely learn a lot from it, but the primary goal is confidence and kindness, not passing an exam.
- The core loop: ask → translate → practise. Instead of just showing you a translation and moving on, TabiTalk encourages you to turn that situation into a little scenario so you can rehearse it before it happens in real life.
- Short explanations, not long lectures. When there’s an important nuance, you’ll see a quick note about politeness, tone, or a common alternative — just enough so you understand what you’re saying without needing to deep-dive into grammar.
- Offline-friendly by design. Parts of Japan still have patchy data. TabiTalk keeps core content available offline so you can get unstuck when you’re already out the door.
What we believe
- Small wins matter. Saying a simple phrase confidently in a shop can feel better than nailing a complex sentence in a textbook exercise.
- Respect comes first. Being able to apologise, thank people properly, and ask for help kindly goes a long way in any language.
- Real trips beat perfection. You don’t need perfect grammar to have a great conversation. You just need enough language to be present, polite, and curious.
- Learning should fit around your life. TabiTalk is designed for five-minute pockets: waiting for a train, riding between cities, or winding down in your hotel.
Where TabiTalk is going next
TabiTalk is still growing. The plan is to add more scenarios, deepen the guidance around nuance and politeness, and eventually bring the experience to more platforms.
- More everyday scenarios: from hospital visits to haircuts and hobby meetups.
- Richer practice tools: more ways to rehearse conversations in a low-pressure way.
- Better discovery: helping you find the exact phrase you need faster.
If you have ideas or stories from your own trips to Japan, feel free to say hello at hello@tabitalk.com.