Practicing Japanese in Disney World?

[jenstar]

Hi.

I just started learning Japanese and I'm really enjoying it. I'm going with my family to Disney World in a few days and I was thinking about practicing my fledgling Japanese on someone in the Japan pavilion in EPCOT, since I have no one at home to practice with. So, I have two questions.

If I want to start up a conversation with a sales clerk, for example, would I start with Hajimemashite or something else?

How would I ask in Japanese, "Do you mind if I practice my Japanese with you?" or something equivalent?

[Psy]

You might try "ano, [chotto] sumimasen" to get their attention in Japanese ("ano" is an amazingly effective attention-getter), since they'll be expecting to be approached in English, and this will immediately set their ear off to your speaking Japanese. To say "do you mind if I practice my Japanese," you could say "nihongo wo renshuu shitemo yoroshii desu ka?

You might want to rehearse explaining why it is you're learning Japanese or something more about yourself, since your opportunities are rare you won't want to stick with just greetings-- I'd imagine they get that hundreds of times a day as it is. Just remember to relax and enjoy yourself-- you will forget words, so don't worry about it.

Have a great vacation!

[Ted_]

When you enter each park at Disney World (Epcot, Magic Kingdom, etc) they give you a guide map. Be sure to also ask for a Japanese version of these maps. (You might have to go to a Guest Services location, I cannot remember if they were at the gate or not). It is a fun way practice reading Japanese and because you also have the English version, you can check your translations.

[jenstar]

Thanks for the responses! I did pick up some Japanese maps, but I chickened out and didn't talk to the sales people in Japanese.