Getting a massage: Adjusting pressure

💬 [いらっしゃい] is a casual welcome. In shops and salons, you’ll more often hear the more polite [いらっしゃいませ].

🇯🇵 At massage places in Japan, staff often greet you warmly as soon as you enter. You usually don’t need to answer with a full sentence—a smile or [こんにちは] is fine.

💬 [こちら] means "this way / here" in a polite-sounding way. The particle [へ] marks direction: "toward here."

🇯🇵 Staff often guide customers indirectly and politely rather than pointing too directly. [こちらへ] feels smooth and service-oriented.

💬 [どうぞ] is super useful: it can mean "please," "go ahead," or "here you are," depending on the situation.

🇯🇵 You’ll hear [どうぞ] everywhere in Japan—when being shown a seat, handed a form, or invited into a treatment room. Tiny word, big mileage.

💬 This combines [こちらへ] + [どうぞ] for a very natural service phrase: "This way, please."

🇯🇵 A common phrase in clinics, salons, and massage shops. Just follow the staff member when you hear it.

💬 [お願い] comes from the verb [願う], "to wish/request." It often appears in polite set phrases like [お願いします].

🇯🇵 In Japanese, direct requests are often softened. [お願い] has a cooperative, polite feeling rather than a demanding one.

💬 [します] is the polite form of [する], "to do." It’s one of the most common verbs in Japanese.

🇯🇵 Many service expressions use [します], making speech sound neat and polite. It’s a workhorse verb—like duct tape for Japanese sentences.

💬 [お願いします] literally relates to "I request it," but in real life it often simply means "please" or "yes, please."

🇯🇵 This is one of the safest polite phrases in Japan. At a massage, you can use it when accepting treatment, making a request, or asking for a favor.

💬 [きょう] means "today." In conversation, it often sets the topic, as in [きょうは].

🇯🇵 At appointments, staff may ask about how you feel [きょう]. It helps explain your condition for that day, not just in general.

💬 [肩] means "shoulder," but in Japanese it often refers to the shoulder area broadly. It’s commonly used when talking about stiffness or tension.

🇯🇵 Shoulder stiffness is almost a national theme in Japan. You’ll hear [肩こり] a lot—many people talk about tight shoulders from desk work.