Asking would you like to swap shirts?

Hi,

I'm going to Japan in September, I work for the fire brigade and will be taking one of my work shirts new in the packet to one of the local (local to where we're staying in Kyoto, hakone or tokyo- but most likely Tokyo) fire stations to ask if they'd like to swap shirts with me (this is common between firefighters over here and in the United States).

Assuming fire stations in Japan are ok with people just walking up and knocking on the door (where I work this would be welcomed), my only other hurdle is how to correctly ask someone there if they'd like to trade shirts with me... I've tried google translate but I'm very cautious that it's translating what I want to ask correctly (it seems the word swap/trade/exchange, always comes back with something generic like "change")

Any help would me much appreciated.

Thanks

The word you're looking for is koukan ŒðŠ· meaning "exchange". The English word "exchange" is also commonly known. I'm not sure how common it is to exchange shirts here in Japan, but yes, you can just walking up and knock on their door, introduce yourself (a name card or fireman ID might help if you have one), and perhaps say,

"Shatsu o koukan shimasen ka?"
(Would you like to exchange shirts?)

Or you might be able to clarify your intention by saying

"Seifuku no shatsu o ...." because "seifuku" means "uniform".

The museum in Yotsuya might also be interesting for you.
http://www.tfd.metro.tokyo.jp/eng/index.html

I hope you have fun in Japan!

if they buy their clothes by their money, you will get an answer of OK.
sometimes(or very often), their clothes are served by their city authorities with no charge, ‘Ý—^. (it means the ownership belong to the city. ) At that case, they can't exchange their clothes. (or needs a permission by their boss.)

Thank you very much for the replies, I'll give that a go! I'll be sure to return here afterwards to let you know show it went.

Regards

Share your experience and tell us how it goes) good luck.

Firemen get new gear every year (don`t know if this includes shirts), and are free to give some of it away. I have received belts and the safety ropes that attach, goggles, and gloves several times from a personal friend. These keep me safe when climbing tall trees to trim them. So I suspect you will be successful if you ask.

If you anticipate the language barrier being an issue- you could think laterally and do something like take some pictures with you, showing you at work, so they know you're a fellow firefighter, maybe?
I'd imagine firefighters in another country would be interested to see pictures of your engines, training drills, etc.
I've often found that some pictures and a notebook and pen to draw stuff can get you a long way when you don't have the language.