important kanji to know while traveling

I want to learn a few important kanji to recognize while i am traveling- anything you think would be important such as restrooms, restaurant, subway, train station, etc. I do know kana but no kanji. I have heard about the red lanterns with a certain kanji symbolizing cheap eating ??

I'm not sure if the foreigners or non Japanese speaking people would pay attention to or memorize kanji characters eventhough they see it.

Most kanji has furigana next to it or printed in Romaji (English).

‚¨Žè�ô‚¢
�—
’j
’n‰º“S
‰E
�¶

Of all the Kanji that CC listed, the most important would be the second and third on the list that is

Woman

Man

(I don't have a computer that easily type out Kanji, I downloaded Microsoft Japanese fonts and it still won't work)

I once made an embarrassing mistake in Poland one time.

Chad

forgot to add translation, sorry
‚¨Žè�ô‚¢ (otearai)---lavatory or bathroom
�— (onna)---female
’j (otoko)---male
’n‰º“S (chikatetsu)----subway
‰E (migi)---right
�¶ (hidari)---left

‚Å‚®‚¿
�oŒû
means EXIT

I have been to Japan only 8 times so far but never had a problem finding a rail station, toilet, subway etc. they use English you know! I carry maps of whatever area I plan to visit, either real maps or ones printed from the internet and never got lost. Yet.

While thats true for the most part on signage the deeper you go the less and less romaji and english you see on signs.

It also doesn't hurt to know some kanji to study and practice, as many of the signs might have a ton of additional information, but only a small basic english translation.

I often find myself stuck in front of a restroom door in Japan, not being able to figure out which one is for the ladies. Then I notice either that it's written "Ladies/Gentlemen" in real fancy English fonts or that they're indicated by fancy pictures of a man and a woman or that it's simply distinguished by the colors black or blue for men and red for women.

Also, if it were in Japanese letters, I have the impression that toilet directions are usually written as
‰»�ÏŽº ("keshoshitsu")
or
ƒgƒCƒŒ ("toire" in katakana)

‰»�ÏŽº��makeup room in my intepretation.

‚¨Žè�ô‚¢ is most commonly used throughout Japan.

”ñ�íŒû-emregency exit
—§“ü‹ÖŽ~-off limits

‰w - Station

"I'm not sure if the foreigners or non Japanese speaking people would pay attention to or memorize kanji characters even though they see it."

I did not know any kanji when I moved to Tokyo, but I'm an active guy, and got out on the weekends, and it kind of 'sank in'. I paid attention, and I did learn to read the kanji, in terms of transportation. I made sure I could draw the characters near where I lived. You see it everyday, and you just get used to it.