I'm currently using Rosetta Stone as a tool to learn Japanese. The weakest element of my Japanese language skill is speaking it. Thus, t...

I've been collecting Youtube videos that are either in Japanese or about Japan in some way. As it turns out, I've reached the limit ...

The website Wired for Books has a wonderful selection of Beatrix Potter books translated into Japanese. The most familiar of her writings i...

Above: These will be my classmates. I’m in for a wild ride! I'm going to Japan! The interview to study abroad went really well. I introd...

Today in Japanese class our sensei introduced us to a handy phrase, giving us the ability to ask how to say something, that we don't al...

Tomorrow marks the first day of my institutionally structured journey to better understand the Japanese language. I will be taking Elementar...

While learning the Japanese Language, I've often been asked if I know hiragana and katakana; It is a good way to measure a beginner Japa...

Many people seem to be using the Nintendo DS video game My Japanese Coach to learn the Japanese language, so I thought I would give it a pl...

Japanese designers, architects, engenieers, creatives, and thinkers from Kenya Hara’s book Designing Design shigeru ban masahiko sato kengo...

The generosity of olliecapehorn (from the Japanese language site, JapanesePortal ), was an impetus in the creation of an icon for the Wired...

For all you Smart.fm users, I created a list on graphic design terms in Japanese. These terms a very helpful when searching for Japanese d...

Rio-sensi , from the beginning, has put much emphasis on writing hiragana and katakana. To practice, I've been using writing sheets, whi...

パンくん (Pankun), the genius chimpanzee, is the star of a Japanese television show. Pankun is a chimp that's able to complete everyday task...

こんにちはりおせんせい。 わたしはとうふがすきです。なっとうはすきじゃありません。 あなたはすきですか。 From a message I hand wrote to my teacher: Hello Rio sensei. Tofu is my favorite. Natto...

I recently referred to the Sticker Picture craze among young Japanese women and came across a handy iPhone application for customizing your...

I completed Lesson 1 of Heisig’s Remember the Kanji. It was super easy and a quick lesson. I used the list on smart.fm to study my way thro...

I just started using Rosetta Stone to supplement my self directed Japanese language study. Today I completed Lesson 1 of unit 1 from the cou...

Roland Kelts describes the essence of Akihabara and goes into detail about Otaku culture, their characteristics, and why they're so dang...

Ganbatte - Do your best! Ganbatte - Good luck! One word that fascinates me to no end is the word ganbatte ( sometimes written gambatte ). It...

Today I studied these terms: 優しい – やさしい – ya.sa.shi.i. ( yah-sa-she ) – gentle, kindhearted 易しい – やさしい – ya.sa.shi.i ( ya-sa-she ) – easy, s...

National Geographic has a youtube page with all of its videos narrated in Japanese. Not only will it help you practice your Japanese listen...

Today, using smart.fm , I studied these terms: 悪い – わるい – wa.ru.i ( wah-louie ) – bad 良い – いい – i.i ( ee ) – good 意地悪な – いじわるな – i.ji.wa.ru....

I've spent a lot of time on 43Things (a community site for achieving your goals and writing about your journey). My main goal is to Lea...

I recently watched video about visiting a shrine in Japan and the ritual traditions behind it and to me its quite fascinating. Without knowi...

new vocabulary: 病院 - びょういん - byo.u.i.n (bi-yo-ein) - hospital 交番 - こうばん - ko.u.ba.n (koh-bon) - police station 郵便局 - ゆうびんきょく - yu.u.bi.n.kyo...