sharing my Japanese journey one coffee at a time
I think that any language can be very exciting at first and then after a few weeks you realize it is harder than you initially anticipated, lose motivation, and quit. But Japanese especially provides a specially unique challenge. So many people I know personally have an interest in learning or started studying, but can’t make… Continue reading My Take on Study Motivation for Japanese
*Drop romaji NOW (the sooner the better) Romaji will get you nowhere, so better to let go it sooner rather than later. Hiragana and katakana are not that hard once you get of it. You won’t know how to pronounce things correctly it you aren’t aware of silent お, う, って, ん, etc. like in… Continue reading Beginner Tips for Learning Japanese
Over the past month, I read this book based on a recommendation from and it was honestly really good. I wrote a brief synopsis last time, but essentially Kanou Yuri is fed up with her current life and school/family situation. She has a fight with her mother and "runs away", but ends up goes back… Continue reading あの花が咲く坂で、君とまた出会ったら Book Review
One of my favorite ways to travel around Japan and visit new places is seeing the real-life locations behind all my favorite anime movies. As long-time Ghibli fan, I was really excited to see the real-life city behind one of my all-time favorite Ghibli movies, Whisper of the Heart (耳をすませば). It is located in the… Continue reading Visiting the Real-Life City Behind “Whisper of the Heart” in Tama City, Tokyo
The main reason I wanted to read this book specifically is because there is a drama based on this book that I really liked, so I’ve been interested in reading this book for years now. But my Japanese was not nearly good enough to tackle it before, so it’s kind of a big accomplishment for… Continue reading Nのために Book Review (No Spoilers) and Drama vs Book Comparison (With Spoilers)
There are a lot of posts out there talking about traveling to Japan as a tourist and making use of all the tourist passes like the Japan Rail Pass, but I think there are not as many talking about travel as foreign residents (aka working in Japan or study abroad). As many people know, traveling… Continue reading Japan Travel Tips for Foreign Residents
Hello August again. Exactly a year ago, I started learning N2. 365 days have already flown by since then, so I wanted to talk a little bit more about my experience learning N2. Hopefully it might be helpful to those starting out. When I started N2, I still wasn’t super confident in my N3 ability,… Continue reading JLPT N2 One Year Study Anniversary
Ease of Use It is very straightforward. Content There are 30 practice tests that are supposed to be 10 min each. There are 2 3min mini practice tests between every 5 regular tests. Structure 1st part - choose word hiragana for from the kanji.2nd part - choose the right kanji for the hiragana.3rd part -… Continue reading 日本語パワードリルN2 文字 / 語彙 (Nihongo Power Drill N2 Vocabulary) Textbook Review
Tokyo, Japan Hida-Furukawa, Gifu Prefecture Not study related at all, but today’s topic is for all the anime fans out there. I’m more of casual fan since I don’t watch many shows, but I do like anime movies a lot. Ever since I first went to go see the famous steps from 君の名は in Tokyo… Continue reading Anime Location Hunting in Japan
Ease of Use: It is pretty simple. Content: There are 30 practice tests that are supposed to be 10 min each. There are 2 3min mini practice tests between every 5 regular tests. Structure: The first part is fill-in-the-blank sentence with the correct grammar. The second part is arrange parts the sentences correctly. The third… Continue reading 日本語パワードリル N2 文法 (Nihongo Power Drill N2 Grammar) Textbook Review
Ease of Use: It is relatively straightforward until the end. You read the grammar rules/tips and answer the questions. These can either be multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, complete the sentence, starred word in a sentence, etc. Content: The content is extremely detailed and thorough, and will take a very long time to finish. I spent 4-5 months… Continue reading 新完全マスターN２文法 (Shin Kanzen Master N2 Grammar) Textbook Review
Ease of Use: I think it’s pretty self-explanatory. It comes with a red sheet to cover up the words in red, but honestly I’m not sure what’s the point like on the first pages of each section. Content: I thought it was alright. The passages are pretty difficult and lot of passages relate to some… Continue reading 一回で合格N2読解 (Pass in One Try N2 Reading) Textbook Review
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