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How have the mountains blessed you?

Mountain Day

Aug 3, 2021

Kanji Cheat Sheet: Applying for Part-Time Jobs

Did you know that バイト comes from the German word "arbeit?"

Nov 3, 2020

Undoubtedly the best day to museum hop in Japan.

Culture Day

Oct 27, 2020

Kanji Cheat Sheet: Using a Japanese Rice Cooker

Rice and shine

Oct 21, 2020

Kanji Cheat Sheet: Buying and Selling on Mercari, Rakuma, and PayPay Furima

Welcome to the world of online thrifting.

Sep 22, 2020

Pull out your fall wardrobe and plan your koyo viewing, because autumn…

Autumnal Equinox Day

Sep 15, 2020

Kanji Cheat Sheet: Reading Emergency Alerts in Japan

Earthquake and tsunami alerts in Japan can be quite jarring. Keep calm…

Sep 8, 2020

Kanji Cheat Sheet: Getting Mail Redelivered in Japan

You’ve got mail.

Aug 11, 2020

Kanji Cheat Sheet: Filling in the Work History Section of Your Japanese Resume

Make applying for a job in Japanese less intimidating with this guide.

Jul 28, 2020

Kanji Cheat Sheet: Getting a Commuter Pass in Japan

Get a shiny new commuter pass all by yourself with this kanji…

Jul 14, 2020

Kanji Cheat Sheet: Buying Cleaning Products in Japan

Get things spick and span as quick as you can

Jun 30, 2020

Kanji Cheat Sheet: Figuring out the Buttons on a Japanese Toilet

When you gotta go, you gotta go.

Jun 16, 2020

Kanji Cheat Sheet: Going to the Dentist in Japan

You know the drill.

Jun 2, 2020

Kanji Cheat Sheet: Going to the Movies in Japan

*Shoves popcorn in mouth excitedly*

May 19, 2020

Kanji Cheat Sheet: Filing Taxes in Japan

Make filing taxes a little less of a headache.

May 12, 2020

Kanji Cheat Sheet: Navigating Bicycle Parking in Japan

Park it like it’s hot.

Apr 21, 2020

Kanji Cheat Sheet: Using Your Japanese Washing Machine

Is that detergent or fabric softener…? How do I use this freaking…

Apr 7, 2020

Kanji Cheat Sheet: Using the ATM in Japan

Banking in Japan isn’t such a scary task after you master some…

Mar 17, 2020

Kanji Cheat Sheet: Using a Ramen Ticket Machine in Japan

Because the longer it takes you to order ramen, the longer it…

Mar 10, 2020

Kanji Cheat Sheet: Writing the Education Section of Your Japanese Resume

When in Japan, do like the Japanese.

Mar 3, 2020

Kanji Cheat Sheet: How to Navigate the Japanese Train System

Keep calm and find the right station exit with this guide to…

Feb 25, 2020

Kanji Cheat Sheet: Finding Vegan and Halal Products at the Supermarket in Japan

Vegan food is notoriously hard to find in Japan. Luckily we’ve got…

Feb 18, 2020

Kanji Cheat Sheets: Buying Cold Medicine in Japan

Fight off that nasty bug with this guide to the most common…

Feb 11, 2020

Mar 15, 2017

Politeness in Japanese

Adverbs

Mar 8, 2017

Giving and receiving objects and actions

Feb 20, 2017

Adjectives

Introducing yourself and asking questions

Connective form and how to do requests

Particle usage and review

He Said/She Said: Speaking Of & Quoting

Nov 3, 2016

This & That

Putting it Together to Pull it Apart: Dissecting Japanese Sentences

Nov 1, 2016

The What & the Way: を and で

Continuation of Particles and Verb Conjugation

Sep 30, 2016

Introduction to particles, and the verb ”to be”

Jul 21, 2016

Jul 18, 2016

In this first article, we will take a look at hiragana, one…

Introduction

Getting Somewhere: You Need に

Feb 22, 2016

Whether you’re visiting Japan or you’re a resident and looking to get…

The Mighty は Particle

Conversation Studies

Vacation

Aug 28, 2015

Jul 27, 2015

Go forth and toilet with confidence knowing that you are the master…

Jul 1, 2015

Learn these essential kanji to make sure you buy what you want…

Shops and Restaurants

Jun 30, 2015

Japan is a country full of instructions. The problem is most of…

Getting Around Town

Jun 22, 2015

These essential kanji will help you make your way around the station…

At the Train Station

May 31, 2015

Learn Kanji the Smart Way

The last post in this series is reserved for the biggest challenge,…

Feb 24, 2014

Stop Studying, Start Living

To learn a language you have to live it! Put down the…

How to Speak Without Fear

A writer learns to write by writing. An athlete becomes great by…

In the first two posts in this series we looked at what…

Become a Time Hacker

Feb 12, 2014

In the early stages of learning a language there's really only one…

How to Make Words Stick

Follow the steps laid out in these six articles and your approach…

Get Disturbed

Keep Warm and Learn Kanji

For those coming from cold countries, the lack of a central heating…

Jan 21, 2014

Top 10 Easy Kanji To Remember

Kanji has its roots back to the hieroglyphics in ancient China. As…

Health and Sports Day is a national holiday in Japan held annually…

Health and Sports Day

Sep 12, 2013

Labor Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in Japan which takes place…

Labor Thanksgiving Day

National Foundation Day is celebrated on February 11 to mark the foundation…

National Foundation Day

One of the most important holiday in Japan. News Years is a…

New Year’s Holiday

Respect for the Aged Day is a Japanese holiday celebrated annually to…

Respect for the Aged Day

Ocean Day is a Japanese national holiday celebrated to give thanks to…

Ocean Day

Sep 9, 2013

The Coming of Age festival is celebrated on the second Monday of…

Coming of Age Day

Aug 28, 2013

With over 2.7 million people passing through its gates everyday, Ikebukuro is…

Ikebukuro Station

Aug 16, 2013

Komagome Station still retains much of the Edo charm as is evident…

Komagome Station

Otsuka Station is not a very large station but during the month…

Otsuka Station

Aug 15, 2013

During the Meiji period, Tabata was a quiet country village and today…

Tabata Station

A small station that is next to a large number of cemeteries.…

Nishi-Nippori Station

Aug 12, 2013

Mejiro Station sits next to Gakushuin University which opened in 1847 and…

Mejiro Station

Nippori , which literally means “place where the sun sets”, is a…

Nippori Station

Uguisudani , which means “Valley of the Nightingales” due to the many…

Uguisudani Station

Known as the Gateway to the North, Ueno Station is home to…

Ueno Station

Aug 7, 2013

Okachimachi is a busy commercial district of Taito and is home to…

Okachimachi Station

Aug 5, 2013

Akihabara, which is also known as Akihabara Electric Town , is the…

Akihabara Station

During the Edo period, Kanda had developed into an uptown area where…

Kanda Station

Sugamo is a neighborhood in Tokyo's northern Toshima Ward. The area is…

Sugamo Station

Takadanobaba , often referred to simply as “Baba”, is a popular area…

Takadanobaba Station

Aug 2, 2013

Shin-Okubo Station sits right in the middle of Koreatown and is a…

Shin-Okubo Station

Known as a city within a city, Shinjuku Station is a massive…

Shinjuku Station

Located adjacent to Yoyogi Station is Yoyogi Park is one of the…

Yoyogi Station

Harajuku is teenage fashion on steroids! Check out the latest trends to…

Harajuku Station

Aug 1, 2013

With one of the most iconic street crossings in the world, Shibuya…

Shibuya Station

Ebisu is a neighborhood in Shibuya, conveniently near Roppongi and it home…

Ebisu Station

The Meguro River, the namesake of the station and the neighborhood, is…

Meguro Station

Jul 30, 2013

No major tourism sites doesn’t mean nothing to do, so get off…

Gotanda Station

First opened in 1901, Osaki Station has been servicing the trains of…

Osaki Station

Shinagawa is one of the oldest stations in Japan and the first…

Shinagawa Station

Tamachi Station might mean rice field town but you're not going to…

Tamachi Station

Jul 21, 2013

Hamamatsu is a busy station as it is the most convenient station…

Hamamatsucho Station

Shimbashi Station first opened in October of 1872, making it one of…

Shimbashi Station

With a wide variety of restaurants, parks, shopping and historic government offices…

Yurakucho Station

Jun 26, 2013