Natively popped up last year on Reddit as a brand new website where you can find and track Japanese books. Kind of like Goodreads, but for Japanese books aimed at people studying Japanese. I gave it a go and instantly
吉田の日々赤裸々 (Yoshida no Hibi Sekirara) by 吉田直樹 (Naoki Yoshida) Author: 吉田直樹 (Naoki Yoshida) Japanese Level: JLPT N2 ~ N1 Genre: Non-fiction, essays, video games Pages: 192 Amazon Japan (Kindle): 吉田の日々赤裸々 BookWalker: 吉田の日々赤裸々 Japanese Summary 『ファイナルファンタジーXIV』奇跡の復活劇を綴る! 週刊ファミ通で好評連載中のコラム“吉田の日々赤裸々。”が、待望の単行本化! まさに崖っぷちプロジェクトであった『ファイナルファンタジーXIV』が“新生”するまでの過程を、 プロデューサー兼ディレクターの吉田直樹氏みずから振り返る。 連載の加筆再収録だけでなく、吉田氏がプロジェクトを引き継ぐことになるまでの顛末を、
I’ve seen this question crop up a few times lately. Or at least different iterations of it. Do I need to pass the N1? Do I need to learn N1 grammar/kanji? How often do you use N1 level Japanese? How
西の魔女が死んだ (Nishi no Majo ga Shinda) by 梨木 香歩 (Kaho Nashiki) Author: 梨木 香歩 (Kaho Nashiki) Japanese Level: JLPT N3 ~ N2 Genre: Slice-of-life, drama, family Pages: 226 Amazon Japan (Physical): 西の魔女が死んだ This book doesn’t seem to be available digitally
Manga Review for Japanese Learners! あせとせっけん (Sweat and Soap) by 山田 金鉄 (Kintetsu Yamada) Author: 山田 金鉄 (Kintetsu Yamada) Genre: adult, business, romance Great for: Intermediate Japanese (JLPT N2+) and kanji (No furigana) Amazon Japan (Kindle): あせとせっけん Bookwalker Japan:
I started using Memrise probably about seven years ago in 2015, two years after the Beta was released. I had previously tried Anki because everyone used it, but never got along with the tricky, unintuative UI. So Memrise was perfect
最果てのパラディン (The Faraway Paladin) by 柳野 かなた (Kanata Yanagino) Author: 柳野 かなた (Kanata Yanagino) Japanese Level: JLPT N2 ~ N1 Genre: Fantasy, light novel Amazon Japan (Kindle): 最果てのパラディン Bookwalker: 最果てのパラディン Shosetsuka ni Narou: 最果てのパラディン Japanese Summary かつて滅びた死者の街。 そこには１人の子供と３人の不死なる者たちが存在した。 かつて英雄であった不死者たちに養育される少年、ウィル。
八丈島と、猫と、大人のなつやすみ (Hachijojima to, Neko to, Otona no Natsuyasumi) by 五十嵐 雄策 (Yusaku Igarashi) Author: 五十嵐 雄策 (Yusaku Igarashi) Japanese Level: JLPT N3 ~ N2 Genre: Slice of life, travel, fiction Amazon Japan (Kindle): 八丈島と、猫と、大人のなつやすみ Bookwalker: 八丈島と、猫と、大人のなつやすみ Why You Should
Having a goal for studying Japanese can be a help or a hinder. Some people swear by goal setting, and by telling the whole world about your goals. I used to be one of these people but found that eventually
失恋の準備をお願いします (Shitsukoi no Junbi o Onegaishimasu) by 浅倉 秋成 (Akibari Asakura) Author: 浅倉 秋成 (Akibari Asakura) Japanese Level: JLPT N2 Genre: Mystery(?), comedy, romance(??), light sci-fi(?) Amazon Japan (Kindle): 失恋の準備をお願いします Bookwalker: 失恋の準備をお願いします Japanese Summary 「あなたとはお付き合いできません―わたし実は、魔法使いだから」告白を断るため、魔法使いだと嘘をついてしまった女子高生。しかし彼は、人間界と魔法界を超える愛を誓ってくれてしまい……? フリたい私とめげない彼。恋と嘘とが絡みあい、やがて大きな渦となる! ささやかで切実な恋物語は、大事件の予兆だった。ぐるぐる回る、伏線だらけの恋物語! English
Manga Review for Japanese Learners! その着せ替え人形は恋をする (My Dress-Up Darling) by 福田 普一 (Shinichi Fukuda) Author: 福田 普一 (Shinichi Fukuda) Genre: High school, romance, comedy, ecchi, cosplay Great for: Intermediate Japanese (JLPT N2+) and kanji (No furigana) Amazon Japan (Kindle):
Despite being confined indoors for the majority of 2021 and reading every day (for at least 30 minutes), I didn’t read that many books in Japanese. This was for a few reasons, I changed my commute to work from the
鹿の王 (The Deer King) by 上橋 菜穂子 (Nahoko Uehashi) Author: 上橋 菜穂子 (Nahoko Uehashi) Genre: Fantasy, adventure Great for: Advanced (JLPT N1+) Length: Roughly 1200 pages in total Amazon Japan (Kindle): 鹿の王 (Kadokawa) / 鹿の王 (Tsubasa Bunko) Bookwalker Japan:
Immersive learning is basically learning from Japanese materials made for native Japanese speakers. Some people will suggest you spend you daily life immersed in the language, which you can do, but there are techniques for learning from immersion without spending
時をかける少女 (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) by 筒井 康隆 (Yasutaka Tsutsui) Author: 筒井 康隆 (Yasutaka Tsutsui) Genre: Sci-fi, high school, short story Great for: Intermediate (JLPT N3) Length: 115 pages (238 total for two short stories including 時をかける少女)
The wonders of the internet means it’s incredibly easy to find a Japanese teacher online now. When I started I went to my teacher’s house, but in the last five years I have used numerous Japanese teachers online. (Mostly through
京都伏見のあやかし甘味帖 (Kyoto Fushimi no Ayakashi Amamijo) by 柏 てん (Ten Kashiwa) Author: 柏 てん (Ten Kashiwa) Genre: Kyoto, sweets, fantasy, shinto, light novel, character novel Great for: Advanced (JLPT N2~N1+) Length: 283 pages Amazon Japan (Kindle): 京都伏見のあやかし甘味帖 Bookwalker Japan:
この本を盗む者は (Kono Hon wo Nusumu Mono wa) by 深緑野分 (Nowaki Fukamidori) Author: 深緑野分 (Nowaki Fukamidori) Genre: fiction, fantasy, adventure, mystery, books, magic Great for: Advanced (N1+) Length: 340 pages Amazon Japan (Kindle): この本を盗む者は Bookwalker Japan: この本を盗む者は Japanese Summary
Sadly there’s no magical way to plug vocabulary into your brain and learn it instantly. (I really wish there was.) Some effort is still required, but it’s worth it in the long run because more vocabulary means it’s easier to
これは学園ラブコメです。 (Kore wa Gakuen Rabukome Desu) by 草野 原々 (Gengen Kusano) Author: 草野 原々 (Gengen Kusano) Genre: light novel, romance, fantasy, sci-fi, comedy, meta-fiction Great for: Intermediate (JLPT N3~JLPT N2) Length: 270 pages Amazon Japan (Kindle): これは学園ラブコメです。 Bookwalker Japan:
Manga can be surprisingly difficult for Japanese learners to get into. For one thing, manga is made for native Japanese speakers and a lot of casual conversational Japanese is used. You don’t learn a lot conversational Japanese grammar until you
わたし、定時で帰ります (Watashi Teiji de Kaerimasu) by 朱野 帰子 (Kaeruko Akeno) Author: 朱野 帰子 (Kaeruko Akeno) Genre: slice of life, office life, Japanese society, female protagonist Great for: Intermediate (JLPT N2~JLPT N1) Length: 360 pages Amazon Japan (Kindle): わたし、定時で帰ります Bookwalker
I love drilling Japanese. Personally, I find the “hands on” method of learning better than rote learning. In other words, I’m a kinesthetic learner. I like using Japanese, so when I study it I find speaking with a Japanese teacher
裏世界ピクニック (Otherside Picnic) by 宮澤 伊織 (Iori Miyazawa) Author: 宮澤 伊織 (Iori Miyazawa) Genre: light novel, sci-fi, fantasy, adventure, horror, yuri Great for: Advanced (JLPT N1+) Length: 320 pages Amazon Japan (Kindle): 裏世界ピクニック Bookwalker Japan: 裏世界ピクニック Japanese Summary
僕は天国に行けない (Boku wa Tengoku ni Ikenai) by ヰ坂 暁 (Akira Isaka) Author: ヰ坂 暁 (Akira Isaka) Genre: novel, character novel, mystery, questioning life Great for: Advanced (JLPT N2~N1+) Length: 343 pages Amazon Japan (Kindle): 僕は天国に行けない Bookwalker Japan: 僕は天国に行けない
ログ・ホライズン (Log Horizon) by 橙乃 ままれ (Mamare Touno) Author: 橙乃 ままれ (Mamare Touno) Genre: light novel, isekai, video game, fantasy Great for: Advanced (JLPT N2~N1+) Length: 343 pages Amazon Japan (Kindle): ログ・ホライズン Bookwalker Japan: ログ・ホライズン あらすじ ・ Japanese
I recently had the honor to be on 日本語 with あこ (Nihongo with Ako), a podcast hosted by Japanese teacher Ako Suzuki. I had come across her podcasts in the past but never listened to them properly. (I was more familiar
Learning beginner level Japanese can be frustrating at times when you want to be able to do more with the language. I often see people asking about reading materials for JLPT N5 and N4 level learners. The trick is that
また、同じ夢を見ていた (Mata Onaji Yume wo Miteita / I Had That Same Dream Again) by 住野よる (Yoru Sumino) Author: 住野よる (Yoru Sumino) Genre: novel, elementary school, coming of age, fantasy Great for: Intermediate (JLPT N3+) Length: 306 pages Amazon Japan
千手學園少年探偵團 (Senju Gakuen Shonen Tanteidan) by 金子 ユミ (Yumi Kaneko) Author: 金子 ユミ (Yumi Kaneko) Genre: novel, Taisho Period, mystery, high school Great for: Advanced (JLPT N1+) Length: 306 pages Amazon Japan (Kindle): 千手學園少年探偵團 Bookwalker Japan: 千手學園少年探偵團 あらすじ ・