Growing up in America, I always felt like I was missing something. I would never know how to describe myself. I would have adults describe my character but I would always question why they thought of me in that way.
Learning About Japanese Values
My Experience Making Movies in Japan
by Max, founder of Shield and Sword Productions and creator of Cyber Ninja Tekkaraiger Tokusatsu; Live action Japanese special effects cinema. For most of the world the only reference they have is Godzilla and Power Rangers. But the number of productions that
Learn Kansai-ben With Cats ①
Ever wanted to learn more about the infamous Kansai dialect of Japan? From a Japanese person? Through the medium of cats? Well now you can learn Kansai-ben with cats!!! 関西弁にゃんこ (Kansai-ben Nyanko) is a fantastic book by Maki, a Japanese
Best Japanese YouTube Channels
I am one of those people who would rather watch YouTube than TV. The amazing thing about YouTube is the ability for people from all around the world to create content. Yet due to YouTube’s advertising algorithms you probably never
Advanced Japanese Reading Practice 3
Advanced Reading Practice on Memrise Articles: 「オゾン層に回復の兆し」 米研究グループ ネット動画で広がる被災地応援 Tip 1: When studying the vocabulary read it out-loud – Even if you’re just moving your lips (because you’re in public, for example) reading the vocabulary and what it means out-loud will help
Japanese Asadora Bite Size Drama
Drama are great ways to practice Japanese. They are made by Japanese people for Japanese people telling Japanese stories. Often it’s hard to pick a good drama to watch if you don’t know drama very well. Which is why I
Review of NILS Language School Fukuoka
In 2013 I spent 6 months in Fukuoka studying at a private school called NILS. They provide lessons from 1 month to 2 years for a variety of levels at reasonable prices (compared to many language schools). I’ve had a few
Soft Power and Translating Manga
The head of the Theory and Practice of Translation program for my MA was an elderly Chinese man who often made snide remarks about how translating manga wasn’t a “real” form of translation. A view I worry is often shared
Japan’s Lucky Poop – Dajare Puns and Culture
This week I wanted to look at Japan’s fascination with dajare (ダジャレ) or “wordplay/puns” and how their love for them has permeated itself into Japanese customs and media. (I’ve talked about Japanese humour before in Japanese Jokes for English Speakers.)
JET Teaching in Japan
Many people interested in Japan are interested in moving there. Quite often that means an interest in teaching English in Japan either through JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) or another program. If you want to get a foot in the
Birthdays in Japan
It was Japanese Talk Onlines 2nd Birthday this week (4th October to be exact)!!! 誕生日おめでとう！！！ To celebrate we’re going to talk about how people celebrate their birthdays in Japan as they’re very difference compared to the West. The idea of
Japanese Weather Reports
This post covers Japanese weather reports, providing you with a vocabulary list of weather and verbs to practice. If you watch the news in Japan then the weather report will be shown, and although you can guess what’s being said
Japanese Idioms & Proverbs
A Japanese friend visited me a few weeks ago and I as showed her around London the topic of idioms came up. I was helping her with her English and I mentioned “the grass is always greener on the other
Studying Japanese In Japan
One of the best experiences anyone can do is studying Japanese in Japan. It doesn’t matter if it’s for a week or two, a month, a year, or more. If you’re interested in learning Japanese and Japan then going to
Japanese Jokes for English Speakers
I wanted to write something light hearted to apologise for the last few months of slow updates. So here are some really bad/wonderful jokes for English speakers who know Japanese, and some you should try on some Japanese friends. Did
Let’s go! Ikimashou! – Guest Post
行きましょう！ (Let’s go! Ikimashou!) So imagine… you’re teaching English in Japan and winter vacation rolls around. Oh, what will you do? Well, ☆THIS GUY☆ decided to hit up Tokyo, because… why not?! 行きましょう to Akihabara(秋葉原), the Electric Town of
A Foreigner Sumo Wrestling in Japan – Guest Post
I was a Shindeshi:A Foreigner’s Chance at a Japanese Sport Sumo (相撲: sumou), I have been familiar with the sport for a while now, because of my interest in Japanese culture, but I never really imagained that I
Going to Conventions in Japan
I went to London ComicCon recently (aka MCM Expo to anyone that’s been going for over 4 years) and it reminded me of the big differences between conventions in Japan compared to the UK and America. You’d think that Japan
A Cheap Way to Visit Japan – WWOOF
“I have no money, but I really want to go to Japan!” – The first time I ever visited Japan was in 2008 when I was on my gap year. I had worked at a shop for several months beforehand
Understanding ばいと敬語 Shop Japanese
Essential Japanese for Visiting Japan – A guide to understanding shop Japanese バイトけいご When you go to a shop or restaurant in Japan, even if you’ve learnt you basics of Japanese, it can be hard to understand what the shop
Restaurant Japanese – Essential Japanese for Visiting Japan
When you go visit Japan you are most likely to eat out in a restaurant at least once at some point during your visit. So here are some tips on ordering, understanding the server and some general restaurant vocabulary that
Restaurants in Japan
Apologise for the late post but I’m in Tokyo on a business trip and it’s been non-stop for almost a week. Being out here though, is reminding me of some useful Japanese, especially restaurants in Japan. So this week is
Being Sick in Japan
There was no post this week on Wednesday because I was ill. Which although meant I spent the week getting over some kind of cold bug, it also reminded me of the importance of being able to talk to people
Japanese Signs – Essential Japanese for Visiting Japan
In a previous post Essential Japanese for Visiting Japan I explained about phrases that would be essential for visiting Japan. Especially if you were staying with a Japanese family. So this post is about signs you’ll see around Japan, especially
Cooking Japanese I – Customs and Vocabulary
“I want to be able to read Japanese cook books and online recipes!” Ever wanted to be able to cook Japanese food? Ever wanted to be able to read Japanese cook books? I certainly have. I love cooking Japanese food.