Best and Worst Japanese Books I Read in 2025
2025 was not a good reading year for me. I was insanely busy at work (yay Japanese corporate life) and the nine to eleven hours of hyper-focusing in two languages…
Japanese Study Techniques to Achieve Your Goals
Having a goal is key to long-term language study. Progressing towards that goal keeps you motivated and gives you something to strive for and measure your progress. Common goals amongst…
Six Liars for One Job – 六人の嘘つきな大学生 (Roku-nin no Uso-tsukina Daigakusei)
六人の嘘つきな大学生 (Roku-nin no Uso-tsukina Daigakusei) by 浅倉 秋成 (Akinari Asakura) Author: 浅倉 秋成 (Akinari Asakura) Japanese Level: Advanced (JLPT N1) Genre: Mystery, work drama Pages: 368 Bookwalker Japan: 六人の嘘つきな大学生 Japanese…
How To Study Japanese with ADHD
I often see people say they struggle with learning Japanese because of ADHD. Some even think there’s no point to even try because of it. I wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD…
The Inconvenient Convenience Store – 不便なコンビニ (Fubenna Konbini)
不便なコンビニ (Fubenna Konbini) by Kim Hyon / translated by 米津篤八 (Yokuya Yonezu) Author: Kim Hyon Translator: 米津篤八 (Yokuya Yonezu) Japanese Level: JLPT N2-N1 Genre: Slice of life, cozy mystery, Korean…
Japanese Study Apps That DON’T Use AI
Language is inherently human. It’s made, evolved, and used by humans to communicate—to convey ideas and emotions. Generative AI is antithetical to this. Generative AI, which uses stolen data scraped…
Strange House, Strange Mystery – 変な家 (Henna Ie)
変な家 (Henna Ie) by 雨穴 (Uketsu) Author: 雨穴 (Uketsu) Japanese Level: JLPT N2 Genre: Mystery Pages: 238 Bookwalker Japan: 変な家 Japanese Summary 知人が購入を検討している都内の中古一軒家。 開放的で明るい内装の、ごくありふれた物件に思えたが、間取り図に 「謎の空間」が存在していた。知り合いの設計士にその間取り図を見せると、 この家は、 そこかしこに 「奇妙な違和感」が存在すると言う。 不可解な間取りの真相とは!? 突如消えた元住人は一体何者!?…
How to Have a Conversation in Japanese
I struggle to have conversations with Japanese people in Japanese. Not because of a lack of Japanese ability, but because of a lack of conversational ability. I can converse (somewhat)…