What is Happiness? また、同じ夢を見ていた (Mata Onaji Yume wo Miteita)
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…
Japanese Novel Review
An Advanced Taisho Era Challenge「千手學園少年探偵團」(Senju Gakuen Shonen Tanteidan)
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…
Slice of Rowing Life 君と漕ぐ(Kimi to Kogu) for Japanese Learners
君と漕ぐ：ながとろ高校カヌー部 by 武田 綾乃 (Ayano Takeda) Author: 武田 綾乃 (Ayano Takeda) Genre: novel, slice of life, high school, club, rowing Great for: Advanced (JLPT N1) Length: 332 pages Amazon Japan…
5 Japanese Light Novels for JLPT N3 Level Learners
What makes a Japanese light novels a “light” novel? I honestly don’t know. I used to think it was because they were written with easier to understand Japanese for younger…
Life, Death, and Cats 世界から猫が消えたなら (If Cats Disappeared from the World) for Japanese Learners
世界から猫が消えたなら (せかい から ねこ が きえたなら) by 川村 元気 (Genki Kawamura) Author: 川村 元気 (Genki Kawamura) Genre: novel, Great for: Beginner – Intermediate (JLPT N3+) Length: 229 pages Amazon Japan…
5 Second Trick to Remembering Vocabulary When Reading Japanese
Different people learn and remember information in different ways. This is obvious when you talk to different people about how they learn languages, such as Japanese. (I personally like using…
Ink Wash Painting and Grief 「線は、僕を描く」(Sen wa Boku wo Egaku)
線は、僕を描く （せんはぼくをえがく） by 砥上 裕將 (Togami Hiromasa) Author: 砥上 裕將 (Togami Hiromasa) Genre: novel, college, melancholy Great for: Advanced (JLPT N1+) Length: 317 pages Amazon Japan: 線は、僕を描く Bookwalker Japan: 線は、僕を描く…
War, Humanity, and Letters「ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン」(Violet Evergarden)
ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン (Violet Evergarden) by 暁 佳奈 (Kana Akatsuki) There are two main novels in this series with a spin-off (外伝) and an after story, a total of four novels. This…