Reading Japanese Archives - Japanese Talk Online

A Tongue Twisting Murder Mystery (アリス殺し)

アリス殺し (Alice Koroshi) by 小林泰三 (Yasumi Kobayashi) Author: 小林泰三 (Yasumi Kobayashi) Japanese Level: JLPT N2 Genre: Fantasy, murder mystery Pages: 368 Amazon Japan Kindle: アリス殺し Bookwalker Japan: アリス殺し Japanese Summary 栗栖川亜理はここ最近、不思議の国に迷い込んだアリスの夢ばかり見ている。ある日、ハンプティ・ダンプティが墜落死する夢を見た後、亜理が大学に行くと、玉子という綽名の博士研究員が校舎の屋上から転落して死亡していた。グリフォンが生牡蠣を喉に詰まらせて窒息死した夢の後には、牡蠣を食べた教授が急死する。夢の世界の死と現実の死は繁がっているらしい。不思議の国で事件を調べる三月兎と帽子屋によって容疑者に名指しされたアリス。亜理は同じ夢を見ているとわかった同学年の井森とともに冤罪を晴らすため真犯人捜しに奔走するが……邪悪なメルヘンが彩る驚愕の本格ミステリ。 English Summary (translation by Japanese

Short Japanese Stories for a Quick Read! (3 Minute Reads on Sleepless Nights)

3分で読める! 眠れない夜に読む心ほぐれる物語 (3-bun de Yomeru! Nemurenai Yoru ni Yomu Kokoro Hogureru Monogatari) Author: Various authors; Japanese Level: JLPT N2 Genre: Short stories, mystery, fantasy, sci-fi Pages: 227 Amazon Japan (Physical Only): 3分で読める! 眠れない夜に読む心ほぐれる物語 Japanese Summary 夢の中のものを現実に持ち帰れたら? 「明晰夢発生装置」海堂尊虐げられてきた少女が今、抵抗を始める。「屋上の戦場」中山七里

Passive and Active Memory – Turn Passive Learning into Active Use!

Some people remember languages really easily, but I feel like most people (like myself) struggle to keep things we’ve learned in our brains. I’ve started learning another language from scratch and I’m reminded just how difficult it is to transfer

The Best Japanese Murder Mystery (Jukkakukan no Satsujin)

十角館の殺人 (Jukkakukan no Satsujin) by 綾辻行人 (Yukito Ayatsuji) Author: 綾辻行人 (Yukito Ayatsuji) Japanese Level: JLPT N1 ~ N1+ Genre: Mystery, murder mystery Pages: 512 (paperback edition) Amazon Japan (Kindle): 十角館の殺人 BookWalker: 十角館の殺人 Japanese Summary 十角形の奇妙な館が建つ孤島・角島を大学ミステリ研の7人が訪れた。館を建てた建築家・中村青司は、半年前に炎上した青屋敷で焼死したという。やがて学生たちを襲う連続殺人。ミステリ史上最大級の、驚愕の結末が読者を待ち受ける! 1987年の刊行以来、多くの読者に衝撃を与え続けた名作が新装改訂版で登場。

Find and Track Japanese Books with Natively

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

Essays for Japanese Game Lovers – 吉田の日々赤裸々 (Yoshida no Hibi Sekirara)

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、

Favourite and Least Favourite Japanese Novels of 2021

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

Books Within Books, Mysteries Within Mysteries – この本を盗む者は (Kono Hon wo Nusumu Mono wa)

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

Light Novel Gets Meta – これは学園ラブコメです。(Kore wa Gakuen Rabukome Desu)

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 for JLPT N3 Level Japanese

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

The Thrills and Horrors of Overwork in Japan – わたし、定時で帰ります (Watashi Teiji de Kaerimasu)

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

Sci-fi, Horror, Adventure – 裏世界ピクニック (Otherside Picnic)

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

I Can’t Go to Heaven – 僕は天国に行けない (Boku wa Tengoku ni Ikenai)

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

Japanese Graded Readers for JLPT N5 and N4 Learners

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

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 for: Intermediate (JLPT N3+) Length: 306 pages Amazon Japan

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 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・

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 (Kindle): 君と漕ぐ：ながとろ高校カヌー部 Bookwalker Japan: 君と漕ぐ：ながとろ高校カヌー部あらすじ・ Japanese

Should I Read for Fun or Read for Study?

Read for fun or read for study? AKA extensive or intensive reading? I’m specifically referring to reading books in Japanese, but this can be applied to any subject or language you want to learn. Extensive reading is a fancy

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 readers, but that’s really not the case! (You have light

Studying Japanese Through Translation

There are a plethora of English translations of Japanese novels and out there. But is reading translations a good way to study Japanese? Can you learn Japanese effectively through translation? This article looks at some methods for studying Japanese through

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 (Kindle): 世界から猫が消えたなら Bookwalker Japan: 世界から猫が消えたなら (Read the first 14

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 mnemonics but my spouse is a wizard an can “just

Japanese Short Stories「5分シリーズ」(5 Minute Series)

5分シリーズ (5 Minute Series) Author: Various (published by エブリスタ) Genre: short stories, moving Great for: Intermediate (JLPT N2) Length: Around 210 pages Amazon Japan: 5分シリーズ（5分後に涙のラスト） (will need to search for others) Bookwalker Japan: 5分シリーズ Japanese Synopsis (from Amazon

Light Novel Comedy「はめふら」(Bakarina)

乙女ゲームの破滅フラグしかない悪役令嬢に転生してしまった… is a Japanese light novel from 2015 which also has a manga release and just got an anime (which is airing Spring 2020). First off, let me clarify the names for this series: Japanese official title: 乙女ゲームの破滅フラグしかない悪役令嬢に転生してしまった… Japanese

Study Beginners Japanese With Science!

By study beginners Japanese with science, I don’t mean Matrix-level download the language to your brain (although I wish I did!) I mean, using science books aimed at young Japanese people to learn a wide variety of general knowledge and

Fantasy, Mystery「かがみの孤城」(Kagami no Kojou)

かがみの孤城（かがみのこじょう） by 辻村深月（つじむら　みずき） Author: Mizuki Tsujimura Genre: coming of age, drama, (light) fantasy, novel, award winning Great for: Intermediate (JLPT N2) Length: 554 pages Amazon Japan: かがみの孤城 Japanese Synopsis (from Amazon Japan) 鏡の世界で謎を追う不登校児大人と子どもの目が共存する救いの物語大人である現在の自分と、子どもだったあの頃の自分の両方を、同時に、ここまで慰め、励ましてくれる小説なんてはじめてだ。辻村深月の新作『かがみの孤城』のことである。中学一年生のこころは、ある出来事を機に学校へ行けなくなり、いつも家で過ごしている。ある日一人で家にいると、部屋の鏡が突然輝き始め、潜り抜けてみると、そこは城の中だった。集められたのはこころを含め、似た境遇にいるらしき中学生が七人。九時から十七時まで滞在が許されるその城で、彼らにはひとつの課題が出される。猶予は一年。戸惑いながらも七人は、少しずつ心を通い合わせていくのだが……。

Hacks for Reading Japanese Novels

I recently shared on Twitter how I had just finished reading a novel and felt inspired to write something useful about it. The following are a few hacks I’ve developed/picked up while reading Japanese novels. Hope you find them

Why You MUST Read in Japanese

When I started learning Japanese I drilled vocabulary, grammar and kanji. In my young mind language = words. For many years that was all I focused on, figuring that listening and reading was only achievable from learning this core information.