Japanese Hobby

Cute printable sheets for Japanese study

<div style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Corbel, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.699999988079071px; line-height: 24.639999389648438px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
You may or may not have heard before that it’s a good idea when learning through immersion to regard yourself as a child once and a while. Look for children’s stories, cartoons, books, and so forth to really start learning in the way that native speakers teach their native children. This is really good advice.  <img src="http://kanjiandtea.com/fx/content.gif" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" />Every once and a while I’ll look for Japanese content geared specifically towards children, and I thought I’d share one of the things I’ve recently been very excited about, and that’s <a href="http://www.kfstudio.net/" style="border: 0px; color: #a1c045; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">KF Studio</a>‘s delightful character charts <img src="http://kanjiandtea.com/fx/clickme.gif" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><a href="http://www.kfstudio.net/categories/kidsmoji/" style="border: 0px; color: #a1c045; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">キッズ文字表</a>:</div>
<center style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Corbel, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.699999988079071px; line-height: 24.639999389648438px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2678/5818404694_bef0db0409.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/5817836619_b1238e9dd6.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br /><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3515/5818405160_6406f4c6e4.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /></center>
<br style="color: #666666; font-family: Corbel, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.699999988079071px; line-height: 24.639999389648438px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Corbel, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.699999988079071px; line-height: 24.639999389648438px;">かわいいね?These are </span><i style="border: 0px; color: #7074ac; font-family: Corbel, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.699999988079071px; line-height: 24.639999389648438px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">great for beginners</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Corbel, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.699999988079071px; line-height: 24.639999389648438px;">. However, if you’ve moved on from on hirigana and katakana to kanji, have no fear! While they don’t have any kanji charts (Oh my, could you imagine how much work that would be? And for free?!) they have lots of other goodies. Right now I’m using a few of their calendars (</span><a href="http://www.kfstudio.net/categories/calendar/" style="border: 0px; color: #a1c045; font-family: Corbel, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.699999988079071px; line-height: 24.639999389648438px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">カレンダー</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Corbel, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.699999988079071px; line-height: 24.639999389648438px;">) to keep track of my daily study, my daily workouts, and soon I’ll be using their schedule tables (</span><a href="http://www.kfstudio.net/categories/schedule/" style="border: 0px; color: #a1c045; font-family: Corbel, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.699999988079071px; line-height: 24.639999389648438px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">スケジュール</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Corbel, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.699999988079071px; line-height: 24.639999389648438px;">) for organizing bento (弁当) meals. They also have printables for time tables, budget trackers, and notepads which can be found under </span><a href="http://www.kfstudio.net/categories/kidslife/" style="border: 0px; color: #a1c045; font-family: Corbel, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.699999988079071px; line-height: 24.639999389648438px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">キッズ生活</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Corbel, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.699999988079071px; line-height: 24.639999389648438px;">, and so much more. (Like printable </span><a href="http://www.kfstudio.net/categories/letterev/" style="border: 0px; color: #a1c045; font-family: Corbel, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.699999988079071px; line-height: 24.639999389648438px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">stationary envelopes</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Corbel, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.699999988079071px; line-height: 24.639999389648438px;">!)</span><br />
<div style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Corbel, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.699999988079071px; line-height: 24.639999389648438px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Corbel, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.699999988079071px; line-height: 24.639999389648438px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Be sure to check them out!</div>

Cute printable sheets for Japanese study

You may or may not have heard before that it’s a good idea when learning through immersion to regard yourself as a child once and a while. ...

Great Text Books For Studying Japanese

<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
Japanese language learning materials have been migrating to the web in various forms including online courses, blogs, mobile app and videos to name a few. However, I still have some personal recommendations for great text books I have used to study Japanese in the past on my own and then at university as part of my degree. So, if you want to widen your repertoire of resources for learning Japanese and are tired of starring at a screen, these might be of use. Check out my personal list for the best text books for studying Japanese.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHIqYCEBCknIC7Vp6TngsheDI1gHmVBXdO4fpJCcQoV76ZcoRGI0D05C6ePL4o-2PaD2ktFS3yY4p2kGMX1HVvcbBXTr4rXOldaDqBe2kGpz9LsKaFne0hn6OQAtauoYTtfp9khiINyDI/s1600/JapaneseKanjiBook-Inside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHIqYCEBCknIC7Vp6TngsheDI1gHmVBXdO4fpJCcQoV76ZcoRGI0D05C6ePL4o-2PaD2ktFS3yY4p2kGMX1HVvcbBXTr4rXOldaDqBe2kGpz9LsKaFne0hn6OQAtauoYTtfp9khiINyDI/s1600/JapaneseKanjiBook-Inside.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
<br /></div>
<hr style="background-color: #e6e6e6; border: 0px; color: #f2f2f2; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 1px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 1.618em;" />
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: 'Titillium Web', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.387em; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 0.618em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
1) A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.</h3>
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4789004546/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=httplearnjapa-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=4789004546" style="border: 0px; color: #557fae; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" border="0" class="alignleft" height="222" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51UFQc00dlL._SY300_.jpg" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 10px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="150" /></a>If you are looking for something that is head and shoulders above the competition in Japanese grammar books, I would go for A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar<img alt="" border="0" class="mzotrhzgjwgpouddyzbu kzhpekjgbcpsdchijuay qqlvufakargpjtfxrcpy" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httplearnjapa-20&l=as2&o=1&a=4789004546&camp=217153&creative=399349" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: none !important; height: auto; margin: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="1" /> published by the Japan times. These are thick books crammed with example sentences and well written explanations. If you are a complete beginner to the language and are looking for something to aid your Japanese class or prep for the JLPT, then this dictionary will be good for you. My personal favorite is “A Dictionary of Intermediate Grammar” as I think has best coverage of the language and is good for low intermediate to advanced students. Unfortunately, the Intermediate version seems to be unavailable on the US Amazon site. Why Amazon, why? Get “A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar” here on the Japanese Amazon website. </div>
<hr style="background-color: #e6e6e6; border: 0px; color: #f2f2f2; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 1px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 1.618em;" />
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: 'Titillium Web', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.387em; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 0.618em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
2) Essential Kanji</h3>
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0834802228/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=httplearnjapa-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0834802228" style="border: 0px; color: #557fae; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" border="0" class="alignleft" height="230" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51V05AQ3W9L._SY300_.jpg" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 10px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="150" /></a>There are a lot of Kanji learning texts out there including Kodansha”s “Kanji Learner”s Dictionary” and “Kanji Pict-O-Graphix” to name just two. However I prefer Essential Kanji: 2,000 Basic Japanese Characters Systematically Arranged For Learning And Reference<img alt="" border="0" class="mzotrhzgjwgpouddyzbu kzhpekjgbcpsdchijuay qqlvufakargpjtfxrcpy" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httplearnjapa-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0834802228&camp=217153&creative=399349" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: none !important; height: auto; margin: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="1" /> by P.G O’Neil mostly because of its simplicity and clear layout. It covers 2000 essential Kanji which roughly mirrors the Joyo Kanji, the standardized Kanji for basic literacy in Japanese. Each Kanji has examples written in both beautiful calligraphy and ballpoint pen including the stroke order.</div>
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
The slight downside is some of the sentence examples can be a little esoteric and not used in daily life. I have got a few puzzled expressions from some Japanese people I have shown this to. However, most of the sentence patterns are OK, just try to check what is most commonly used and you’ll be fine.</div>
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
Apart from that minor problem, I would recommend this as a nice, straight forward, compact dictionary for people learning Kanji.</div>
<hr style="background-color: #e6e6e6; border: 0px; color: #f2f2f2; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 1px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 1.618em;" />
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: 'Titillium Web', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.387em; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 0.618em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
3) 501 Japanese Verbs</h3>
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
<img alt="" border="0" class="mzotrhzgjwgpouddyzbu kzhpekjgbcpsdchijuay qqlvufakargpjtfxrcpy" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httplearnjapa-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0764137492&camp=217145&creative=399349" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: none !important; height: auto; margin: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764137492/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=httplearnjapa-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0764137492" style="border: 0px; color: #557fae; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" border="0" class="alignleft" height="220" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51gIWvnFIXL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 10px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="220" /></a>501 Japanese Verbs<img alt="" border="0" class="mzotrhzgjwgpouddyzbu kzhpekjgbcpsdchijuay qqlvufakargpjtfxrcpy" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httplearnjapa-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0764137492&camp=217153&creative=399349" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: none !important; height: auto; margin: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="1" /> is a great reference guide for useful Japanese verbs and tables on how to conjugate them. Again, there are many good verb references out there in print form and on the internet, however I like it as it is easy to understand and use.</div>
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
One thing you should be a little careful with is table layouts as  they suggests that the frequency of all verb conjugations is equal. Of course, you won’t use absolutely every single conjugation in this book in, say, everyday natural conversation.</div>
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
However, this is only a small concern and if you keep that in mind and have an idea of how these verbs are used naturally in conversation and in print, then this is a great book to get.</div>
<hr style="background-color: #e6e6e6; border: 0px; color: #f2f2f2; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 1px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 1.618em;" />
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: 'Titillium Web', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.387em; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 0.618em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
4) Let’s Learn Hiragana<img alt="" border="0" class="mzotrhzgjwgpouddyzbu kzhpekjgbcpsdchijuay qqlvufakargpjtfxrcpy" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httplearnjapa-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0870117092&camp=217153&creative=399349" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: none !important; font-size: 19px; height: auto; margin: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" class="mzotrhzgjwgpouddyzbu kzhpekjgbcpsdchijuay qqlvufakargpjtfxrcpy" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httplearnjapa-20&l=as2&o=1&a=4789004546&camp=217145&creative=399349" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: none !important; height: auto; margin: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="1" /></h3>
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: 'Titillium Web', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.387em; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 0.618em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0870117092/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=httplearnjapa-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217153&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0870117092" style="border: 0px; color: #557fae; font-size: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" border="0" class="alignleft" height="220" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VqrckRpWL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 10px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="220" /></a></h3>
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
I have warm and fuzzy memories about using this book during my very first baby steps in learning Japanese. Sentimentality aside, why would I recommend a book for learning Hiragana when there are so many awesome online apps and websites for learning it (including our very own Kana Invaders Game… immodest cough)?</div>
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
It’s beautifully laid out and well written. It includes practice sheets for you to try writing your own Hiragana which I would argue you can’t do so easily on a tablet device. This would be a wonderful present for complete beginners to Japanese or even kids learning to write for the first time. You can also check out their Let’s Learn Katakana: Second Book of Basic Japanese Writing<img alt="" border="0" class="mzotrhzgjwgpouddyzbu kzhpekjgbcpsdchijuay qqlvufakargpjtfxrcpy" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httplearnjapa-20&l=as2&o=1&a=087011719X&camp=217153&creative=399349" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: none !important; height: auto; margin: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="1" /> too which is very good.</div>
<hr style="background-color: #e6e6e6; border: 0px; color: #f2f2f2; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 1px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 1.618em;" />
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: 'Titillium Web', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.387em; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 0.618em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
5) Japanese for Busy People</h3>
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4770030096/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=httplearnjapa-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217153&creative=399349&creativeASIN=4770030096" style="border: 0px; color: #557fae; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" border="0" class="alignleft" height="219" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513D6Axs%2BWL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 10px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="219" /></a><img alt="" border="0" class="mzotrhzgjwgpouddyzbu kzhpekjgbcpsdchijuay qqlvufakargpjtfxrcpy" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httplearnjapa-20&l=as2&o=1&a=4770030096&camp=217153&creative=399349" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: none !important; height: auto; margin: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="1" />If you are beginning in Japanese and don’t know where to start then Japanese for Busy People<img alt="" border="0" class="mzotrhzgjwgpouddyzbu kzhpekjgbcpsdchijuay qqlvufakargpjtfxrcpy" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httplearnjapa-20&l=as2&o=1&a=4770030096&camp=217153&creative=399349" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: none !important; height: auto; margin: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="1" /> is a good choice. It’s a classic book used by students of Japanese all over the world and has some nice conversation and grammar examples and explanations.</div>
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
Avoid the romaji version of this book and go for the Kana version.When starting out in Japanese I believe it is better learn Hiragana and Katakana and drop Romaji as soon as possible as it will just get confusing. Also make sure to get the CD as that will really help you to practice your listening, pronunciation and fluency even if you don’t have a native teacher and are studying on your own.</div>
<hr style="background-color: #e6e6e6; border: 0px; color: #f2f2f2; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 1px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 1.618em;" />
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
 <span style="color: #2f2f2f; font-family: 'Titillium Web', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.387em;">6) Shin Nihongo No Kiso</span><img alt="" border="0" class="mzotrhzgjwgpouddyzbu kzhpekjgbcpsdchijuay qqlvufakargpjtfxrcpy" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httplearnjapa-20&l=as2&o=1&a=4906224512&camp=217153&creative=399349" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: none !important; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: 'Titillium Web', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; height: auto; margin: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="1" /></div>
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: 'Titillium Web', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.387em; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 0.618em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4906224512/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=httplearnjapa-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217153&creative=399349&creativeASIN=4906224512" style="border: 0px; color: #557fae; font-size: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" border="0" class="alignleft" height="211" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51EgFrMhphL._SY300_.jpg" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 10px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="150" /></a></h3>
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
In the same league and type of beginners’ Japanese textbooks, I would also recommend Shin Nihongo No Kiso<img alt="" border="0" class="mzotrhzgjwgpouddyzbu kzhpekjgbcpsdchijuay qqlvufakargpjtfxrcpy" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httplearnjapa-20&l=as2&o=1&a=4906224512&camp=217153&creative=399349" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: none !important; height: auto; margin: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="1" /> which includes great grammar, dialog and vocabulary examples. Much like “Japanese for Busy People”, this is a classic textbook used in universities and Japanese language schools as a solid material for students of an elementary level and upwards. You should note that there are extra accompanying books and materials such as the English translations and CDs if you need them.</div>
<hr style="background-color: #e6e6e6; border: 0px; color: #f2f2f2; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 1px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 1.618em;" />
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: 'Titillium Web', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.387em; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 0.618em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
7) Colloquial Kansai Japanese</h3>
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
<img alt="" class="alignleft" height="220" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51rkYmTySXL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 0px 1.618em 1em 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="220" />Learn Japanese Pod started out in Osaka in Kansai so wanted to get a good book to consolidate my knowledge of the Kansai dialect. Colloquial Kansai Japanese<img alt="" border="0" class="mzotrhzgjwgpouddyzbu kzhpekjgbcpsdchijuay qqlvufakargpjtfxrcpy" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httplearnjapa-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0804837236&camp=217153&creative=399349" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: none !important; height: auto; margin: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="1" /> is a fun book for learning it although it”s better for consolidating what you already know.   I’ve gotten approval from some native Kansai people including Beb who helps me to record my podcasts. I can also start to decipher her heavy accent with this book.</div>
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
It covers the basic common sentence patterns, verb endings and slang that you might hear in Kansai. It’s pretty simple, logically written and has a fair coverage of the language. You won’t be sounding like a native resident of Osaka with this book alone. However, as a general guide and reference to visiting Osaka and the greater Kansai region, it’s an interesting book to have.</div>
<hr style="background-color: #e6e6e6; border: 0px; color: #f2f2f2; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 1px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 1.618em;" />
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: 'Titillium Web', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.387em; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 0.618em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
8) Authentic Japanese: Progressing from Intermediate to Advanced<img alt="" border="0" class="mzotrhzgjwgpouddyzbu kzhpekjgbcpsdchijuay qqlvufakargpjtfxrcpy" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httplearnjapa-20&l=as2&o=1&a=4789009181&camp=217145&creative=399349" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: none !important; font-size: 19px; height: auto; margin: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="1" /></h3>
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: 'Titillium Web', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.387em; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 0.618em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4789009181/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=httplearnjapa-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=4789009181" style="border: 0px; color: #557fae; font-size: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" border="0" class="alignleft" height="211" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51nfAs-eXsL._SY300_.jpg" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 10px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="150" /></a></h3>
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
Once you”ve progressed to an intermediate level of Japanese and want to get your teeth into something a little more substantial then Authentic Japanese: Progressing from Intermediate to Advanced<img alt="" border="0" class="mzotrhzgjwgpouddyzbu kzhpekjgbcpsdchijuay qqlvufakargpjtfxrcpy" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httplearnjapa-20&l=as2&o=1&a=4789009181&camp=217153&creative=399349" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: none !important; height: auto; margin: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="1" /> is worth a look. It will mainly help you improve your reading skills but will also boost your general knowledge of Japanese. Arranged in interesting themes it contains various texts with comprehension and grammar exercises, Kanji and vocabulary lists and explanations.</div>
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
As a text book it’s not too dry and should increase your motivation to continue studying Japanese even for those studying on their own.</div>
<hr style="background-color: #e6e6e6; border: 0px; color: #f2f2f2; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 1px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 1.618em;" />
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
 <span style="color: #2f2f2f; font-family: 'Titillium Web', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.387em;">9) All About Particles</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4770027818/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=httplearnjapa-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=4770027818" style="border: 0px; color: #557fae; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" border="0" class="alignleft" height="220" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41hDGq0Sx7L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 10px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="220" /></a><img alt="" border="0" class="mzotrhzgjwgpouddyzbu kzhpekjgbcpsdchijuay qqlvufakargpjtfxrcpy" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httplearnjapa-20&l=as2&o=1&a=4770027818&camp=217145&creative=399349" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: none !important; height: auto; margin: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="1" />All About Particles<img alt="" border="0" class="mzotrhzgjwgpouddyzbu kzhpekjgbcpsdchijuay qqlvufakargpjtfxrcpy" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httplearnjapa-20&l=as2&o=1&a=4770027818&camp=217153&creative=399349" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: none !important; height: auto; margin: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="1" /> is a great compact book which explains those devilish particles that western students of Japanese find rather challenging to master. I like the examples, the explanations and of course the size. It doesn’t waffle and is to the point with the basic information you need for both spoken or written Japanese. Check it out. Another good book by the same author, Naoko Chino, is A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Sentence Patterns (Kodansha Dictionary)<img alt="" border="0" class="mzotrhzgjwgpouddyzbu kzhpekjgbcpsdchijuay qqlvufakargpjtfxrcpy" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httplearnjapa-20&l=as2&o=1&a=4770026080&camp=217153&creative=399349" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 0px; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="1" />which is worth a look. I should mention two general points about studying particles in Japanese. 1) Remember to not get too bogged down with particles. Along with this book, you should really try to learn particles in larger sentences in natural dialogs. 2) Native speakers often omit some particles from daily speech and colloquial Japanese. So this is a great book to study but don’t get too stuck in grammatical rules concerning particles when you should be practicing daily conversation.</div>
<hr style="background-color: #e6e6e6; border: 0px; color: #f2f2f2; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 1px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 1.618em;" />
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
 <span style="color: #2f2f2f; font-family: 'Titillium Web', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.387em;">10) Practical Business Japanese</span></div>
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: 'Titillium Web', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.387em; font-weight: 400; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 0.618em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003IY5K3C/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=httplearnjapa-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217153&creative=399701&creativeASIN=B003IY5K3C" style="border: 0px; color: #557fae; font-size: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" border="0" class="alignleft" height="202" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/410H5JvhCnL._SY300_.jpg" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 10px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="151" /></a><img alt="" border="0" class="mzotrhzgjwgpouddyzbu kzhpekjgbcpsdchijuay qqlvufakargpjtfxrcpy" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httplearnjapa-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B003IY5K3C&camp=217153&creative=399701" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: none !important; font-size: 19px; height: auto; margin: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="1" /></h3>
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
One can only wonder at how anyone could have dreamed up such a horribly ugly cover for a text book. I mean seriously, look at it. It almost makes my eyes bleed and yet Practical Business Japanese<img alt="" border="0" class="mzotrhzgjwgpouddyzbu kzhpekjgbcpsdchijuay qqlvufakargpjtfxrcpy" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httplearnjapa-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B003IY5K3C&camp=217153&creative=399701" style="-webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: none !important; height: auto; margin: 0px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="1" /> is probably one of the best Japanese text books I have ever used. This is definitely a case of not judging a book by its cover. If you are venturing into the world of Japanese business, and lord help you if you are, then this book is for you. It is crammed full of essential situational office dialogs including levels of politeness, male and female language and a nice light sprinkling of humour. Not only do you have conversations on how to answer the phone but also how to pretend that you are out of the office so you don’t have to. It’s also great to get a handle on learning Keigo or respectful Japanese language.For some reason, I lost this a few years ago but will be buying again as a reference to speaking Japanese in business and other formal situations.</div>
<hr style="background-color: #e6e6e6; border: 0px; color: #f2f2f2; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 1px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 1.618em;" />
<div style="-webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 1; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 3; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.618em; orphans: 3; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 3;">
Again, this is not an exhaustive list of all the Japanese text books out there however, I have personally used all the books listed here and thought they were worth their price tag. Also, as I mentioned earlier, although the internet has an increasingly large amount of online apps and websites for studying Japanese, it’s nice to have some dead tree media to pull oneself away from the computer screen. Happy Japanese textbook hunting everyone!</div>

Great Text Books For Studying Japanese

Japanese language learning materials have been migrating to the web in various forms including online courses, blogs, mobile app and videos...

Good Sites that Japanese Learners Should Bookmark

<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
I hope that at least one of these links is helpful to you.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrlFKJGOYJpBpvxAGwrWk5e8i1j7bsx-xh5nbWtuS4SvzfttD42qd4HkeSX86pvos_BiG9LPovCoDM2VpUYnrPYDqubQi10_n-iRpFDrhyphenhyphen2OCNgiHZ_xq94STY0c5zK_B4jDkYsHLp6Hw/s1600/Learn-Japanese.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrlFKJGOYJpBpvxAGwrWk5e8i1j7bsx-xh5nbWtuS4SvzfttD42qd4HkeSX86pvos_BiG9LPovCoDM2VpUYnrPYDqubQi10_n-iRpFDrhyphenhyphen2OCNgiHZ_xq94STY0c5zK_B4jDkYsHLp6Hw/s1600/Learn-Japanese.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #773333; font-family: CABNDWebBold, Impact, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="http://www.hiragana.jp/en/" style="border: 0px; color: #773333; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Furigana Webglasses">1. Furigana Webglasses</a></h3>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
I’ve had this link in this site’s sidebar for a long, long time. Hopefully some of you have discovered it already.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Furigana Webglasses</strong> (<a href="http://www.hiragana.jp/en/" style="border: 0px; color: #dd2222; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://www.hiragana.jp/en/</a>) is a site which can add furigana (you know, the little hiragana pronunciation guides over the top of kanji) to any website you want. It’s not perfect (especially when it comes to personal names), but it’s damn good and a real lifesaver for learners. And it’s free.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Of course, it can’t add furigana to text embedded inside images, but that’s to be expected.</div>
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #773333; font-family: CABNDWebBold, Impact, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="http://www.alc.co.jp/" style="border: 0px; color: #773333; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2. Alc.co.jp</a></h3>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
(<a href="http://www.alc.co.jp/" style="border: 0px; color: #dd2222; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://www.alc.co.jp/</a>) This site is an advanced learner’s/translator’s best friend. Different from a dictionary, it searches an index of short translations. It always seems to give you plenty of useful results, often including some context that helps you better understand the meaning and usage. You can even search things like proverbs and multi-word expressions.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The site itself is in Japanese, but you can search both English or Japanese and get great results.</div>
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #773333; font-family: CABNDWebBold, Impact, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="http://imabi.net/" style="border: 0px; color: #773333; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3. Imabi.net</a></h3>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
(<a href="http://imabi.net/" style="border: 0px; color: #dd2222; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://imabi.net</a>) Looking for free lessons on any topic, offering awesome detail and tons of examples? I found this site a few months ago, and it’s impossible not to be impressed at the sheer volume of what’s available here. I’ve seen a lot of sites that offer free Japanese lessons, but nothing that compares to this.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
It’s designed as an ordered course that will take you from absolute beginner to Japanese nerd-master (seriously, the lessons even get into classical Japanese eventually). If you’re familiar with the content or have a little patience, you can also locate some specific topic or lesson you’re interested in.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The guy who made and maintains the site (a prodigy/student from the University of Texas) is really helpful too, so you might want to sign up for the forums.</div>
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #773333; font-family: CABNDWebBold, Impact, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="http://japanese.stackexchange.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #773333; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">4. Japanese.stackexchange.com</a></h3>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
(<a href="http://japanese.stackexchange.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #dd2222; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://japanese.stackexchange.com</a>) This site is the ultimate learner’s Q&A forum. Need a question about Japanese answered? I’ve not found a better platform for getting a quick and satisfactory response than this site. You don’t even need to register in order to use it.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Of course, you’re often in the dark about the qualifications of whoever answered your question, but from what I’ve seen on the site the information is generally very accurate.</div>
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #773333; font-family: CABNDWebBold, Impact, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="http://www.google.co.jp/imghp?hl=ja&tab=wi" style="border: 0px; color: #773333; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">5. Google Japan Image Search</a></h3>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
(<a href="http://www.google.co.jp/imghp?hl=ja&tab=wi" style="border: 0px; color: #dd2222; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://www.google.co.jp/imghp?hl=ja&tab=wi</a>) Google Japan image search can be extremely helpful for words (or phrases, even) that you’re having trouble understanding.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
For example: <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">殺風景</strong> (<em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">sappuukei</em>). The dictionary defines it as “tasteless, dreary”, but it’s hard to get a real grasp of the meaning until you actually see some images which are described as being <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">殺風景</strong> (<a href="http://www.google.co.jp/search?num=10&hl=ja&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1053&bih=865&q=%E6%AE%BA%E9%A2%A8%E6%99%AF&oq=%E6%AE%BA%E9%A2%A8%E6%99%AF" style="border: 0px; color: #dd2222; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">click here to see the results</a>). Think of it as the world’s biggest picture dictionary.</div>
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #773333; font-family: CABNDWebBold, Impact, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page" style="border: 0px; color: #773333; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Wikipedia (English site)">6. Wikipedia</a></h3>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Yeah, I know. You’ve already got this one bookmarked. Why even mention it? Well, whenever I need to know the correct Japanese rendering of words like “Los Angeles”, “Mila Jovovich” or “The Emancipation Proclamation”, I first look it up on English Wikipedia, then switch to the corresponding Japanese page (the language links are in the sidebar on the left).</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
So I use it as a dictionary of proper nouns, or of words that aren’t in the dictionary, if that makes any sense. Remember this trick the next time you need to know the title of  “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows” in Japanese.</div>

Good Sites that Japanese Learners Should Bookmark

I hope that at least one of these links is helpful to you. 1. Furigana Webglasses I’ve had this link in this site’s sidebar for a l...

Cool and Neat Japanese cheat sheet from NihonShock

<div style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Nihonshock.com’s Japanese Cheat Sheet Pack is an ultra-concise collection of all the information most vital to mastering Japanese, from JLPT N5 to N1 and beyond.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvIfNDJJ3MO5itMcgIHkC173AOmxTKGeVINswC405E7OJ5LcusmlKindjYXJ9YBhtCLoWJyuT8N5HH9TjpYbNtJXe5-wJDpaihztLhiyf6iUDc8OA2OyLcv7Ny-XNwcdarXqy6YlbtBkc/s1600/cheatsheet1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; line-height: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvIfNDJJ3MO5itMcgIHkC173AOmxTKGeVINswC405E7OJ5LcusmlKindjYXJ9YBhtCLoWJyuT8N5HH9TjpYbNtJXe5-wJDpaihztLhiyf6iUDc8OA2OyLcv7Ny-XNwcdarXqy6YlbtBkc/s1600/cheatsheet1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Grammar, verb forms, numbers, spoken forms, fluency tips, onomatopoeia, keigo, kanji… It’s all here, organized elegantly and intuitively on ten beautiful sheets.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Get your Cheat Sheet Pack today and watch your Japanese ability skyrocket! </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7GJDfG8TtQQ5UNkv2LJrmIqyrJicaKFihh_usf6zwiQ_LCXO6o1UjToESrcdGEBS3Zav8YXIIgbJ6p1W04ynP2ZYSETd3fhUSpueVlfp3E-Y5YOL3wJtEIKgGeEwUZYtL174wKNLcJgQ/s1600/cheatsheet2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7GJDfG8TtQQ5UNkv2LJrmIqyrJicaKFihh_usf6zwiQ_LCXO6o1UjToESrcdGEBS3Zav8YXIIgbJ6p1W04ynP2ZYSETd3fhUSpueVlfp3E-Y5YOL3wJtEIKgGeEwUZYtL174wKNLcJgQ/s1600/cheatsheet2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7IQrhBL1lOi3LU4bOi2vH5Kf14q4SzTOwbSCDjHw2j_BNlgthmO-eZdy2fsX2DxFxF8wT-3urI7bkCrGkeYOJpXUW0NSHZPUNDnYfY21y1x99KK9Lc1z48zstu9tmm5_NXfGOpmmpqRU/s1600/cheatsheet3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7IQrhBL1lOi3LU4bOi2vH5Kf14q4SzTOwbSCDjHw2j_BNlgthmO-eZdy2fsX2DxFxF8wT-3urI7bkCrGkeYOJpXUW0NSHZPUNDnYfY21y1x99KK9Lc1z48zstu9tmm5_NXfGOpmmpqRU/s1600/cheatsheet3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIb0cwD8xGaxSd-fAunZwIu_WJBWycDLZq2CW_tzzeyrMe2HS7O138FUYn9LxtS0fMu6FE9hlMvXnOHD2IbxpIiKAHq47lBhUoe5yzanHcOGdgRb-f46MoSaw3qMApKdG22kNlJpPsAuU/s1600/cheatsheet4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIb0cwD8xGaxSd-fAunZwIu_WJBWycDLZq2CW_tzzeyrMe2HS7O138FUYn9LxtS0fMu6FE9hlMvXnOHD2IbxpIiKAHq47lBhUoe5yzanHcOGdgRb-f46MoSaw3qMApKdG22kNlJpPsAuU/s1600/cheatsheet4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>

Cool and Neat Japanese cheat sheet from NihonShock

Nihonshock.com’s Japanese Cheat Sheet Pack is an ultra-concise collection of all the information most vital to mastering Japanese, from JLP...

Amanohashidate: Japan’s “Heavenly Bridge”

<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanohashidate" rel="wikipedia" style="border: 0px; color: #dd2222; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Amanohashidate">Amanohashidate</a> (天橋立 – Japan’s “heavenly bridge”) is one of the renowned <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Views_of_Japan" style="border: 0px; color: #dd2222; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Three Views of Japan (Wikipedia)">three views of Japan</a> (日本三景), yet due to its location on the often-neglected Sea of Japan coast it often doesn’t make the cut for many sightseers’ itineraries. Most Japanese haven’t even been there, and a surprising number aren’t exactly sure where it is. But after going there myself I can declare that it’s one of the most pleasant excursions I’ve been on and more than worth the effort.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuvnt_KzlsVBfeD-WpYHQW3n7k_y6dfSMJeMao9SBOJC5-9LlrXIpWuJs3zWinxKQym6KsLoertTgiyqyUxd_91_0WeCu55_fHtQw6ttz7LiyU5XG3u7Kxv4zXBips5LRG13VZucBY0A/s1600/Amanohashidate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuvnt_KzlsVBfeD-WpYHQW3n7k_y6dfSMJeMao9SBOJC5-9LlrXIpWuJs3zWinxKQym6KsLoertTgiyqyUxd_91_0WeCu55_fHtQw6ttz7LiyU5XG3u7Kxv4zXBips5LRG13VZucBY0A/s1600/Amanohashidate.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #773333; font-family: CABNDWebBold, Impact, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
What’s special about Amanohashidate?</h3>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a class="lightboxlink" href="http://nihonshock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/amanohashi.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #dd2222; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Amanohashidate view" class="alignright wp-image-1511 size-medium" height="225" src="http://nihonshock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/amanohashi-300x225.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="300" /></a>The main attraction is of course that long, straight sandbar that stretches straight across the bay. You’ll want to check out the view from Kasamatsu Park, which is the scenic point on the end opposite from where the train station is; the view is the one you see most often on post cards, pamphlets and such, and getting there is half the fun.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
But it’s the plus-alpha elements that really sold me on Amanohashidate. First of all, it’s not overcrowded. I suppose that’s the upside of a location that’s a little hard to access. So many tourist spots around Japan are so extremely dense, lines are long and you just feel rushed. You’re by no means alone in Amanohashidate, but you can explore at your own pace and really have room to breathe.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a class="lightboxlink" href="http://nihonshock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/discthrow.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #dd2222; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="discthrow" class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1512" height="150" src="http://nihonshock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/discthrow-150x150.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="150" /></a>There’s a bunch of fun little things to see and do as you tour the area, too. I highly recommend renting a bicycle for the day to get across and back. The ski-lift-style ride up to and down from the overlook is tranquil and adorable, and at the top there’s a hoop that people try to throw clay discs through, great for children and inner children alike. (but I’ll warn you it’s much more difficult than it looks) <img alt=":-)" class="wp-smiley" src="http://nihonshock.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
It’s interesting to watch all the people bending over to see the view upside-down; supposedly looking at it this way makes it seem like the peninsula is ascending through the sky to heaven. Sure, you could just turn a post-card upside down, but where’s the fun in that?</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a class="lightboxlink" href="http://nihonshock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/nozokidai.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #dd2222; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="nozokidai" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1513" height="219" src="http://nihonshock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/nozokidai-300x219.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Of course there are cute tourist shops too. Preserved porcupine fish seem to be a popular souvenir. And there’s a shop that specializes in Japanese (grape) wine, which you don’t usually see a lot of even in Japan. Naturally, there’s nice temple (Chionji) before you cross and a nice shrine (Kono) on the far side which keep the traditional Japanese travel atmosphere alive.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a class="lightboxlink" href="http://nihonshock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/trail.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #dd2222; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="trail across sandbar" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1518" height="150" src="http://nihonshock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/trail-150x150.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="150" /></a> <a class="lightboxlink" href="http://nihonshock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/smallshrine.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #dd2222; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="small shrine" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1517" height="150" src="http://nihonshock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/smallshrine-150x150.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="150" /></a> <a class="lightboxlink" href="http://nihonshock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/beach.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #dd2222; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="beach" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1514" height="150" src="http://nihonshock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/beach-150x150.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="150" /></a></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a class="lightboxlink" href="http://nihonshock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/konoshrine.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #dd2222; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="kono shrine" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1519" height="150" src="http://nihonshock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/konoshrine-150x150.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="150" /></a> <a class="lightboxlink" href="http://nihonshock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/lift.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #dd2222; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="lift" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1516" height="150" src="http://nihonshock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/lift-150x150.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="150" /></a> <a class="lightboxlink" href="http://nihonshock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/harifugu.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #dd2222; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="harifugu" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1515" height="150" src="http://nihonshock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/harifugu-150x150.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="150" /></a></div>
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #773333; font-family: CABNDWebBold, Impact, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Getting there and back</h3>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
If you’re starting from Kyoto/Osaka or even Nagoya (provided you take the shinkansen to Kyoto), you can do Amanohashidate as a day trip, but if your base of operations is in Tokyo, you’d better make it an overnighter. Day-trippers should also be advised against trying to walk the sandbar; definitely go for the bicycle.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The 2-hour-long somewhat scenic train ride starts from Kyoto station. If you buy your tickets normally (don’t have a <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.japanrailpass.net/" rel="homepage" style="border: 0px; color: #dd2222; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Japan Rail Pass">JR pass</a>), there isn’t a problem. But if you’re traveling with a JR pass, note that it only gets you as far as Fukuchiyama station, after which you’ll need 1520 yen each way (but you won’t need to change trains, just pay the attendant that comes through the cabin).</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Trains to Amanohashidate leave about once every hour before noon, so no problem there. However, be sure to get a reserved seat ticket and make it clear you’re going to Amanohashidate. Why? The train will split at Ayabe station, and you need to be on the correct train car.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
On your return, the train you want is the <a href="http://ekikara.jp/newdata/detail/2701071/55353.htm" style="border: 0px; color: #dd2222; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="JR Limited Express Hashidate #10 timetable">JR Limited Express Hashidate #10 (JR特急はしだて１０号)</a>, which departs Amanohashidate at 18:46. That link is in Japanese but isn’t too hard to figure out, “天橋立” (the top of the station list) is Amanohashidate and “京都” (Kyoto) is at the bottom.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
If you miss that train, your route back to Kyoto becomes much more confusing, so don’t. Note that this schedule might have changed by the time your read this article, so be sure to double-check before you go.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
After leaving the station, it’s about a 3-minute walk to the sightseeing zone. You need to go right for a short distance and then make a 135° left turn, where you’ll enter a nice pedestrian street with touristy shops and restaurants (you’ll want to rent your bicycle from somewhere around here). There’s a map at the bottom of this post to help you figure it all out. Most of the other people who got off the train with you will be headed that direction too.</div>
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #773333; font-family: CABNDWebBold, Impact, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Tips for visiting Amanohashidate</h3>
<ul style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; list-style: square; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Don’t plan too far in advance. Good weather is a requirement for enjoying Amanohashidate. If they’re forecasting rain, cut your losses and try again another time.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In warm weather seasons, consider bringing a swimsuit!</li>
<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There’s a small <em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">onsen</em> (public bath house/hot spring) facility right next to the station that’s great for washing off sweat and/or salt water after a day of play or just killing some time and relaxing while you wait for your train. And if you ask, the station attendants will give you a coupon for a small discount at the onsen.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There’s two major scenic points to view the sandbar from, one (Mt. Moju) is on the same side as the station, but the one I recommend (Kasamatsu Park) is on the opposite side of the bay. The view isn’t necessarily any better, but getting there is so much fun!</li>
<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Find a place that rents bicycles for all-day (終日: <em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">shuujitsu</em>) use, many of the rentals are for 2.5 or 3 hours, which is enough time if you know what you’re doing but not quite enough to really relax and explore. I rented my all-day bicycle from the wine shop for about 500 yen (sorry, I don’t remember the exact price). There was no id check or paperwork or anything, and it’s easy enough to find an appropriate place to park your bike before going up the lift on the other side. I left mine with a bunch of other bicycles at the entrance to Kono shrine.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bring a bento (buy it in Kyoto)! You’ll probably arrive right around lunchtime and are unlikely to come across any better location or opportunity for a picnic anywhere in Japan. The sandbar is a park and there are tables and seating to use as you walk or bike across. Or you can just set up wherever you like on the grass or sand. And yes, there are even garbage cans! (if you’re in Japan or have ever been, you know finding a receptacle can be a nightmare)</li>
<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">After going up on the lift (I only recommend the cable car if you can’t lift your feet, since you need to do this at a couple points on the ascent), you can optionally hike up further or take a bus to Kasamatsu Temple. I skipped the temple, but am told it’s quite a hike; unless you’ve got a room in town for the night you’re probably better off with the bus.</li>
</ul>
<h3 style="border: 0px; color: #773333; font-family: CABNDWebBold, Impact, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Map</h3>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a class="lightboxlink" href="http://nihonshock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/map.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #dd2222; font-family: Georgia, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="amanohashidate map" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-1520" height="385" src="http://nihonshock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/map-580x385.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="580" /></a></div>

Amanohashidate: Japan’s “Heavenly Bridge”

Amanohashidate (天橋立 – Japan’s “heavenly bridge”) is one of the renowned three views of Japan (日本三景), yet due to its location on the ofte...