A new podcast about learning Japanese: “Grammar and more!” (Episode 1)
This is the first episode of a new podcast I am starting about Japanese grammar basics, targeted at beginning students (but also helpful for intermediate students).
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Review: Sakuraco snack box (reprise)
This is a review of my second box of goodies from Sakuraco, containing sweet treats and other delicious things from Japan.
Japanese Calligraphy: The Resurrection of a Brush
These days calligraphy has been taking a big chunk of my hobby time, and I feel like I have been gradually improving. However, the other day something strange happened to one of my brushes, and after much research and experimentation I finally managed to solve the issue, so I wanted to talk about this for… Read More »
Japanese bilingual reader book release: “Kantan! Read Japanese stories like a native (Volume 2)”
I’m proud to announce the second book in my new series of Japanese bilingual readers, showcasing “The Bowels of the City”, a historically relevant experimental work by modernist author Riichi Yokomitsu (横光利一).
Japanese literature review: “The Glimmer of Ink” (墨のゆらめき）By Shion Miura (三浦しをん）
Being busy with various things, I haven’t had a chance to read much paper-media Japanese literature in the last few months. But when I saw “The Glimmer of Ink” (墨のゆらめき）by Shion Miura (三浦しをん）in the Beaverton Kinokuniya bookstore, I decided to take another dive back into the delightful world of Japanese literature. Shion Miura is known… Read More »
Important Japanese word: よく (yoku)
In this post I want to highlight a common and important word in the Japanese language, “yoku”. It can be written in hiragana as よく, and depending on the meaning can also be written in kanji as 良く or 欲. The first meaning I would like to go over is the most common one, which… Read More »
Japanese Netflix drama review: “Tiger & Dragon” (タイガー&ドラゴン）
For anyone who is even the least bit picky about what they watch, it’s easy to get annoyed by the lack of quality shows and movies available on Netflix, whether it is anime or live action productions. I try to limit the amount of time I spend watching Netflix, but with a few exceptions most… Read More »
The Making of a Japanese Literature Audiobook (and a giveaway)
In this post I give some highlights about the recent production of an audiobook based on Japanese literature, and I also announce a giveaway involving a few free copies of said audiobook.
The origin of the common phrase “ohayou gozaimasu” (meaning “good morning”)
When learning a foreign language, students will often memorize basic everyday greetings such as “konnichi wa” (“good afternoon”), “oyasumi nasai” (good night), and “ohayou gozaimasu” (“good morning”). But often students will not understand what these phrases literally mean, or where they originated from. In this post I want to take a look at the last… Read More »
Talking about the seasons in Japanese
Weather is part of our day-to-day lives, whether it is a rainstorm, a heatwave, or extra strong winds. And the seasons are one of the fundamental ways we categorize weather in terms of certain weather patterns. In Japan the seasons are especially important, partially because the types of foods that are available fresh differ significantly… Read More »