Learn Japanese Pod

A great way to practice your Japanese speaking skills and to get to know people in Japan is to talk about free time and hobbies. In a casual setting you may be asked what you do in your free time by Japanese people. So this lesson will teach you the basics of how to ask […]

In this podcast Matthew and I talked about our favorite Japan travel tips, hacks and experiences. We discussed various topics including interesting places to visit, taking ferries in Japan, how to save money and the recent issues with AirBnb. Also, if you enjoyed this podcast, please consider making a donation to Matthew’s go Fun Me campaign to […]

In this podcast Ami and Alex teach you absolutely everything you need to know about the delicious Japanese street snack Takoyaki!

How to eat Takoyaki Delicious Takoyaki with toppings Food is one of our most popular subjects to talk about so in this podcast Ami sensei and I (Alex) introduce you to one of Kansai’s most loved street snacks, the honorable Takoyaki. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to order and prepare takoyaki yourself with the […]

Learn different ways to express 'must' in Japanese, along with the pronunciation and meaning of 'mechi teddle'. The hosts also discuss the casual use of 'teddle' and express appreciation for listeners. They announce a new travel Japanese course and mention future lessons on Osaka dialect.

In this lesson you are going to learn how to say “must” in Japanese. Here’s the problem. There are a confusing number of ways to say it. Just look at this list of phrases which all mean the same thing: しなければなりません Shinakereba narimasen しなければいけません Shinakereba ikemasen しなくてはいけません Shinakute wa ikemasen しなくちゃいけません Shinakucha ikemasen しなきゃいけません Shinakya ikemasen しないといけません Shinai to ikemasen しなくちゃ Shinakucha […]

In the latest Fun Friday podcast Tomo Akiyama is back by popular demand. We mostly talked about various aspects of Japanese culture including the question “Why do Japanese people wear masks?”. This discussion came up through the questions people most commonly ask about Japan on Google. Therefore we took a stab at answering this popular query. We […]

The hosts discuss their favorite Japanese TV shows, including classic shows like 'Mito Kormung' and the popular shows 'Tokugawa Mitsu kuni' and 'Tamori Krabbe'. They also talk about misheard lines from foreign songs on a Japanese TV show and recommend watching it on YouTube for a good laugh.

Learn how to express opinions in Japanese using the verb 'omou'. Explore different phrases and sentence structures for expressing opinions, including discussing the iPhone and someone's appearance. Learn about word order and negative form usage. Also, learn about expressing opinions with different levels of politeness and the usage of adjectives in conversation. The hosts express gratitude for positive reviews and read out feedback from listeners.

In this lesson Ami and I teach you how to ask and give your opinions on various topics using the verb 思う Omou – To think. This is usually used to say “I think that…”. 思う is a very useful phrase you use all the time in conversation in Japanese. The main grammatical structure we […]