I started this blog 10 years ago after I just got back from my first trip to Japan. Since then a lot has changed in the Japanese learning sphere and a lot has changed the way content is consumed as well. Countless Apps hit the market but in the end, the main tools you used to study Japanese back then and today didn‘t change significantly.

Let’s just keep it short here and say that things got more App-centric and with a few exceptions you can basically learn Japanese with your phone nowadays (more in my post about self-studying Japanese).

What Nihongo Lessons is all about

Nihongo Lessons by the creator Chris Vasselli (who also makes the best Japanese dictionary App) gave the JALUP content a new home. A true staple in my Japanese learning journey. The App teaches you one new Japanese word per card which is embedded in a sentence constructed solely out of words you already learned.

The best part: Each word is underlined and when you tap on it you get redirected to the card where the Japanese vocab was first introduced. It’s genius, really.

Just have a look at my JALUP review to see how the App worked back in the day. It‘s defunct now and not available anymore in the App store but the basic functions remain the same in the new App.

Fortunately for us, the really fantastic flashcard system was sold to the creator of my favorite Japanese dictionary App who ported the content into a new App called Nihongo Lessons. The core functions are identical but the App feels more smooth and judging from his Nihongo dictionary I guess we can expect quite some improvements and additions functionality-wise in the future.

I really love how active Chris is active in his Nihongo Dictionary subreddit (always open to suggestions and feedback). It’s really cool to see how ideas from the community get implemented into the product.

Why this App is perfect for your New Years’ resolution to study Japanese again

But now on back to Nihongo Lessons. I was just getting back into studying Japanese daily after a little bit of a hiatus. Life got in between and I was focusing more on my studies for work (and definitely want to dig deeper into photography).

I wanted to re-download the JALUP App and thus stumbled upon Nihongo Lessons in the iOS App Store. Sent an Email to Chris to get my 50% discount on the new App because I already bought the JALUP maximum package back in the day.

Essentially I paid again for the same content I originally paid for. You could get the Jalup Anki Decks (for free) or keep the JALUP App on your iOS device but I really like the system and cards and decided to spend the money again.

Normally I wouldn’t do that but because Chris already has a great track record with his Nohingo Dictionary I went ahead and spent the money on the “maximum package” with all cards again.

Really excited to see what he will come up with in the future. The first five levels from Beginner to Master contain 1000 cards each and are fully voiced and completely linked (each word is tappable).

The two Advanced Lessons (that introduce words from manga) are neither linked nor fully voiced. This was sort of the next stage that the JALUP create Adam wanted to tackle: To slowly introduce you to creating your own flashcards from native content.

What I would love to see in the future would be a way to create your own flashcards in Nihongo Lessons where the words you already learned are automatically interlinked.

You can port over your progress from the JALUP App but I decided to start again from scratch.

Unfortunately, notes are not supported as of now but it’s an upcoming feature as Chris told me via Email.

A few things changed

• 10 cards are now 1 Day (love it)
  After completing a day you get a lovely stamp on the day 済。
• The SRS system is identical to the one used in the Nihongo Dictionary App.
  –> no huge review piles; not sure how this works maybe Chris could chime in here
• Each word is now directly linked to the Nihongo Dictionary App

A few things that are good to know

The main draw of the JALUP (Japanese level up) website was that Japanese should be taught using Japanese only. And thus only the first 1000 words from the beginner cards have English translations on their back.

After that, you’re in Japanese-only territory, which is a huge gap to overcome. But it’s manageable and if you stick with it this technique will really bring you forward Japanese-wise.

To make the all-Japanese transition a little easier, each vocab card has a link to the Japanese Dictionary (the small dictionary icon in the top right corner).

The pricing

The packs aren’t cheap but are well worth the money. The pricing of 119€/per Pack (that each contains 1000 words) is money well spent. I already talked about this in my JALUP review where the pricing was the same. Good content is pricey to make and acquire and that’s the case in every field of work.

I spent the money myself (a second time for 50% off) and strongly recommend Nihongo Lessons to you. Creating your own cards is definitely the cheaper way to build a vocab base but it’s tedious (especially in the beginning) and of course, you won’t get the amazing feature of linked cards.

Years ago I used iknow.jp with its Core 6k for a few months. It’s a fantastic App and the content is excellent as well. But JALUP has the upper hand because of its unique card-linking system and its systematic approach to building your Japanese vocabulary.

Feature wishes for the future

I’m using Nihongo lessons for roughly a month now and really enjoy the “Level up” SRS system which is already part of the Nihongo Dictionary and its built inSRS system. A few things could be added to the App though to make it even better. I already wrote many of these ideas to Chris but would to share them with you guys (and of course, I’d love to hear your ideas as well).

• Statistics + habit tracker: I used iknow to improve my Japanese vocab for nearly a year. It’s a great piece of software. What especially motivated me were the pretty extensive statistics available. You could easily see your best streak of studying days in a row, and how much time you spent studying in total or per week.
  
  The habit tracking was just a simple streak feature which really was a huge motivational boost to study every single day and not skip on the weekend.
• Notifications: A simple notifications badge so you can easily see if you’re up to date with your reviews would be great.
• Bookmarks: Bookmarking cards and just having a “bird’s eye view” on the ones you’re having trouble with. Similar to the cards overview in Nihongos SRS would be awesome.
• Making your own flashcards: My ultimate dream would be to make flashcards from your own content/pictures and study them in a “Nihongo lessons style” format. That each word will be clickable and bring you to the card you learned it first.
  
  The translation could just be pulled from the Nihongo Dictionary (so no J-J learning with already learned words but that would be a little much to ask for). Maybe one could even pull the descriptions from a Japanese-only dictionary.
  
  I really think learning in a sentence format is the way to go and because the Google OCR feature of the Nihongo Dictionary is so amazing I always wished this could be combined.

The post Nihongo Lessons is the best way to build your Japanese vocab appeared first on Japanese Tease.

Over the years I lost track of my daily routine countless times and always had trouble integrating Japanese into my daily life. Of course, I like reading manga but these are always phases for me and I’m not reading a lot daily or even monthly for that matter.

I think it’s the most crucial aspect of learning a language. It has to be effortless, something you enjoy and would do nonetheless. It should not even be able to become a chore when you have to read a manga, watch an anime episode or read something in Japanese. But to find that niche for you is extremely difficult.

Best case scenario: You’re living in Japan. Of course, this is the easiest, most comfortable way to use the language and be constantly immersed without forcing it. Unfortunately not an option for me so I have to look elsewhere. That’s when I discovered italki again

Why you should get a Japanese italki teacher

When finding a Japanese teacher in your hometown is out of the question and finding one using Genki is next to impossible – italki is your best bet and an excellent choice.

Studying Japanese on your own can bring you far, but without someone to talk to in Japanese, it will be a very long and dry experience until you finally get to the stage where you at least get the gist of things.

A language is meant to be spoken and through speaking it and conversing with a native you get a feel for the sound and rhythm of it. I know this sounds a little esoteric but I promise you that your Japanese will improve tremendously once you start speaking with a native.

And when that native is a teacher who answers your questions, knows how to explain a grammatical concept and how to teach it to you what is there not to be liked?

At least for me finally studying Japanese with a real teacher by my side and just speaking some Japanese helped me immensely and many of these “unfinished sentence structures” became a lot more clear once I started using them for myself.

italki, the site, the teachers, and finding the right one for you

Having another look through the two Genki textbooks (and their recent revisions) I noticed how wonky some of the grammar explanations really are. Sure, you have the Dictionaries, but still, some things are best explained by a native who can give you a few examples. And can correct you when speaking and going through the exercises.

To find the best Japanese italki teacher for you I suggest being very clear about what you want to achieve.

Do you want someone to go through the Genki textbooks step by step with you or just someone to chat with and ask some questions you encountered when self-studying?

Of course, you will self-study during the week and prepare for the lessons but you should think about the lesson style you expect from your teacher. Structured with a specific textbook (Genki or みんなの日本語), a professional who knows these textbooks inside and out, or a Japanese teacher to hang out with and ask some questions, do some Genki exercises and practice talking Japanese?

Be clear about the lesson style you expect and communicated clearly to your teacher what and how you want to achieve it.

If you want to tackle one chapter of Genki each week – great. Your teacher (if he/she is good will push you to reach your goal).

The prices, trial lessons, and differences between teachers

Trial lessons are 30 min lessons you can basically take with any teacher. The pricing is according to their individual hourly rates. These range from roughly 10 to 30-40 USD/h. The billing is always taking place in USD so when prices are converted to your own currency, it’s just for display purposes.

There is a distinction between community tutors and professional teachers. The teachers all have a fitting qualification and usually some prior experience in language schools. You can have a look at their documents and cv in their profiles.

I personally highly suggest opting for a professional teacher who is using Genki. Why? Because these teachers know the textbook they are using inside and out. They know exactly where, and how something is explained in the textbook, know which vocab was introduced when and where, and know exactly what your Japanese capabilities are at that specific point in Genki.

That’s what I expect from a professional italki teacher and trust me: They are usually on that level and well worth their hourly fee.

Teachers are offering lesson packages of 5 hours with a small discount (5-10%). I always just buy these and plan my hours well in advance. That way I feel obligated to prepare for the lessons and have a set schedule with my teacher.

The lessons can either be held over the in house video chat by italki themselves or just by making an arrangement with your teacher. Many are using skype as well and will probably prefer it because of the better reliability and quality. The choice of your video chat app really depends on what your teacher and what he/she is using.

My tips for selecting an italki teacher

• Always look at which textbook the teachers are using
• My teacher is making notes in a Google Doc for each lesson.
  I find this super comfortable and great for repetition.
• Make sure you vibe
  Sounds obvious but just settle for a teacher when you have the feeling you’ll get along great. This adds to the feeling that you really want to study just so that your next lesson won’t be a total disappointment to your teacher.
• Make sure that you can establish a study routine with your italki teacher that fits your own schedule.
  Nothing worse than finding the perfect teacher only to find out that your schedules just don’t match.
• Establish a routine and goal and stick to it.
  Nothing good comes easy and so is studying Japanese. I speak from experience :)

I hope my little guide on italki could give you a little inside into the world of socially distant language learning. Especially when living in a small town where it’s next to impossible to find a decent Japanese teacher and one who is using Genki seems near impossible – italki is a great alternative. After over three months of taking lessons, I’m really happy to finally have taken the step to get a professional teacher to help me achieve my goals.

Do you have any experience using italki or want to share your favorite teacher? Would love to hear more from you in the comments. Like always, stay safe, and thanks a lot for reading my little blog.

The post Why you should study Japanese with an italki teacher appeared first on Japanese Tease.

There are some alternatives like Cafétalk but I stuck with italki because I found a nice teacher there and like their professional presentation and apps.

This is not the big iTalki post (will follow at some point). I just wanted to share my excitement with you guys. The big problem for me has always been to find a capable Japanese teacher. Years ago I had one but the problem was that she was not a professional teacher. Just a Japanese woman with no teaching skills who got herself a copy of Minna no Nihongo (which I really don’t like). Finding a good Japanese teacher, familiar with the Genki textbooks is nearly impossible in a small town in Germany. Or let’s just say how it is. It is impossible.

I recently picked the three available books from the new しろくまカフェ series Today’s Special. Been a long while since I read the original ones which I bought at Mandarake in 2013. Hopefully, international travel will be possible again in late 2021 so I can finally visit Japan.

Kotaku crowned the corresponding Anime to be one of the best of the last century. I enjoyed a few episodes of it but ultimately found them to be too repetitive and slow for my taste. Btw. I’m really glad to find the fantastic Anime Ping Pong on that list as well. I just gave the show a re-watch and found it still as perfect, gripping, and enjoyable as the first time around. What a fantastic show with truly gorgeous artwork. If I had just one Anime to recommend – Ping Pong would be it.

I’m currently getting more and more into trading cards again, mainly playing Magic Arena and collecting Japanese Pokémon Cards. Browsing the web I came across Weiß/Schwarz and got intrigued by the very unique concept of the game. Any players/collectors among you?

Have a great start to the new year!

The post Starting the new year with しろくまカフェ appeared first on Japanese Tease.

Lately, I began to sort through my modest MTG card collection which was stored at my grandparent’s place for the past twenty years. Back then I never really played the game and was much more interested in collecting and trading the cards.

Unfortunately, not many of my friends were into Magic, and not long after discovering Warhammer 40k I quit collecting the cards and got all into building and painting Warhammer figures. And yes, I didn’t really play this game as well. Building and painting small figures was basically all I was interested in. And the lore of course. I still remember picking up that Games Workshop magazine called White Dwarf with all those great war stories centered around the Warhammer lore.

Now two decades later I picked up my old Magic cards again and after playing Hearthstone on and off for the last couple of years I wanted to finally learn how to play Magic The Gathering. I picked up a cheap Started set with two pre-made decks and went through the fantastic tutorial in MTG Arena on my laptop.

Use amazon for ease of use and no trouble with custom duties for the latest sets

Pro tip: With the click of a button you can change the whole site interface from Japanese to English

If you want to buy the latest sets I’m always using amazon (link to the WOTC store) for ease of use, speedy shipping (around 3 days after ordering), and because all import duties, etc. are handled by Amazon. the prices for new sets are generally higher in Japan in comparison with the EU and the US so expect to pay around 13k¥ for a standard Booster Display with 36 Booster packs.

ウィザーズ・オブ・ザ・コースト(Wizards of the Coast)マジック:ザ・ギャザリング イニストラード:真夜中の狩りセット・ブースター 日本語版 MTG トレカ ウィザーズ・オブ・ザ・コースト C89531400

こちらの商品に再度ローダーは付属しておりません。

¥8,737

マジック:ザ・ギャザリング イニストラード:真夜中の狩りドラフト・ブースター 日本語版 MTG トレカ ウィザーズ・オブ・ザ・コースト C89491400

¥8,000

Keep in mind though that amazon will deduct the Japanese taxes at checkout so 13,206¥ becomes 12,005¥. Of course, that does apply to everything you order from amazon JP.

Sometimes pre-order prices are a little cheaper ranging to 11k¥. Just check the Wizards of the Coast’s very own store on amazon.

And still, one of the most interesting Japanese MTG booster displays till today which is always a good pick-up if you can get them for a decent price. War of the spark has the alternate art Japanese exclusive Planeswalkers, Ikoria packs the JPN exclusive Godzilla cards, and even if you can get Japanese the “Mystical Archive” alternate art cards in international Strixhaven boosters as well your chances of picking the beautiful Japanese ones are far higher if you pick up a JPN box.

マジック:ザ・ギャザリング 灯争大戦 ブースターパック 日本語版 36パック入り (BOX) MTG トレカ ウィザーズ・オブ・ザ・コースト

1BOX=36パック入り、1パック=15枚入り

¥32,900

マジック:ザ・ギャザリング イコリア:巨獣の棲処 ブースターパック 日本語版 36パック入り (BOX) MTG トレカ ウィザーズ・オブ・ザ・コースト

TM & TOHO CO., LTD. (C)2020 Wizards of the Coast LLC.

¥11,995

マジック:ザ・ギャザリング ストリクスヘイヴン:魔法学院 セット・ブースター 日本語版 BOX C84461400 MTG トレカ ウィザーズ・オブ・ザ・コースト

¥16,480

The best places to buy Single MTG Cards

BigWeb is a great shop for buying singles and pre-order Display Boxes for the latest MTG sets. The site is entirely in Japanese and you need a proxy (like fromjapan) in order to buy from them. If you want some specific singles this is definitely the way to go (proxy + BigWeb) but just for convenience if you want a Japanese Magic drafting experience or to bolster up your collecting with some Japanese MTG cards, I would recommend checking amazon every now and again, waiting for a discount.

This usually happens right before the release of a new set (in late 2020 these two are Zendikar Rising and the upcoming Kaldheim expansion).

The selection for singles is huge and especially for savvy MTG Finance aficionados, there are some bargains to be made. With English cards as well.

Hareruya is probably the most well-known Japanese shop for Magic the Gathering cards. I really enjoy their fantastic selection of Japanese and English cards but am personally much more about their card supplies than MTG cards. I personally prefer to just buy a booster display for drafting instead of picking up singles for the perfect deck. Playing MTG Arena most of the time anyway.

They always carry a big supply of KMC Perfect Size sleeves with the option to buy in bulk for a pretty good price (30pcs – 5,280¥). If you want to stock up on KMC products while shopping for Japanese Magic singles this might be the perfect shop for you. Especially since Hareruya is shipping internationally.

TokyoMTG is both carrying Singles and booster displays for the latest set. But: Booster Displays can’t be shipped internationally! You would need a proxy like fromjapan for this (like with BigWeb).

A little bummer but considering that their prices are roughly on par with amazon (12k¥ for a standard draft display) this might be the more relaxed option (customs, service, etc.) nonetheless. Where TokyoMTG shines though is their free shipping on Singles.

And they carry fantastic art prints of Magic cards. I really really do love some of these and will definitely be ordering on from the older sets.

These are currently the Japanese shops I’m looking through if I’m in search of some specific MTG card. If you have any suggestions/additions please share them so I can include them in this list.

When looking to pick up a booster display from the latest MTG set just to get it from amazon. It will be the cheapest (proxy shipping + service fees add up) and you won’t have to deal with getting hit by customs and no worries when some product has been damaged/lost. Just my 2cents though.

The post Guide: Where to buy Japanese Magic The Gathering Cards appeared first on Japanese Tease.

Learning Japanese with a high susceptibility to collecting I was browsing the web to buy Japanese Pokemon cards for my collection. It’s wintertime, the time for video games, Lego, and yes Pokemon Trading Cards.

Ordering stuff from Japan can be a pain if you have no clue about the language and don’t know where to start. In this little guide, I want to show you how to order Japanese Pokemon Cards directly from Amazon Japan for the recent stuff and how to get the more difficult-to-find cards.

Get the latest Japanese Pokemon Cards from Amazon.co.jp

Amazon Japan is offering its very own store by the Japanese Pokemon Center and is one of the best places online to buy Japanese Pokemon cards. You can get all the latest card sets (+ all the other merch as well) and when browsing around you’ll even find some older stuff for retail.

Like always: All the Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, so when shopping through them you can support the site at no extra cost to you

The first thing to do is: Change the interface from Japanese to English

Just click on the Japanese flag and switch the language to English.

The beauty of Amazon’s international shipping service is that it lets you pre-pay any import duties that might occur when shipping internationally. A few weeks later after ordering you’ll receive an email with a real run-down of the customs duties and probably get some money back as well (at least from my experience).

Shipping is very quick via DHL Express and takes roughly 3-days from Japan to the EU/Germany for me.

Make yourself a Japanese Amazon Account

The one you use in your home country won’t work with Amazon Japan.

Not everything can be shipped internationally though. Amazon Japan really went a long way in that regard and is now offering a pretty vast selection of things from manga to video games and Pokemon trading cards that they are now shipping internationally.

Look for amazon.co.jp as the seller. Third-party sellers won’t ship internationally. An exception: Sellers who are using Amazon.co.jp for shipping their items.

The Japanese taxes are being deducted at checkout for international orders. So instead of having to pay 5,262¥ I only paid 4,782¥ for my booster box.

To make things a little more easy for you I already searched for Pokemon Trading Cards or ポケモンカードゲーム in Japanese and selected the option to only show items that are ready to be shipped internationally. I just saved this search for you to make things a little easier for you.

If a product can’t be shipped to your designated home country it’s always clearly visible on the product page and can’t be checked out.

Look out for Pokemon Cards sold by amazon

A classic example is where a product from a third-party vendor not shipped by Amazon.co.jp can’t be shipped internationally.

The estimated delivery date: When checking out you’re presented with an estimated delivery date. When ordering from your local Amazon this date is the date you’ll receive your items.

When ordering from Amazon Japan this date will always change to a far earlier date.

You’ll receive an email stating the new delivery date after ordering.

In case you would need to contact Amazon’s support after ordering: English support staff is available and very helpful in case you need them. Seriously you can say a lot of bad things when it comes to amazon but their customer service is always spot-on no matter the country you’re ordering from. And don’t forget: Japan is a service nation after all. So you can expect it to be excellent.

The packaging

The packaging is practical and not to be confused with the one you know from your local Amazon. At least in Germany, their packaging is very minimal, especially for books it’s just a pain when you can basically expect the book corners to be smashed.

Pro tip: As a collector, you might want to pick up some of these excellent sleeves directly from the homeland for cheap.

ケイエムシー(KMC) カードバリアー100パーフェクト プラスチック

1袋1枚入り; 対象年齢: 144 months to 720 months; 対象性別: unisex; パッケージ重量: 0.05 kg

¥480

Typically when online shopping from Japan their products are fantastically packaged. Never been disappointed so far. And the products are usually pristine. Really. I ordered a lot of stuff over the past couple of years from Japan and no matter if it were old Super Famicom games, manga, or Pokemon cards. They were always in amazing shape.

Amazon Japan’s packaging is practical. Items are firmly put on cardboard which is attached to the bottom of the parcel, and wrapped in foil.

And I really like these super cheap Pokemon Sword & Shield V Starter Decks for just 500¥. But attention: You can only buy them as an add-on when you’re ordering above 2000¥ (roughly 16€ / 19$)

But now back to Japanese Pokemon trading cards. I just listed the most current sets down below:

ポケモンカードゲーム ソード＆シールド 拡張パック パラダイムトリガー BOX

(C)2022 Pokemon (C)1995-2022 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.

¥13,099

ポケモンカードゲーム ソード&シールド 拡張パック 摩天パーフェクト BOX

(C)2021 Pokemon (C)1995-2021 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.

¥12,800

ポケモンカードゲーム ソード＆シールド 強化拡張パック ダークファンタズマ BOX

(C)2022 Pokemon (C)1995-2022 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.

¥8,629

ポケモンカードゲーム ソード＆シールド ハイクラスパック シャイニースターV BOX

(C)2020 Pokemon (C)1995-2020 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.; 原産国:日本

¥16,000

The new set will be released on January 20th:

Order exclusive goods with a proxy from the Pokemon Center Japan

Pokemon Center Japan has its own online store. Unfortunately, they won’t ship internationally. But you can still order from them with the help of a Japanese Proxy Service. Just click on the link and read my in-depth article about ordering any goods from Japan.

Here is the short version: A proxy service is someone located in Japan who will order the goods for you from a Japanese online shop and then forward that parcel to you. I’ve been using fromjapan for this kind of service for many years now and found them to be the cheapest and highly professional.

Again, just read my in-depth guide about how to order anything from Japan.

If you want to go straight to the Pokemon Trading Card section just click here.  A lot of the booster boxes are for pre-order (予約) and can usually be ordered during fixed time intervals usually ranging from a couple of days to 2/3 weeks.

Apart from pre-ordering new or sold-out sets, there are nearly always special campaigns that guarantee you a certain card or chance of a card when ordering. And of course, you’ll find special products like this amazing Pokemon Card Box which I really like.

And don’t forget to check out the official Japanese page for the Pokemon TCG. There you’ll find all Infos about cards and the announcement of new sets.

What I really enjoy is the manual on how to play Pokemon TCG remotely via Skype in these Corona times.

If I discover some good sites to order from I’ll include them in this post. And of course please share your own recommendations.

The post Guide: Where to buy Japanese Pokemon Cards appeared first on Japanese Tease.

All started with a basic English and Japanese dictionary, then came Kanji stroke orders, different supported languages to translate Japanese to, and finally the game changer: Google OCR to detect and translate Japanese text on pictures.

In the last decade, iOS went from its humble beginnings to Face recognition, and from an App library with Angry Birds as the highlight to one with countless decent offerings to help you study Japanese. From the Human Japanese Apps that want to be a digital alternative to Genki to JALUP, Genki’s own Apps, and countless dictionary Apps. I’m personally still using JALUP every morning.

I make some coffee, sit down in a comfy chair, and start to do my reviews. You know that I’m only recommending the stuff I really use and love and JALUP is one of those programs that I think don’t get the recognition it deserves. The price for the packs is off-putting. I get that. But having paid for two packs already I can assure you that it’s money well spent and has been a blessing in improving my Japanese.

My search for the perfect dictionary / SRS-App

I was just browsing the web for another Japanese dictionary App that would also work as an SRS and basically save me some time for creating my own cards with Anki. I’m currently playing あつまれ どうぶつの森 and am really enjoying it so far. There are just so many QOL features in there in comparison with its predecessor on the 3DS which makes it a lot more fun to play.

The big news is that the European/US edition of the game also contains a Japanese language option when you switch your console language to Japanese. Awesome, especially since you can just change back the language if you’re facing some problems in-game and the game will just revert to any language that you set for your console.

But I discovered a fast, well-made dictionary App with a built-in SRS, picture scanning feature, and the feature to save and attach a picture to any word inside the dictionary. For a few years now the best Japanese dictionary App for me is called Nihongo. It’s available for iOS only and made by Chris Vasselli. I always love it when I can directly get in touch with the people behind a program/app/website.

Ok, so Genki is a common word. The Nihongo-Website is talking about a level-up system which basically is leveling up words the more you look them up / see them.

Tons of (computer) voiced example sentences. Excellent.

What makes Nihongo stand out

Each word has a sign attached that grades it to common/uncommon or rare. You can import the text from pictures (using Google’s OCR capabilities) and go through every word. There is even a feature to make flashcards out of every word you looked up. What I love is that you can even attach a picture to a word. Love that feature because it gives me the context I need. You can even store so-called “clippings” which is basically Japanese text you copied into the app and immediately each word and kanji gets clickable. This really makes it easy to look up unknown words or go through a text you’re struggling with.

Just scan a picture for its text, go through every word, and attach the picture you got that word from to its dictionary entry. It sounds a little complicated written down but it’s so easy and smooth to do when you’re looking up words from a picture, it’s just incredible. And fast.

What I’d love to see next: On my wishlist for the already pretty awesome Japanese dictionary App is the ability to include example sentences to the backside of the flashcards. That’s one of the many qualities of Nihongo (and learning Japanese from sentences is one of the best study methods I know). Displaying related words under your main search query.

And of course, to make flashcards from pictures. Ideally with the ability to just display a picture you took (or just the text from the picture if you want to) and make a flashcard out of it using the OCR feature. That would call for iCloud implementation for your to make backups but really would be a marvelous feature. Just imagine playing つまれ どうぶつの森 and just importing the screenshots of dialogues you were having trouble with to make some badass flashcards. Easy and without the need to go through countless ANKI Add-ons.

Here I attached a picture I took (Animal Crossing, what else) to a word I looked up. Really do love that feature.

Clippings and the Safari Extension

I talked about picture clippings briefly and my wish to just use them for flashcard creation. The Safari extension works with the same principle but applies it to the web browser. The video on Nihongo’s own website probably shows it best. I’m personally not reading any Japanese websites or blogs but maybe that will change with your recommendations?!

Nihongo is free to use in its plain version as a basic, super-fast, dictionary App. Without the extra bells and whistles like its flashcard function or OCR (picture scanning) capabilities. Check it out for yourself and make use of the 14-day trial version for the full Nihongo Pro experience to see for yourself what makes this app so special and stands out from the crowd of dictionary apps.

I have no problem with supporting developers and always happily pay for a good App but I’m slightly annoyed by the recent trend that seemingly every App is now running on a subscription-based model. Nihongo offers us a choice when we want to go pro. Personally, I’ll get a “lifetime subscription” after my trial ends because the OCR capabilities, tons of example sentences, etc. are perfect for my Japanese studies. And if OCR-flashcard capabilities with iCloud backup are in the future, even better,

Which dictionary App are you using at the moment? Do you have a clear favorite and are you using any SRS capabilities by dictionary Apps or sticking with Anki for that?

The post The best Japanese dictionary App for iOS appeared first on Japanese Tease.

When I noticed that the Genki textbooks got another revamp I just got the idea to revise them and then go over to Tobira together with a Japanese teacher from italki.

Years ago I briefly had a local Japanese “teacher” but I was nowhere near the stage of casual conversation and she wasn’t really someone who could teach. There was no structure, no teaching skills, and everything was just so random and unorganized in my study hours that I quit eventually.

What I desperately needed was some more structure and motivation in my studies and when finding a tandem partner is not possible italki seemed like the next best thing. Do you have any experience with it? If yes, please share them in the comments.

Digital supplements for Genki

So Genki II was hitting the streets with a new edition and that was reason enough for me to get back to the study table. Looking around for things that could help me check my grammar knowledge I found a fantastic website called Genki Exercises.

A wonderful site that’s basically a digital online workbook for both the main Genki textbooks and the workbooks themselves. It lets you drill the vocab, Kanji, and all the example sentences/grammar practices. The best part: All this is available for the 2nd and newly released 3rd edition of the Genki textbooks. Fantastic stuff.

Use the official Genki Apps

There are three Apps available for the second edition of Genki which are covering the main components of the Genki textbooks (except grammar apart from conjugations). Unfortunately, these Apps are not working like an SRS like Anki or Wanikani but just give you the opportunity to mark whether or not you knew the item or you are unsure.

If you knew the item you’re basically done with it and won’t be shown it again.

My recommendation: Use unsure until you absolutely know the item by heart without much thinking.

Why not just use an Anki App for the Genki vocab?: Because you can learn the sets easily accompanying the Genki textbook chapters, you get nice little drawings, audio, and sentences. And that’s alongside the audio the most important factor for me: Always try to learn vocab in sentences.

I personally use (and still really love) the incredible JALUP App (which is now Nihongo Lessons). Another great alternative is iknow with their Core sentences. (Btw. this is my biggest gripe with WaniKani nowadays. I know they have sentences tucked away in the vocab meaning description but I think the new words themselves should be presented and learned as part of a sentence).

If you put in the legwork there are definitely some great Anki decks out there as well but for learning the Genki vocab just spend a few bucks and get the official Genki Card Apps alongside the books. I’ve already written about the conjugation App a few years ago. It’s decent enough to go through all the forms again but unfortunately, it doesn’t offer a truly usable SRS system.

New Apps are rolled out within the next months. my pictures are from the new 3rd edition Genki Vocab App. I advise you to get the new one even if you’re still using the second-edition Genki books. Just enjoy the better app layout, usability and

Neat little sentences from the main Genki textbooks.

GENKI: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese I [Third Edition] 初級日本語げんき[第3版]

• 坂野 永理 (Author)

¥3,960

Buy on Amazon

Just two tips for having a better learning experience with the Genki textbooks. After moving I’ll continue two revise the Tobira textbook and will make a review for you guys. It’s time to finally revise my guide about self-studying Japanese as well.

Not much has changed since my last retouch of the article but I’ll slightly tweak the way I’d go about things nowadays.

The most important thing about learning Japanese or learning in general: Stick to one thing and pull through.

The post How to maximize your Genki textbook learning experience appeared first on Japanese Tease.

The shipping experience

The shipping costs were roughly the same I paid with honto but like always when ordering from amazon internationally (outside of Europe for me) import taxes were calculated immediately at checkout. That wasn’t the case with honto and is not the case with CDjapan today. I have to say that these extra costs didn’t bother me too much because it annihilated the possibility of a visit to the local customs duty shop. And if you have gone there in your local area you know what a drag it is and how unbearably annoying these visits are. But: I never went there for books from honto or Cdjapan before. They always slipped through or I paid directly at my doorstep (custom duties) because a trustworthy receipt was attached to the parcel.

What I picked up

Now on to the most important part: What I picked up. I always like to browse through the latest releases by The Japan Times (Genki’s mothership) and because my trip to Japan this year had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak I still wanted to get my girlfriend to experience a little Japanese flavor in our home.

I’m a kid of the 90s and the Game Boy was definitely (and still is) the most important gaming machine in my life. I never had a console when growing up (my parents didn’t allow me to have one because they didn’t want me to spend too much time in front of the TV). So apart from gaming at friend’s houses, my OG grey Game Boy was the only gaming system I had.

ゲームボーイコンプリートガイド

¥4,605

I still remember the disparity between the beautiful artwork on the packaging and the game itself. That was really a time when imagination played a huge part in handheld gaming. Later on, I got that clear purple Game Boy Color (which I still own today).

Japanese culture and history explained by foreigners and Japanese people alike. I like the bilingual format but I actually wonder how many Japanese people are picking this up.

These are two books actually about some landmark cities in the east and west of Japan. Unfortunately, these medium (rather small-medium) sized books don’t contain any pictures which would have made them 1000% better.

(無料音声DLつき)英語でガイドする日本――海外ゲストが行きたい西日本の名所

松本美江 (Author)

¥2,310

Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of interesting facts and anecdotes in these two little books (which are still recommended) but including a nice picture of Hachiko and the Shibuya Scramble (even if it was from Persona 5) wouldn’t have hurt.

And now look, these guys got it right. Lots of pictures included. The complete guide… is actually a series of books devoted to different parts of Japanese society. I like that Japanese keywords are printed on the right side of each statement. Very nice book with a lot of previously unknown (for me) fun facts about Japanese commodities and traditions. Just have a look at these gorgeous model foods.

The last one is one for the Japanese learners and I will definitely devote a full post to this one. You don’t actually need the Dictionary of basic Japanese grammar for the multimedia workbook to be enjoyable and beneficial to your learning experience. You practically find all the explanations in the book. It is meant to be used in conjunction with PowerPoint slides which can be downloaded for free from the Japan Times website.

Multimedia Exercises for Basic Japanese Grammar マルチメディア日本語基本文法ワークブック

筒井 通雄 (Author)

¥3,080

You will be surprised (at least I was) but this method works like a charm. The slides are basically workbook-style tasks where you have to fill in the blanks or form a sentence. There is even audio included in the slides (but unfortunately that didn’t work for me). Again: A full article about this fantastic book is incoming.

Thanks for reading and sharing the love. I just started to get a Japanese teacher on iTalki for some conversation practice, revising grammar, and all the stuff in between. With my full-time job and working on my paper (so glad when this will finally be done) I had problems with sticking to my Japanese study routine. Ok, I always had these problems but they got worse :) So I think a weekly appointment with a nice Japanese teacher might help me to stay on track.

The post My latest order with Japanese books appeared first on Japanese Tease.

I really enjoy the thematic film compilations double features and just the huge library of excellent arthouse films.

I’m not the biggest fan of Japanese samurai films and not too keen on period pieces in general. A big part of classic Japanese cinema is taking place in that timeframe of Japanese history, however. So, if you like films and Japan you probably watched your fair share of Samurai flix already.

During the times of home office and isolation, it’s time for trying out new streaming services and getting on top of your new year’s resolution to finally read more in 2020. (same applies to me, I would love to get some film, book, and manga suggestions). When you’re out daily grinding at work, long hours every day it’s not the time when most people want to watch an intellectually challenging film in the evening.

Most of you (including me) will probably just switch on YOU (on Netflix) or snack on some Assassin’s Creed Odyssey on the PS4 (which I just started and really enjoy). If you haven’t heard about the Criterion Collection before check out the love letter that I’ve written about that amazing company.

Now is the time to check out the Criterion Channel and brush up on your film knowledge, discover new truly inspiring films and just dig a little deeper into what’s out there to discover. Just browse through their vast online selection or check out some of my favorite films that are ready to stream.

What is the Criterion Channel

It’s the streaming home of the Criterion Collection (read here why I think every film nerd should check it out) probably the greatest and most versatile curated film collection available. Everything started with laser discs back in the 80s and went over DVDs to Blu-Rays and now streaming.

If you like arthouse films and just generally films that make you feel something you need to check out the Criterion Channel. Apart from MUBI, there is nothing comparable on the market for quality films.

Some all-time classics

High & Low – A suspenseful crime thriller, that is witty and gripping that the 2.5h run-time feels like an hour. My favorite film by Akira Kurosawa and one of my favorite films in general.

Ghost World – A coming-of-age story like no other. Wonderfully weird and unique.

Hardcore & Mishima –  Both by Paul Schrader, one thriller and LSD-soaked dreamy picture. Both are very much worth your time. You may have realized by now that I suck at describing films. Regardless of that: Please give all these a chance :)

Samurai flix

Criterion UK released (or rather Sony did) that 23 Zatoichi-film spanning book/boxset and made its way over to Europe in late November. I have seen a couple of the films included, a couple of Hanzo the Razor, and a few other classics in the same vein as Sword of Doom (which is recommended). Still, I’m not the biggest fan even if I tried a few times to fall in love with the genre.

Recently I made another order at wowhd for some Criterion Blu-Ray discs. During their “secret sales” (when items just appear randomly to be reduced) I usually just went ahead and bought 4-5 films from my wish list. Unfortunately, they’re now adding a VAT on top of the price which makes using them a lot more expensive and will probably drive me back to UK-Criterion-only releases for a while.

I snatched An Actor’s Revenge after watching the Criterion trailer. A highly stylized one and after watching the film I can attest to you: It’s a stunner. The cinematography is breathtaking, the storytelling actually on point (a rarity with the samurai flix) and the tale itself is off the beaten path – which makes it so interesting. A Japanese Geisha-Drag-Queen is out for revenge, that’s all you need to know. And what I always found fascinating throughout the whole film – nobody could resist the charm of that master swordsman (or swordswomen). No matter if boy or girl everybody wanted a piece of that tasty Drag-Geisha out for blood.

Regardless if you were disappointed with these kinds of films before – give An Actor’s Revenge a try. It’s a must for every film aficionado.

Like always, the Criterion packaging is pure joy. I took a couple of pictures for you guys to enjoy together with me. But first, a trailer. Not the best quality one (and you should head over to Criterion to view theirs as well)

How to make a Criterion Channel account from outside the US

You only need a proxy service to access the subscription page. No US credit card is required and European ones work flawlessly. A VPN is also not required for streaming. If you don’t have a VPN subscription already just head over to Hola, download the App (I find it the most easy way) make a trial subscription, and use it for account creation. After that, no VPN is needed for the Criterion Channel whatsoever.

Please share your current film, manga, book, and tv-show favorites with me. I’m also pretty big into audio books so please share your hidden gems. Always more than appreciated.
Stay healthy and stay home.

The post Why the Criterion Channel is amazing and a few suggestions appeared first on Japanese Tease.

Nigo has always been a big force in the Japanese fashion industry, bridging the gap between streetwear and high fashion like no other. I’m still surprised that his collections found the success they did actually. It’s loud, fun, and eccentric, maybe that was exactly what the Japanese youth needed at that time playing right into the whole Harajuku movement back in the 90s.

What made A Bathing Ape such an interesting company was its founder Nigo. The clothing, the scarcity around the brand, and the weekly drops all contributed to that mysterious brand which was always full of surprises. I already wrote about my love for Bape before but what always makes me come back to the man behind the brand is his love for collecting. That love was always highly visible in the merchandise he produced for his brand.

Special boxes, action figures, pins, or sugar cubes with that Bape branding. Nigo is applying the same love for detail to his new venture Human Made and just revealed are really really cool collaboration with Louis Vuitton that’s set to release in September.

Stay tuned till the end: I included some Bonus pictures shot with my iPhone 4 in 2011 when I visited the Collette store and picked up the book. They really had a lot of Kaws back then.

A glimpse inside Bape Archives from 2011

I picked Bape Archives up at Colette in Paris when the store was still around. It also had a nice little Bape corner. The whole store was designed by Masamichi Katayama’s company Wonderwall (which you may have heard of reading this blog).

Making this picture and talking about Collette made me think about what a fun weekend in Paris was when I picked up the book. So I did what everybody would have done: I Slid into Fotos on my Mac and went way back to 2011 for you guys.

And here they are. All the pictures I took when visiting Collette back in the day. Kaws just released his collaboration with Hysteric Glamour which was a good one even if I don’t really get the brand.

Here you go. Shot with my brand spanking new iPhone 4 back in 2011.

BAPE STORE de Colette

A Vespa tagged by the legend André. I just had to include that while going through old pictures of mine. When things are back to normal again in Europe I need to visit Paris again.

The post Bape archives – The collected merchandise of A Bathing Ape appeared first on Japanese Tease.