Japanese alphabets The Japanese language is often known as being one of the most difficult languages to learn since it has not one but three different alphabets — hiragana, katakana and kanji — which can be differentiated both by the method of writing them, and their uses. In this weekly blog from one of the Japanese teachers at Japonin(JOI), Itaya sensei, she explains some great language...

Japanese school entrance ceremonies The Japanese school year starts around the beginning of April, and ends in mid-March. At the start of the school year, it is common to have entrance ceremonies. These are formal affairs often with parents attending and taking pictures. Eguchi sensei, one of the professional Japanese teacher at Japonin(JOI), writes this easy blog to help you to learn Japanese....

Japanese school lunches Japanese school lunches have been in focus in recent news and magazine articles. The level of nutrition and the culture of student participation in the serving and cleaning is usually the focal point of the news' stories. And a lot of countries are looking to Japan's example when reforming their own school lunch menus. Kamiyama sensei introduces this topic in this...

Toys in Japan Japan is well-known as a creative hub for art, fashion and technology and weird things too. So it is not surprising that you can find some imaginative toys in the country. In this weekly blog, for Japanese learners, Ishibashi sensei; one of the teachers at Japonin(JOI) online school, introduces some popular toys that are a little on the weird side... Listen to the video to learn...

Wasai : The Art of Making Kimono For formal occassions, Japanese people usually wear kimonos. The word Kimono actually just means 'something to wear' but, these garments have become an art form and a form of fashion stretching over a long history and culture. Yanaka sensei is a Japanese teacher at Japonin(JOI) online school, and she explains the tools used in Wasai, the art of kimono-making....

Japanese counter words When you are learning Japanese for the first time, one of the things that you first stumble upon is the variety of counter words. As you progress to learn more advanced Japanese, these words just seem to increase. The words often change grammatically depending on the numbers proceeding them, and they can alter according to the size or shape of the thing being counted....

Listen to fluent Japanese Japonin(JOI) Japanese online school publishes this blog written by professional Japanese teachers, every week. You can learn Japanese vocabulary and listen to fluent Japanese by watching the video. The making and reading of the video was also done by Imoto sensei too, so please listen to the way she tells about her experience and practice your Japanese listening. It is...

Japanese Manga Japanese Manga is a style of art that has grown steadily since the mid 20th century. There are many Manga artists that have become national figures in Japan. And almost everyone seems to have their favorite artists and writers. . Some Manga are written for children, but there are also a surprisingly wide range of comic books for adults as well. In this blog for Japanese learners,...

Place names in Japan There are many place names in Japan that although they are not strictly in the area, borrow the names of their more famous neighbors in their titles. This is often seen in buildings that are near famous parks or neighborhoods that use the famous names in their titles, although they are not strictly in or even near to that area. In this blog from Japanese teacher Yukiko...

Shrine festivals in Japan Many of the festivals that are famous in Japan are held in Shinto shrines. These festivals are usually held annually and many have meanings related to good forune. In this blog, from Japanese teacher Shiomi, she introduces one of the most celebrated festivals. The Toka Ebisu festival is held in many places around Japan and celebrates Ebisu, the God of Good Fortune....