Obake Series: Tanuki

March 19, 2008 by Erin

Before we get started with this long overdue article, let's take a small quiz. No cheating! Tanuki are: A) Badgers, B) Raccoons, C) Wolverines, D) Raccoon dogs Here's a tanuki macro to help you out: The word … [Read more...]

Nara’s Super-Creepy New Mascot wants you to Win a Japanese Textbook!

March 10, 2008 by Koichi

This Contest has been extended to April 9, 2008! Nara-City, the capitol city of Nara prefecture, is known for it's beautiful temples and overly aggressive biting deer monsters. This year, Nara Heijo-Kyo Capitol is … [Read more...]

Japanese Textbook Review: Genki I

February 28, 2008 by Koichi

Over the next month, I will be reviewing some of the mainstream Japanese text books that are currently being used by Japanese language learners; from there I will move on to reviewing programs that use technology to teach … [Read more...]

How to Talk Like a Samurai

February 9, 2008 by Koichi 51 Comments

It seems as though bushido, i.e. "the way of the warrior," is getting pretty popular amongst several (mostly otaku) groups in Japan. Not only are people speaking like Samurai - using Samurai grammar, vocabulary, etc., but … [Read more...]

Using Twitter to Practice Japanese

January 31, 2008 by Koichi 35 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about using Mixi to practice your Japanese. This week I will be talking about another valuable (but fun) online tool that is a little easier on the busy learner. I started getting into Twitter … [Read more...]

Tofugu’s Japan Week in Review 2: Origami in Space, Expensive Fish, (To)Fugu Death

January 25, 2008 by Koichi

January 5 - January 25 (that's like...3 weeks in review!) Here's to another attempt at keeping up with all that silly Japanese news. I feel like not making a video to go along with it is the best way to go. Only the … [Read more...]