Learn Japanese Pod is four years old! Happy birthday to us! Four years, three apartments, two mac books and one relationship later, here we are still making podcasts for all you eager students of Japanese. I had no idea LJP would become such a great place to meet people interested Japanese and Japan. We’ve made some great friends and had a great deal of fun along the way.

Learn Japanese Pod started out under the vaguest and most pathetic of plans: “I guess I’ll just do it for a laugh”. So here’s to vague and pathetic plans. And here’s to all of you who listened to the podcast and supported it. Without your help, support, comments and general correspondences LJP would only be a mere shadow of itself and not the gargantuan, green, Tokyo skyscraper munching monster it has become.

As we are on the thankyous, a huge thank you to:

Beb: She made the podcast possible. Let’s face it, you only listen because of her don’t you?

Waka sensei: She spent countless hours recording podcasts, checking the show notes were OK and generally being cute.

Karamoon: He was the tech guy and ideas man for us. On one occassion he single-handedly saved the forums from digital oblivion.

Daniel and Yuki: They’re a cute couple. Daniel has been our audio engineer and Yuki has appeared on various shows teaching us Japanese.

You: yes YOU! Not you! YOU! Another huge shout out to all of you who listened to the show and are interested in Japanese culture.

This list is endless but for those of you who haven’t been mentioned you know who you are. Thank you, thank you, thank you and that’s three thank yous!

Here’s to another four years.

[podcast]http://media.libsyn.com/media/japanese/ff20091009.mp3[/podcast]

Subscribe to this podcast via iTunes

Download the MP3

Today’s podcast was recorded at Ocean’s Table in Lumine Est in Shinjuku. A huge thank you to Miki, Jim and Sandra who joined me on today’s podcast and made it as hilarious as ever. I humbly bow in your general direction.

Here are some points mentioned in the podcast.

Serial Trial Lesson Enthusiast

Miki told us that she has become a serial trial lesson enthusiast. This means she goes around various schools and culture centers trying out their free first introductory lessons. So far she has tried vocal training and intends to do Tahitian dance next. She said it is a good way to meet people she would not normally meet. I look forward to future reports from her.

Poster Competition

Sandra‘s poster competition is underway. Please check out her blog at Japandra to find out how you can be the proud owner of a JR “Do it at home” poster. In the podcast, she also told us about an interesting cafe in Kashiwa where you get the order of the person who came before you. Check out the podcast for more on that.

We’re Still Here

Luckily, Yukki’s friend’s friend’s mother’s acquaintance’s mate who works in the secret underground government bunker somewhere in Japan was wrong about an earthquake predicted for tonight. Tokyo was supposed to be rubble after the 9th and happily the earthquake to end all earthquakes decided to stay in bed. This was a little story continued from last week’s Fun Friday.

Other News and Points of Business

Don’t forget the next Learn Japanese Pod Get Together on Sunday 18th October at The Pink Cow in Shibuya. We are doing it in conjunction with the Japanese Lounge event which will be featuring tradition Japanese musical performances. This is a great chance to make friends, learn Japanese and experience the culture. Details are here.

Joseph Tame, we’re calling you out! Let’s do a podcast together. If you don’t know who Joseph Tame is, please check out his great website and podcasts at Pokya.

Check out the Forums. Leave your comments, ideas, suggestions, questions and anything else you care to share with our growing community of Japanese learners.

Finally we have a new lesson which will be posted on Monday so stay podcasted to Learn Japanese Pod.

Featured music in podcast- Radwimps “Iin desu ka?”

Follow us on Twitter

Have a great weekend!

It’s hot out side, the cicadas are making a racket, girls are dressed in Yukatas and letting off fireworks. It’s summer in Japan and perhaps one of the best excuses to slack off from posting anything on Learn Japanese Pod. Well, that’s the story I’m going with. However I thought I should post an update into what’s going on here at the Learn Japanese Pod Professional Recording Studio Language Learning Complex also referred to as “my kitchen”.

I think a quote from the Presidents of the United States Of America is fitting. “Moving to the country, gonna eat a lot of peaches”. It’s true as I am traveling to Yamanashi famous for peaches, beautiful lakes and of course Mount Fuji. I’m going to stay at the Solar Cafe which is part of the Earth Embassy, an organic farm and center for learning about Permaculture and sustainable lifestyles. I’ll be helping out my friend and owner Jake to do some farming, build a house and work on the Earthship project that fell by the way side recently. But I’m also going there to escape Tokyo for a while and recharge the batteries. The Solar Cafe has a spectacular view of Mount Fuji and some awesome hiking and biking trails. It’s going to be fun.

Also if you feel like paying us a visit then come along by all means. There’s a lot to do around there and the more the merrier. Don’t forget we are also doing the Learn Japanese Pod Party here on 29th and 30th August.

So drop me a line at info(at)learnjapanesepod(dot)com. You can also check out the Earth Embassy and Solar Cafe Facebook group or the Earth Embassy homepage for more info.

We’ll also be putting up a few podcasts soon so stay tuned! Take care and have an awesome summer!

[podcast]http://media.libsyn.com/media/japanese/lj94.mp3[/podcast]

Download MP3

Subscribe via iTunes

Download PDF show notes

All the podcasts

In this week’s show, Waka sensei taught us a really useful phrase you hear a lot these days which is まじmaji. It comes from まじめ-majime which means serious. Remember that this is very casual Japanese and should only be used between friends. It’s not very suitable for work. In a more formal situation you might use 本当に – hontou ni which means “really” or “very”. Check out the show notes below or download the PDF to see how まじ is used.

Show notes for lesson#94：まじで

まじで- maji de – Seriously/Very

1.

A: 明日仕事やめるよ。

B: まじで？

A: Ashita shigoto yameru yo

B: Maji de?

A: I’m quitting work tomorrow

B: Really? (Seriously?)

2.

A:彼はどう？

B: まじむかつく

A: Kare wa dou?

B: Maji mukatsuku

A: What’s he like?

B: Really annoying

3.

A:このケーキはどう？

B: まじやばい

A: Kono keeki wa dou?

B: Maji yabai

A: How’s this cake?

B: It’s seriously delicious

Random Phrase of the week

明日は皆既日食なんだって

ashita wa kaikinisshoku nan datte

They say there’s a total solar eclipse tomorrow

Learn Japanese Pod, ©Alex Brooke, 2009

The iPhone now lets you write a review on apps and podcasts you have downloaded. We would like to get your reviews posted from the iphone. Check this link on how to write reviews for apps and podcasts like ours. This is our first review.

Ouch, Mr Kloranfm! I’ll have to take issue with some of the points in this review.

The “guests” mostly consist of drunk girls they bring into the studio.

First off, they weren’t drunk girls, well not very, plus I had had waaay more to drink than they had. Also, it’s not a studio, it’s a crappy kitchen. The very idea we would record something in a studio goes against our principles of doing anything properly. Which leads me onto the next point.

It’s a shame because if they were organized and professional they might actually have a good podcast.

Oh the slander continues. How could this reviewer insinuate we should be organized and professional when our motto is “disorganized amateurs”?! As we say, if a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing any old how. I’ve been called a few things in my time but professional and organized is not one of them. How dare you sir! Unshaken by this review, we promise to keep bringing you the same badly recorded, amateurish podcast as before!

Anyway, please check out the review feature on the iPhone if you have one and send us another crappy review.

A shout out to Ady for giving us the heads up on this one.