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So, you are thinking of coming to Japan. Or at least, you are thinking of thinking of coming to Japan.

Do you know what to pack? Where you would like to go? What you would like to do?

Visiting Japan for the first time might seeing a little challenging and you might have a few concerns about coming here. For example, are you concerned about the language barrier? Perhaps you are worried about the food and not being able to find something you can eat? Are you perhaps concerned about the current situation of nuclear safety in Japan?

Take the poll and find out what other people are concerned about regarding their trip to Japan. If you leave a comment, we might be able to help you with your concerns and offer some advice!

You can chose more than one answer!

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Please leave a comment below. Just log into Facebook and tell us what you think!

So you’ve been studying Japanese for a while, or perhaps, you’re just a beginner at the language. Was it as difficult as you thought? If you studied another language, how does it compare? And what do you find most challenging about studying Japanese?

Typically, westerners who study Japanese find reading and writing Japanese Kanji to be a problem. However, students from China have a head start on everyone else as the Chinese Kanji are often similar or the same to the ones used in Japanese.

Koreans tend to find the grammar of Japanese extremely easy as it is very similar to Japanese even though the pronunciation and vocabulary are different.

For me, I find the vagueness of the language quite challenging to understand. Although I may understand perfectly every word that is being spoken, I sometimes have trouble getting the gist of the conversation. So much for low context cultures such as mine!

So what is hard for you?

Take the poll below to find out what other people are struggling with when it comes to studying Japanese. Feel free to chose more than one answer:

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Check out this awesome video made by Jamaipanese on Youtube who was kind enough to check out and play our Kana Invaders game. It’s great to see someone having fun with the game and actually learning some Japanese in the process. You can check out more of his videos here.

Kana Invaders was made by my good friend Ricardo who is also the amazing artist who drew our Learn Japanese Pod Green Monster Logo. You can check out his amazing website at Cataplasma.net

Kana Invaders is a fun game to help you either learn Hiragana and Katakana from scratch or just brush up on what you already know. If you played the game, why not leave a comment below and tell us how you did!

ひらがなとかたかな頑張ってください！Hiragana to katakana ganbatte kudasai

Good luck with your Hiragana and Katakana

Try your knowledge on this Japanese money quiz. Do you have what it takes to be the next finance minister of Japan? Check out the quiz and then leave your comments below. Tell us your score and if you have a question feel free to ask.

Now try the quiz!

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1) Try your knowledge at this multiple choice quiz for Kanji for days of the week:

Kanji will appear, then see if you can name them correctly.

2) Check the video below to see if you were right

Good luck!

If you are interested in traveling to Japan and need a little inspiration for planning your trip then you can discover some pretty amazing places in our set of Learn Japanese Pod Japan iPad travel apps.

We made a photo travelog of places I have visited and also lived in including Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Kobe. Each app features hi-res photography of both modern bustling cities as well as the old traditional temples and landscapes that make Japan so beautiful.

Each app contains easy swipe-able pictures with short blurbs giving you the name of the location. It also has GPS maps so you can use it to find the places in the photos.

It’s fun to locate the places featured in the app using the GPS fucntion and it could inspire and help you to make more out of your visit to Japan. Even if you are not planning to come to Japan soon, then check it out so you can have a virtual tour of some of the most amazing and beautiful places in Japan.

Please click on the links to check out the apps in the iTunes store:

Osaka iPad Travel App

Nara iPad Travel App

Kobe iPad Travel App

Kyoto iPad Travel App

Try to answer this quiz about the traditional Japanese art of Rakugo. See how you do and then watch the video and read the article to learn more.
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Now check out this video which features ダイアン吉日 Diane Kichijitsu, a female British Rakugo performer who is based in Osaka.

She explains and beautifully performs some examples of the Rakugo tradition. See if you can understand the Japanese in her performance.

落語 – rakugo – Literally means “falling words” and refers to the traditional art of story telling in Japan. This art form, that started in the Edo period (1603-1868), involves a single story teller who sits on a cushion on stage and recounts tales loaded with puns and punchlines. The 落語家 rakugoka – rakugo story teller uses eye movements and facial expressions to portray funny conversations between two and sometimes even three people. They also use a small hand towel and fan to represent anything from books and chopsticks to pens or even swords.

Rakugo vocabulary

扇子 – sensu

A fan which is used as a prop to represent various objects such as chopsticks or a sword.

手拭- tenugui

A hand towel which is used in a similar way to the fan.

座布団 – zabuton

The cushion the rakugo performer sits on. If the audience appreciates them they can receive another cushion.

高座 – kouza

The stage the rakugo performer sits on

正座 – seiza

The traditional way of sitting employed by the rakugo performer

見習い – minarai

An apprentice who is a beginner at rakugo

前座 – zenza

A novice at rakugo

二つ目 – futatsume

One rank below a master Rakugo story teller

真打 – shinuchi

A master rakugo story teller

駄洒落 – dajare

A pun. Rakugo stories are usually littered with puns and witty plays on words.

おち – ochi

Each rakugo story usually ends in a punchline or ochi.

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If you are looking for large shoes in Osaka, you might want to check out Otto, a shoe shop located in Tenma, Osaka that caters for the more gaijin sized foot. I was originally introduced to this shop by good friend Beb. This shoe shop is famous amongst locals as there is a sign that reads「もうあかん、やめます！」- mou akan, yamemasu – which roughly translates from Osaka dialect to “It’s no good, we’re finished / closing down”.

As people from Osaka are always on the lookout for a bargain, this closing down sale sign has brought in a lot of customers. And it’s been doing it for the last 20 years. I guess after the first few months, people’s suspicions may have arisen. But now, this hilarious sign has become famous for being completely ridiculous.

At least it made me laugh and I even bought a pair of shoes. Now that is effective marketing!

So, if you are a gaijin with big feet and need some shoes then I would recommend Otto. I was able to find some smart shoes and sneakers and they weren’t too expensive. Here’s a map to the shop.

On a trip to Kyoto, Waka sensei, my friend Naho and I stumbled on a shop that stocks swords and samurai armor called Tozando. It was a treasure trove that the makers of Kill Bill would be proud of. In fact, the craftsmen who made the armor stocked in the shop also made the armor used in “The Last Samurai”. According to the assistant we spoke to, the armor and swords were all made recently but the armor was modeled in the style of the Sengoku period or “Warring states period” roughly 1478 to 1605. The craftsman ship was just incredible and this is a store I highly recommend you visit if you are in Kyoto.

The owners of Tozando kindly let us film in their shop and patiently answered all my questions.
http://www.tozandoshop.com/

Download the picture (full res 1024X768)
Here is the famous saying “猿も木から落ちる” – Saru mo ki kara ochiru

This literally means, even monkeys fall from trees. In other words, nobody’s perfect.