Posted by harvey in Culture, Travel on 03. Mar, 2010 @ 10:29 am | No Comments
Here is a guest post from Erik who is involved in the Annual Washington D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival Planning!
First a few words from me though. Believe it or not, I have never been to the D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival… I was close to going last year since I was living on the east coast, but [...]
This is quite possibly the coolest Kansai-ben thing ever.
Kansai-ben is an international language. You must learn it.
Near the end it busts into Yappa Sukiyanen by Yashiki Takajin, quite possibly the most famous songs in Kansai-ben ever (except maybe some of Ulfuls tracks).
And… don’t miss part 2!
If you’re curious about Kansai-ben check out our Kansai-ben lessons, [...]
My good Twitter buddy @papajohn let me know that he had a new Japanese-related application called Kana Balls in the iTunes Store so I gave it a try.
Fun stuff! Despite the possibly awkward name… Kana Balls is a slick application!
This app will help you learn to read Japanese Hiragana and Katakana quickly. It doesn’t teach [...]
Learn Japanese Vocab on your iPod-like Device with PlaySay
You may have noticed mention of PlaySay on and off on this blog over the past year so. Recently Ryan, the head Japan-head at PlaySay, contacted me to let me know that PlaySay has really been taking off. You can read a quick article about Ryan and [...]
Looking for bilingual Japanese study materials? Check out Santa Ponta!
My bilingual-bicultural friend Ayumi Meegan has published a Japanese-English bilingual book called Santa Ponta’s Journey.
You can get Santa Ponta from the official Santa Ponta website, and alternatively for a slightly higher price on Amazon.com… you know, in case you’ve got Amazon Gift Certificates to burn or [...]
Finally, a place where you can buy a Fully-Automatic Takoyaki Maker online and have it shipped overseas. If you still haven’t made that last minute holiday gift purchase for that special Japanese-loving someone, this might be worth a look!
Automatic Takoyaki Maker, not cheap, but awesome!
Did I say “fully automatic?” Why yes, yes I did.
I [...]
Hey everyone, let’s get to know the JapanNewbie crowd a little better. I want to introduce you to @sandkatt. The following is part one of a two-part interview exploring @sandkatt’s road to Japanese proficiency.
@sandkatt in Hiroshima
Sandkatt is a Japanese learner I noticed on Twitter. I noticed her because her Japanese is really good! Surprisingly so… [...]
Particles ScreenShot
Our latest, and most difficult app to create… Japanese 101 Particles just hit the app store!
As Thanksgiving is just around the corner, I’m going to say THANKS and give the first 10 people to use these free download codes the app for free.
The free downloads codes will only work if you’re in on the [...]
Someone recently contacted me asking for my opinion on study abroad in Japan. This person is current in University and has the opportunity to study at IUC Japan, Nanzan University (or any other large Japanese school with an exchange program), or the Kyoto Consortium.
I have studied at both Nanzan (in 2001) and IUC (in 2007-8) [...]
I’ve been to Kyoto countless times, but due to friends from out of town visiting back in March, we rented car and decided to stretch our legs a little. We went to Sanzenin (三千院) in Ohara in Kyoto.
There a Wikipedia article on sanzenin in Japanese, but actually I’m not having much luck finding information [...]
In case anyone has missed them, here is a quick wrap-up of all the Kansai-ben lessons so far.
Kansai-ben Lesson 9 – Moute
Kansai-ben Lesson 8 – I don’t mind
Kansai-ben Lesson 7 – Revival!
Kansai-ben Lesson 6 – with Bonus!
Kansai-ben Lesson 5 – Honma
Kansai-ben Lesson 4 – Toke
Kansai-ben Lesson 3 – Oru
Kansai-ben Lesson 2 – eeyarouka?
Kansai-ben [...]
Welcome to JapanNewbie.com! My goal is to get you excited about Japan and the Japanese language. Love it!
Posted by harvey in Travel on 07. Mar, 2010 @ 10:47 am | No Comments
As many of you know I’m now living in China, but I am going to be visiting Japan again in April. This gives me a chance to give the Japan Rail Pass a try!
The Japan Rail Pass can only be purchased from outside of Japan, as it’s meant to give short-time visitors to Japan a [...]
Posted by harvey in Gadgets, Language, Media on 12. Feb, 2010 @ 4:55 am | 2 Comments
Yet another iPod Touch or iPhone App to help you learn Japanese has been released. This one was released my my former school, IUC Japan.
iKIC is available as a free limited download, and as a iKIC full paid version with more content. You can also purchase add-ons for the paid version that adds even more [...]
Posted by harvey in Language, Media, Music on 04. Feb, 2010 @ 6:06 am | 1 Comment
Get ready for Highway Star and Smoke on the Water Japanese Style!
Highway Star in DIRECT translation.
The musician went by the name of Ousama 王様 (king) and was a musician engaging in this style called “chokuyaku rock” 直訳ロック. Here is Ousama on Wikipedia (Japanese). The focus of this music is on the lyrics, because they’re just [...]
Posted by harvey in Food, Humor, Language, Media on 25. Jan, 2010 @ 7:16 am | 3 Comments
These are just too funny. Sure I could have tweeted it… but this deserves more permanent placement.
Be sure you catch the Kansai-ben speaking mameshiba commercial that I posted earlier!
- Harvey
Posted by harvey in Culture, Society on 14. Jan, 2010 @ 3:43 am | 10 Comments
There’s no doubt that there are some quirky aspects to Japan and Japanese culture, but how about state-sponsored quirkiness?
Meet Misako Aoki (青木美沙子), one of Japan’s three Cute Ambassadors who were appointed by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs February 2009.
Cute Ambassador: Misako Aoki
Misako Aoki, in all her ultra-cute Lolita garb, performs an official function [...]
Posted by harvey in Media on 07. Jan, 2010 @ 2:08 am | 1 Comment
I heard that @Durf translated some stuff for the Mori Art Museum related to this video.
Awesome.
This is awesome. Actually though, I sent my seasons greetings via email. I’m sorry.
- Harvey
Posted by harvey in About, Language on 06. Jan, 2010 @ 7:20 pm | 2 Comments
Particles Cover Shot
The Japanese 101: Particles App was updated today, and the download, free for those who already have the app, should be available worldwide in the next 24 hours.
Now there are 20+ new JLPT 3 level particle questions you can study and quiz yourself on. This brings the total number of problems in the [...]
Posted by harvey in Culture on 06. Jan, 2010 @ 12:27 pm | 1 Comment
This is a fun phrase.「男子厨房に入らず」(danshi chuubou ni hairazu).
Literally it means that men should not enter the kitchen. Another variation on the Japanese for this phrase is 「男子厨房に立たず」but the meaning is the same.
A Japanese explanation of the origin of this phrase appears in this Kyodo Shimbun article here:
『男子厨房に入らず』とは、豚や鶏を台所で処理する際、断末魔の声を男は聞くべきでない―という中国の故事が起源とされ、孟子の語録にもある。日本では男性の威厳を保つため、江戸時代以降、実践されてきた。
In translation:
It was said that men should not have [...]
