Japanese!

[tea]

It was suggested that we have a Japanese thread so here we go!!

Is there anyone here learning or have learnt Japanese?
Do you have any tips/tricks to share with anyone?
Have you been to Japan? (I haven’t yet but I really want to!!)

I’ve been learning Japanese for a few years on and off now and I’m studying it at University atm too. My favourite apps to help me learn are WaniKani, Memrise, Quizlet and Lang-8! (Plus a few cute gaming apps)! 

どうぞよろしくお願いします！

[tea]

@Kit 😉

[champagnepapi]

Oh god I miss learning Japanese!! I started when I was in year 7 (11 years ago now haha) and did it up to year 12 but I’m so rusty!! 

[ElleBelle]

Me! I studied Japanese from year 5 to 12. I also did a short exchange when I was 16, living in Saitama. I haven’t practiced it at all since high school, so I’ve forgotten almost all of my vocab but I remember all the hiragana and most katakana. Our teacher used a mnemonic system that associated the symbols with little sentences, based on what the symbol look like. Like “su” was “soon the seed will grow” cos it looks like a little seed sprouting through the ground 🙂

[DeftRat]

I went in late March/Early April (Cherry blossom season), it was the most incredible thing. Anyone want any tips or recommendations let me know. I cannot recommend it more  😀

[tea]

@champagnepapi maybe you can practice in this thread? :smiley:

@ElleBelle ほんとうですか？ I’ve been thinking about going on exchange there but I’m not sure yet! I think my fave mnemonic is te for hand (because て looks like a hand) My tutor shared this video that you might like 😆 

@DeftRat So many people went this year!! Please share all your recs with me! I almost booked a trip for next year because flights were crazy cheap but I didn’t know where to go.

[Kit]

いいんだね！大好きこれ！
Nice work @tea! I learnt while living in Nagoya for 10 months many years ago but hadn’t studied it beforehand other than to learn the alphabet and pronunciation. I managed to successfully sit the Level 3 Proficiency Test at the end of my time there but don’t remember a lot of the kanji anymore.
My sister also did a Masters in Translating Japanese so I get to practise with her every so often or when we have a ひみつ 😉

I’ve been back quite a few times visiting friends and family, so
you absolutely should go – Osaka, Kyoto, Hirsohima, Tokyo, Nagoya, Nagano,
Fukuoka… just literally go to all the places 😉

[DeftRat]

So sorry I have only just gotten to this @tea. 

My number one recommendation is to purchase your rail pass before you go. It’s cheaper hear and also one less thing you have to worry about.

I love everywhere I went. Tokyo, Yamanouchi, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima. I highly recommend the free Mazda Tour in Hiroshima (even if you’re not into cars). It’s pretty cool and you get to see how the factory floor works, it’s pretty cool. Plus Hiroshima has amazing history and the shrines set up from the atomic bombing are very sobering. It is a must see in the political climate we live in. I am a vegetarian and found it hard to eat at times, but there is a phenomenal vegan ramen restaurant in Tokyo station. I mean phenomenal!!! It was the tastiest thing I have ever eaten. My partner is not a vegetarian but we kept going back because they were just so good. It’s Called T’s Tan Tan. Another great thing to do is go to Piss Alley (don’t let the name fool you) in Shinjuku is awesome too. Filled with little yakatori restaurants that seat max 6-7 people and way over pour their sake (perfect!). Yamanouchi is a pretty cool place. It’s close to where the snow monkey park is. The monkey’s are those ones that people have probably seen in nature shows where they bath in the natural springs throughout winter. Def a must do if you are looking at going up that way.

I’m sure you’ll find plenty of things to do. We stumble across a lot of things and I think that’s a nice way to do it. Just walking and finding things with only a few main things planned for the days.

Hope this helps 🙂

[tea]

Ohh thanks so much for the recommendations @Kit and @DeftRat! Yeah, I think a loose idea of what to do would suit me better, wandering around sounds like a lot of fun!! I’m super nervous about going though, because I am very heavily tattooed and I know it’s kind of looked down upon in Japan (with associating people with tattoos with yakuza etc). I guess I could go in winter so then I could cover up completely, just no onsen for me. :disappointed:

[DeftRat]

You should be ok with the onsen @tea. Just not the public ones. I went to a Ryokan in Yamanouchi that had their own onsen and I have tattoos and she said that it was fine for me to go in and I didn’t have a problem. It’s just the ones that are open to the public and on the side of the streets that you can’t go to. There are also heaps of places that have onsen on room balconies. They’re a little more pricey but I think it’d totally be worth it. Def what I’ll be doing next time.

[tea]

Oooh that’s good to know @DeftRat! Thank you 🙂

[HappyHooHah]

I worked and lived in Japan for 8 months, happy to help with anything I can. Duolingo is an awesome app for a number of different languages 🙂

[tea]

@HappyHooHah 8 months!! I am so jealous wow, I keep considering going to live there for a little while after I finish my degree but I’m very scared! Mostly because I’d be on my own but also because I keep getting more and more tattoos that I can’t hide which I know has a much different culture for over there!

Are you proficient in Japanese? Have you done the JLPT? (I might go for the N5 this year to see how I’m doing)

[ekoorb9]

I’m from the UK – we got the choice of learning French or German. Japanese sounds like it would be so much fun to learn! Plus, hiking in that country is on my bucket list one day  🙂

I’d recommend the book Fluent in Three Months for anyone looking to learn a new language and the website is good too https://www.fluentin3months.com/ 

[HappyHooHah]

@tea I didn’t actually know about the JLPT! I’ll have to give it a go! I was working over there and had some lessons through that but just found practising day to day was a great way to learn. The Japanese culture is so wonderful, they won’t be offended if you pronounce something wrong, they will just be happy that you gave it a go and have a giggle with you 🙂
What are you scared about? I can tell you its one of the safest places i’ve been to. In regards to tattoos, my Aussie friend who is covered in them, came to visit me for a month over there. She didn’t have any issues.. I think once she was asked not to enter a certain temple or to cover up. Another time, they gave her a shawl to wear. They seemed to be pretty used to seeing tourists with them!

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