Anyone can get by in Japan without Japanese. But to excel as a professional both here and when you leave, language study is essential. Gaining proficiency will allow you to foster deeper connections with coworkers, students, and friends, and further your job opportunities in the future.
This site relies on peer-reviewed submissions, so we are counting on you to share the best and most up-to-date ideas you have. If you have anything to add or change, please send it to the Director of Professional and Education Development.
Japanese Resources
Use the tabs below to search for resources by resource type (textbooks, media such as video or podcasts, Digital Tools such as SRS programs or apps, and Digital Resources such as online courses and study how-to’s).
Each item in our resource catalog contains tags to help you understand its focus. They are:
R
Reading
S
Speaking
N1
JLPT level
G
Grammar
L
Listening
V
Vocabulary
K
Kanji
Course
Study courses
H
How-to study guide
Ka
Kana
Genki 1 & 2
Genki teaches beginning Japanese grammar and vocabulary in a textbook format, with grammar reviews and exercises. It is also the basis for many beginner Japanese programs. The first two chapters only are in Romaji – the rest are in Kana and Kanji. Genki also provides Kanji reviews at the end of each book.
Nihongo Sou-matome
The Nihongo So Matome covers all areas for each level of the JLPTs from N5 – N1 across 18 books. There are also various companion books for additional vocabulary, daily practice, and self-challenges.
Tobira (Beginning & Gateway to Advanced)
For beginners looking for an alternative to the Genki Textbooks, Tobira provides a solid option. Tobira features texts from a greater variety of settings. Additionally, picking up their Gateway to Advanced book provides a nice transition to roughly between N3 and N2.
Tae Kim’s Guide to Learning Japanese
This guide provides readers with the fundamentals, techniques, and tools they need to effectively teach themselves Japanese and attain fluency in the four main areas: listening, reading, writing, and speaking. Rather than merely providing lists of vocabulary words or formal grammatical expressions to memorize, it includes more casual but practical styles of speech and vocabulary, enabling you to learn to converse with close friends and family quickly and effectively.
Quartet
QUARTET is a comprehensive intermediate learning resource for Japanese-language learners who have completed the elementary level.
It provides well-balanced development of the four language skills—reading, writing, speaking, and listening—through the study of the grammar, expressions, and strategies needed to communicate at the intermediate level.
A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
This dictionary-style grammar guide is divided into three volumesーbasic, intermediate, and advanced, and also features sentence patterns, example sentences, and explanations in English. The books also thoroughly explain common pitfalls and distinctions of usage.
Japanese for Busy People
This book targets career professionals with little to no prior Japanese study. Both romaji and kana versions are available, making it suitable for new JETs who want to quickly learn some helpful lingo without having to dive too deeply into kanji or grammar first.
Common Japanese Collocations
Common Japanese Collocations is the first book that has been published on collocations (frequently used noun-and-verb and noun-and-adjective combinations) used in the Japanese language. Memorizing these collocations will help you speak and write more naturally in Japanese.
Kanji Look and Learn
The Kanji Look and Learn series is one of the most effective ways to learn around 500 basic to intermediate-level kanji. The textbook features illustrations and mnemonic hints to make it easy for learners to memorize the shapes and meanings of the kanji. It covers the kanji roughly through JLPT N3.
Remembering the Kanji
Heisig’s method differs markedly from traditional rote memorization techniques by teaching the student to utilize all the constituent parts of a kanji and create a mnemonic device. Each kanji is assigned a unique keyword, a simple concept with a specific range of meanings. The method requires the student to invent their own stories to associate the keyword meaning with the written form. Heisig often provides a small story or hint. The three volumes cover the most commonly used 3,000 kanji.
Kanji Master Series
The Kanji Master textbooks are great for kanji writing practice of all levels (levels are divided into corresponding levels of the JLPT). The books also provide several example sentences and phrases, so you can get an idea of how the kanji are used. However, drilling how to write over 2,000 kanji for the N1 level of the test takes a huge amount of time. After studying a decent number of kanji, it may be more efficient to just drill recognition of advanced-level kanji with flashcards and mnemonics that help you remember the radicals and meaning.
500 Practice Questions for the JLPT
500 Practice Questions for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test is part of the Nihongo Sou Matome JLPT textbook series. There is a volume for each level of the JLPT. Each textbook is broken down into days to help the learner develop and maintain a good study pace. This book series is also known for being the easiest JLPT textbook series content-wise.
JLPT Official Practice Book
The Official Practice Workbook published in 2012 and the Official Practice Workbook Vol. 2 released in 2018 each contains, for all levels, almost the same number of questions as the actual test, with questions selected from among those used in tests since its 2010 revision. Free downloadable versions are available.
New Kanzen Master
The N2 or N1 levels of the textbooks have the grammar explanations entirely in Japanese. They are extremely detailed. The sections in the back of the books also provide useful comparisons and distinctions of grammar points and vocabulary words that seem similar, which are really helpful in preparing for the test.
White Rabbit Kanji Cards
These flashcard sets are divided into three levels: basic, intermediate, and advanced which together contain all of the jouyou kanji. They are a bit pricey, but provide all of the possible readings of each kanji and example words curated to feature multiple readings of the kanji. Words with irregular kanji readings are usually included so that you can master all the readings and expand your vocabulary. The backs of the cards also contain information on the radicals.
Nihongo Tango Speed Master
Nihongo Tango Speed Master is a textbook that focuses only on vocabulary. Correlating Anki and Memrise decks have also been made. Each of the four books in the series contains a large number of vocabulary words, and each chapter is separated by topic with example sentences for each word. Each list of vocabulary words features the Japanese written in black and the reading and meanings are written in red, so you can use the included red card to hide the answers.
Japanese Sentence Patterns for Effective Communication
As ALTs frequently tell their English students, getting good at speaking a second language requires putting yourself out there, making mistakes, and learning from them. This book provides you with just enough structure to start trying to do that and communicate logically and clearly without fretting over nuance and advanced grammar patterns that only show up in literature and other forms of written text.
The Intellectual Devotional 365 (Japanese edition)
The Intellectual Devotional 365 is an international bestseller published in several languages, and the Japanese version is a fantastic great option for advanced learners. The book is organized to encourage the reader to tackle one page-long text per day on topics such as history, art, music, and world religions. The short length of the passages allows even advanced learners without much free time to regularly engage with material that is difficult enough to be challenging. In addition, the passages are very well organized and use some of the same grammar structures frequently, so it’s not too overwhelming for a learner starting to dip their toe into advanced reading materials.
ToKini Andy
ToKini Andy is both a YouTube channel and a website that contains detailed video lessons on grammar points from the Genki and Quartet textbooks. All of his grammar lessons are on his YouTube channel for free. He offers premium content like shadowing practice, vocabulary lessons, podcasts, and immersive reading material on his website for $10 a month
Nihongo to Tabi
Nihongo to Tabi is a Youtube channel focusing on grammar points, covering JLPT N4–N1 grammar. Below is an explanation and review of this channel published on Tofugu:
“The host teaches each point in Japanese only, making this an excellent opportunity to listen and learn at the same time. He speaks slowly enough, adjusting the complexity of his Japanese by level, and repeats keywords and phrases often. Besides the listening practice, there is plenty of text on the screen to test your reading ability too — a good reason to watch a video on a new concept several times. To top it all off, there is consistency in style and structure, so as you progress through or jump around, you can expect the same teaching and visual style throughout.”
Game Gengo
Game Gengo is a YouTube channel that helps viewers learn Japanese by breaking down the grammar and phrases found in popular video games such as Legend of Zelda, Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy, and many more. The channel also provides JLPT study materials, such as every single Japanese grammar point from the JLPT N4 explained in one definitive video textbook, covering over 130 examples taken from over 100 different video games! The channel also provides breakdowns and explanations of more difficult grammar and vocabulary formations that can help those with more advanced language abilities polish up their translation skill.
Coto Japanese Academy
Coto Japanese Academy is a language school in Tokyo with a focus on listening and speaking that also has begun offering online classes in response to the pandemic. Coto has also created an expansive list of the Top 50 Youtube channels to learn Japanese, which is available to the public for free. You can access the list here.
Miku Real Japanese Podcast
The Miku Real Japanese podcast is among the best language immersion audio out there. It features conversations with guests on a variety of topics, including their experiences in other countries. The tone of speaking is fairly casual and the conversation is spoken slightly more slowly and clearly than it would be at a native-level speed, allowing non-native speakers to have a little more time to process and think about how the grammar is being used to form sentences naturally. The conversations are memorable and don’t feel contrivedーthey feel like a real conversation you could have with someone and are pretty entertaining.
NHK World
Looking for a way to improve your Japanese reading skills, listening skills, and vocabulary, but can’t find anything beyond an elementary school maturity level? Try the news! NHK has an “easy” news site with furigana and definitions built-in and publishes a new article every day. Perfect for your morning routine. The NHK World website also provides links to its podcast series “Easy Japanese: Conversation Lessons.” The podcast is available in many languages, including English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Vietnamese, Spanish, Thai, and others.
Crystal Hunters
Crystal Hunters Manga is a Japanese language-learning comic series written by Sean Anderson (a JET alumni), Nate French, and manga artist Miyonescy. Crystal Hunters is an epic manga full of heroes, magic, adventure, and drama that even beginner language learners can understand. The series provides a great opportunity to enjoy stories at the level of language and grammar that you have already learned. The manga is available in digital format, so it’s widely accessible.
Japanese Ammo with Misa
Japanese Ammo with Misa is one of the best-regarded Youtube channels for English-language mediated Japanese instructional content. What sets Misa apart is the nuance and depth of her videosーa level of nuance that’s usually found only in monolingual Japanese study materials. While Japanese learners studying such advanced topics likely could understand such grammatical explanations in Japanese, Misa makes absorbing complex nuance much more efficient and painless.
Nihongo no Mori
Nihongo no Mori is a Youtube channel that provides grammar lessons corresponding to each JLPT level. The explanations contain a level of depth and nuance that is appropriate for each level and often include differences between grammar points that are frequently confused. In 2022, the group also released a book series for the N2 and N1 levels which contains tips and tricks for solving the reading questions, features grammar questions in the format used on the JLPT following the lessons, and the voice actors do a very good job of recreating the kind of dialogue found in the listening section on the actual JLPT.
Anki
AnkiSRS is a spaced repetition system for reviewing vocabulary (or anything, really). You can download the program onto your laptop and/or your smartphone, and also review the materials from anywhere via AnkiSRS.net. Anki makes creating and editing flashcard decks a breeze and has tutorial videos on its website. The Anki community has also created many shared decks available online, including JLPT kanji reviews, Genki I & II vocabulary reviews, Heisig kanji reviews, etc.
Memrise
Memrise’s Japanese courses range from N5 to N1. It is used for quick memorization of vocabulary, so don’t expect in-depth explanations about nuances or grammar practice. Most of the vocabulary words come with mnemonics or funny pictures to aid your memory. Some come with voice clips. It’s a great way to make good use of commute times and downtimes instead of surfing Facebook or playing Tsum Tsum.
Kitsun.io
Kitsun.io is a new SRS-based flashcard app that combines the flexibility of Anki with the convenience of WaniKani. After registering for an account, users can make decks to study or download other users’ decks. While Kitsun.io can be used for a variety of topics, it was specifically designed for Japanese learners. Learners can upload books or videos and subtitles directly into the site, so that cards can be created from whatever native material they’re practicing. Additionally, users can look up new words in the dictionary, and make cards from there. There’s even an app to study on the go! (excerpt of a review from Tofugu)
JA Sensei
JA Sensei is an all-in-one application to learn Japanese for Android. Currently, the application features 23 grammar lessons including reading passages, kanji multiple choice and drawing quizzes, 500 practical Japanese phrases, 1700 vocabulary words, and particle and counter lessons.
Bunpro
Bunpro is an SRS application similar to WaniKani, but for studying Japanese grammar. It features over 600 grammar points divided into their corresponding JLPT level. If you find it difficult to stick with textbook studying, the interactiveness of Bunpro can help keep you motivated. It includes tons of example sentences with audio, reading practice, and toggleable furigana.
Rikaichan and Rikaikun Translation Browser Add-ons
Rikaichan and Rikaikun, for Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome browsers respectively, provide instant translation of Japanese within web pages. Just turn on the plug-in, roll your mouse over the kanji or kana of your choice, and an in-browser translation popup will appear.
Links:
Subadub
Subadub is a free Chrome extension that can provide subtitles on Netflix for languages that are not already provided. Since most Japanese Netflix series do not have an English subtitle option, Subadub can be very useful for learners who want to watch some of their favorite shows in Japanese, even if comprehending the Japanese dub in its entirety is still out of reach.
Scribe
Scribe Japanese is a series of Japanese games and quizzes for iPad and iPhone focused on building vocabulary. It features 8,000 of the most common words and labels them with their corresponding JLPT level. The app also includes audio pronunciation for each vocabulary word and flashcardsーall available offline so that you can review any time and anywhere. You can select to download the hiragana version of the app or the kanji version.
Kana Invaders
If you’re a fan of old games, you’ll probably love Kana Invaders. There are many versions available online (just Google “kana invaders”), but one of the best appears to be here. This is a game modeled after the old Space Invaders and prompts the user to recognize a kana (hiragana or katakana) and type it before the kana reaches the bottom of the screen. It’s a fun way to increase your kana recognition.
WaniKani (& KaniWani)
Wani-Kani is an online service that makes learning kanji accessible. Each level—using refreshingly clever mnemonics and Spaced Repetition Software (SRS)—teaches you more and more radicals, kanji, and vocabulary. In all, there are sixty levels, which approximates 1.5 years and 2,000 kanji’s worth of content. However, even completing just a handful of the levels will greatly improve your reading ability.
The third-party web app KaniWani, helps you review the vocabulary associated with your WaniKani levels even more.
Koohi
The Koohi website is a free platform designed to help ease learners into reading by optimizing the vocabulary-learning process. It has dynamically generated vocabulary lists from native novels. The words appear in the order they appear in the novel! It also includes word tracking across multiple lists: any words you learn are marked and duplicates are removed from every vocabulary list. All of this is reinforced with customizable SRS.
Pibo
Pibo is a Japanese Picture Book app that provides over 360 web-based picture books. The app works on computers, tablets, and smartphones. There is also an option to play the audio of the story, so you can use the app to get listening practice in addition to reading practice. The pictures also help the learner to grasp the context of the story.
KanjiBox.net
This application, available via Facebook, can be used for kana, kanji, vocabulary, and grammar drills and includes testing for all JLPT levels. It focuses on functionality over design and offers reviews for all things reading-based.
Slime Forest Adventure (Kanji RPG)
If you used to play Dragon Warrior / Dragon Quest, you will probably love playing Slime Forest – a similar RPG where one must fight kanji-wielding slime. To win a battle, you must type the appropriate English or Japanese keyword. In a way, it’s much like the Heisig method, but the words seem to be a bit more accurate. The game also incorporates a spaced recognition system, as well as forced rest periods. Note: This game won’t help you with writing kanji or the readings, but it will rapidly increase your recognition. The full version offers more than the free version.
Japanese Pod 101
There’s so much good material on this website! Audio tracks of native speakers, supplementary reading materials, video series, kanji study lists, common word lists, and JLPT practice tests, with more content being added all the time! Audio tracks can be downloaded to your phone and you can read the supplementary lesson transcripts and grammar explanations as well. On the website, you can isolate lines of dialogue from the audio lessons and there is an option to record yourself speaking the sentences to compare with that of the native speakers.
Authentic Nihongo
This free resource was created by a former CIR who holds a Ph.D. in Japanese Linguistics and has years of experience working as a Japanese teacher and translator. It exists to help students of Japanese bridge their classroom/textbook learning with real-world use cases and scenarios for common expressions and grammar.
Kuma Sensei
This 6-step study plan helps self-learners to navigate the Japanese language using a variety of resources and study methods, covering material from pre-JLPT N5 to N1 and beyond. It’s a clear-cut, no-frills approach that features study tips and things to keep in mind as a learner. Another major feature of the site is its curated “master” resource list covering a wide variety of media types, such as smartphone apps, online dictionaries, JLPT study books/textbooks, YouTube channels, and more. The site also features reviews of popular learning resources.
Renshuu.org
This website is a great overall resource that helps you learn kanji, vocab, grammar, and listening. Most of it is available for free, though paid members get access to additional games and JLPT-style questions. You can choose what you want to learn and there are vocab sets for each level of the JLPT. It’s like Wanikani but for everything else, not just kanji.
JLPTSensei.com &
LearnJapaneseDaily.com
JLPTsensei.com and learnjapanesedaily.com are two websites that provide grammar explanations for each level of the JLPT and example sentences. The website explanations do not always provide as much nuance as some of the textbooks that are out there, but they are useful for accessing additional examples of a grammar point in action since many textbooks only provide two or three examples.
Erin’s Challenge
If you’re looking for a more entertaining method of learning Japanese, this is sure to please. Erin’s Challenge! is a video series of 25 Japanese lessons produced by the Japan Foundation. It is based on a situational syllabus with lessons covering the daily life of one exchange student’s experience at a Saitama High School. The website focuses heavily on listening and reading and contains multiple language options (Native-level Japanese including kanji, Kana-only Japanese, Romaji Japanese, and English), cultural lessons, and vocabulary-building exercises.
Coursera.org
Edx.org
Minato-jf.jp
Japanese-lesson.com
While CLAIR offers a Japanese course at various levels to JETs, there are other online courses which can taken for free as well. The above four websites may be a good place to start and there are certainly many more available online.
