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 fr...

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 ...

This is quite possibly the coolest Kansai-ben thing ever.3:54 これで死んでもうたらしゃれならへんな。Kansai-ben is an international language. You must learn it.Near the end it busts ...

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...

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...

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 call...

Learn Japanese Vocab on your iPod-like Device with PlaySayYou 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, contacte...

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...

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 Ambassador...

Particles Cover ShotThe 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+ n...

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...

This bean speaks Kansai-ben.MAMESHIBAGirl 1: そろそろお見合いとかどうなの？Girl 2: そんなの必要ないわよBean: あかんってGirl 2: え？Bean: まいど！まいど…Bean: ...

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...

Happy New Year everyone!I’m lazy and on vacation so here’s a random post.This Japanese shop in Osaka sells jeans and is hard to miss from the road thanks to the gianormous dinosaur they have set u...

Have you ever thought about translating your favorite Japanese music into English, and then singing the translated lyrics?That would be really tough right?Well this guy is doing the reverse, English i...

Hey our Twitter peep @Navarr sings the days of the month in Japanese.Nope, he’s not Japanese. His pronunciation *is* really good though.I asked the ultimate nitpicker, my wife, and she says that tho...

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.Santa P...

Burn Hello Kitty's Face into your ToastNow you can burn Hello Kitty’s face into your toast with this too-cute-to-be-owned Hello Kitty Toaster!I don’t have one of these.Probably never will…Unless...

Looking for some interesting Japanese to read but need some help to take the plunge?This Reading Tutor Homepage has a bunch of Japanese text with hyperlinked word and grammar point translation.Is this...

What better gift for a Japan-loving Osaka-friendly Kansai-dreaming friend of yours than a Takoyaki USB Memory Stick? Afterall, the best gifts are the things that no one in their right mind would ever ...