Japanese learning blog
Practical guides on speaking, grammar, pronunciation, listening, and study planning, written for learners who want to use Japanese in real life.
All articles · Page 83
Ōkunoshima Guide: Rabbit Island, Its Wartime Past and Japanese to Use
Ōkunoshima is a small island in the Seto Inland Sea where hundreds of free-roaming rabbits hop out to meet each ferry. It is also the site of a secret wartime poison gas factory, whose ruins still stand among the trees. A day here pairs a gentle, happy visit with a sobering history, and the Japanese you need is short, practical and mostly about rabbit food.
11 min readOnomichi Guide: Temple Walk, Senkō-ji Ropeway and Japanese to Use
Onomichi is a hillside port town in eastern Hiroshima Prefecture, where narrow lanes and stone steps climb between temples to a view over the Seto Inland Sea. Ride the ropeway up, walk the temple lanes down, and finish with a bowl of Onomichi ramen, asking for directions in Japanese at every turn.
11 min readKurashiki Bikan Guide: Canal Boats, Storehouses and Japanese to Use
Kurashiki's Bikan Historical Quarter is a canal lined with willows and white-walled merchant storehouses, a short walk from the station and free to wander. Ride a small boat along the canal, visit one of Japan's oldest museums of Western art, and practise the Japanese for buying a boat ticket on the day.
11 min readKōraku-en Guide: Okayama's Great Garden, Castle Views and Japanese to Use
Kōraku-en is Okayama's great stroll garden, one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan, with wide lawns, a winding stream and the black keep of Okayama Castle rising over the trees. It asks a small entry fee and is an easy walk or tram ride from the station, and its signs make a gentle first lesson in garden vocabulary.
11 min readIzumo Taisha Guide: Four Claps, Giant Shimenawa and Japanese to Use
Izumo Taisha is one of Japan's oldest and most important shrines, dedicated to the deity of good relationships and famous for the giant straw rope over its Kaguraden hall. The grounds are free, the prayer uses four claps instead of two, and it is the perfect place to ask a shrine attendant a polite question in Japanese.
11 min readMatsue Castle Guide: Original Keep, Moat Boats and Japanese to Use
Matsue Castle is one of only twelve castles in Japan whose keep has survived since the Edo period, a dark, weathered tower above a city of canals and lakes. Climb its steep wooden stairs, ride a low boat round the moat, and practise the Japanese for tickets, boats and the way to the samurai street.
11 min readAdachi Museum of Art Guide: Japan's Top Garden, Taikan and Japanese to Use
The Adachi Museum of Art, in the countryside of Shimane, pairs a collection of modern Japanese painting with gardens that have been ranked the best in Japan year after year. You view the gardens from inside the building, like living paintings framed by the windows, and the few sentences you need are about photos, tea and the free shuttle bus.
11 min readTottori Sand Dunes Guide: Uma no Se, Sand Museum and Japanese to Use
The Tottori Sand Dunes are Japan's great coastal dunes, a sweep of sand between green hills and the Sea of Japan, free to walk and twenty minutes by bus from Tottori Station. Climb the ridge called Uma no Se, look out over the sea, and practise the Japanese for buses, distances and washing the sand off your feet.
11 min readNaoshima Guide: Art Island Museums, Ferries and Japanese to Use
Naoshima is a small island in the Seto Inland Sea that has become one of the world's great places to see contemporary art in a landscape. Most of its museums now work on timed online reservations, so a good visit is planned around ferry times, booking slots and a few useful Japanese phrases.
14 min readRitsurin Garden Guide: Takamatsu's Lord's Garden and Japanese to Use
Ritsurin Garden in Takamatsu is one of the finest strolling gardens in Japan, built over more than a century for the lords of the Takamatsu domain and still tended pine by pine. A boat ride on the South Pond, a bowl of matcha in a lord's tea house and a few polite questions in Japanese make it a perfect half-day on Shikoku.
12 min readKotohira-gū Guide: Konpira-san's 785 Steps and Japanese to Use
Kotohira-gū, known affectionately as Konpira-san, is a great shrine of sailors and travellers reached by 785 stone steps up a wooded mountain in Kagawa. The climb, the views and the famous yellow good-luck charm make it one of Shikoku's classic day trips, and a perfect place to practise shrine Japanese.
12 min readShimanami Kaidō Guide: Island-Hopping Bike Ride and Japanese to Use
The Shimanami Kaidō is a road of bridges that hops across six islands of the Seto Inland Sea between Onomichi on Honshū and Imabari on Shikoku, with a dedicated cycle route of about 70 kilometres. It is one of the great bike rides of the world, and every rental counter, ferry pier and café stop along the way is a chance to use your Japanese.
12 min readPractical guides
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