How can I make Japanese friends? This is something that people ask me constantly and is something that can be difficult when learning Japanese. Even living here in Japan, it can be difficult to make Japanese friends. And having friends will help you learnt he language even faster.

So what does ukulele for beginners have to do with learning Japanese. Everything! It’s how you make Japanese friends. You find people with common interests.

The biggest problem I see with those that are having difficult making Japanese friends is that they look for anyone who they can speak Japanese with. Rather than a friend, they tend to view people as Japanese speakers. By joining a club or participating in something you are interested in, you will find people who have the same interest and friendship becomes much more natural.

Recently, I have been learning to play the ukulele and joined an ukulele for beginners group. Some of the people I already knew, but I ended up making a couple new friends as well. I didn’t have to work at it. We just started talking about ukuleles and Hawaiian music, and pretty soon we were friends. I don’t think of my friends as ways to practice Japanese, but as interesting people who I can talk about things that I enjoy.

So go buy yourself an ukulele and join your local ukulele group (that is a metaphor for joining your local club to meet knew Japanese friends)!

I have had two great submissions and I wanted to post those videos here for everyone to see. Feel free to leave helpful comments you might have and when you get the chance please make a video yourself and post it as a video response.

Learn Japanese 

Today, I posted the second video which you can find here:

Learn Japanese Video 2

I would really like to get your feedback, so please leave comments, rate, and subscribe. Let me know what you thought of the video and what other kinds of videos you would like to see.

Once again here is the video:

Learn Japanese Video 2

I have also made a new video titled Learn Japanese. It is the first part of a two part series with various tips on how to learn Japanese faster and more efficiently. You can find the video below:

Learn Japanese

I have talked about a lot of this stuff on the website, but I think this video helps sum it all up. Also, some people are better watchers than they are readers.

So please check out the video and let me know what you think. Please leave comments and give it a like if you find it helpful.

Learn Japanese

I hope you like the video. If you would like me to post more stuff like this, let me know in the comments!

Also, I will be posting more videos of stuff here in Japan more often so please subscibe if you are interested.

It’s true that not all tools are very helpful, and they certainly aren’t all equal. However, there are also tools that can help accelerate your learning. For example, Anki has the ability to help you learn more material, quicker, and better than using regular flash cards. And yet I find there are a lot of people who aren’t willing to give it a try or put in the time to set it up.

Let’s face it, there are no short cuts to learning Japanese. You need to put in the time and practice. But there are tools that can make that time more efficient. This doesn’t mean that you need to try out every single learning tool. But it will probably be worth your time to try out the ones that a lot of people (especially the one’s who can speak) use.

I have also been trying to clean up around the house and have some Japanese books I need to get rid of. I have listed them all below along with prices. If you are interested, please comment below. I will be responding in the order the comments show up so it is a first come first serve basis. I also have some special edition “Initial D” manga if anyone is interested. The books are about the series rather than part of the story and each one has a special collectors item (paper ae86, stickers, team cards, etc)

Payment can be made through paypal.

Remembering the Kana

$10 including shipping

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Kanji Power Handbook for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (practically brand new)

$15 including shipping

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Langenscheidt’s Pocket Dictionary: Japanese

$10 including shipping

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Handbook of Learning Japanese and Life in Japan

Free + $5 shipping

While I was at the beach this morning I wrote a post on my personal blog about the importance of getting away from your computer and office to get work done. I figured I would write a bit here on Japanese Words about how important it is to do the same thing when you are studying.

When I was a college student, I spent a lot of my time studying near a computer or studying while I listened to music. While this is something that most of us do, it isn’t actually very effective. The problem is that it is difficult to focus and easy to get distracted. Most of us will look up when we hear an e-mail hitting the inbox. Or start singing our favorite song if it comes on.

Learning Japanese isn’t just about the amount of time you spend studying, it is also about the quality of that time. Find yourself a nice quite spot where you won’t be bothered and can really focus. You will be able to learn much quicker.

Also, remember to take small breaks. If you study for too long without breaks your concentration and ability to learn weakens. Small breaks aren’t a waste of time, but a method to keep you studying strong.