Hi there,

Interested in experiencing Japanese culture? Are you seeking up-to-date information on Japan? Are you planning to visit Japan anytime soon? Do you want to teach English in Japan? Or do you simply want to learn more about the unique and amazing country that is Japan?

Talksushi.com is a Japanese language learning site. We want to make this site a fun and quirky guide to Japan! My wife (yes, she is Japanese) and I are dedicated to giving you a taste of Japan from the perspective of a Japanese and a Gaijin (outsider) so that you can get the best of both worlds and plan your next vacation to Japan!

We will help you discover and uncover:

• great online Japanese lessons
• the best and most affordable accommodation – from the big hotels in all the major cities to beautiful Japanese Inns you wouldn’t find without local knowledge
• the cheapest flights to Japan
• foods that will tantalize your taste buds
• the best places to visit for each of Japan’s beautiful season
• festivals and special cultural events
• unique cultural insight into the Japanese people
• special experiences that usually Japanese only enjoy
• and heaps more

We have plenty of resources to help you plan and book your holiday or visit to Japan.

Why Should You Visit Japan

Many thanks,

Nick & Kaoru

Whenever I talk to people about the ten years I lived in Japan, the conversation usually touches on the fact that Japanese is a very difficult language to learn because it is so polite and formal. While this is true, everyday conversational Japanese isn’t as formal as most people perceive. In fact, it is Japanese slang, colloquialisms, and regional dialects that make learning the language a challenge.

During my ten years in Japan I lived in a number of cities and smaller towns. The hardest thing I found was deciphering the different local dialects and colloquialisms. This made learning Japanese interesting yet laborious. At times I found it almost impossible to understand the local country bumpkins in my neighbourhood. Unfortunately, this meant most of my wife’s family.

Why You Should Learn Japanese Slang

Like with most languages, you’ll only discover Japanese slang in Japan. While there are books and websites dedicated to the subject, you need to see Japanese slang in use in order to understand it. I don’t think I knew a word of Japanese slang before I left for Japan many years ago. Now, I find most of my Japanese conversations are littered with slang words. My wife is so funny! She’ll be speaking slang all day for months to me and my son, but whenever she she meets a Japanese person for the first time she is all polite and bowing like a chicken.

Learn Japanese Slang

You should learn Japanese slang. It will really do wonders for you conversational ability and impress Japanese. Most Japanese slang isn’t rude language, it is just very casual and expressive language. I must say I miss listening to the many hundred’s of colloquialisms and slang words Japanese say and invent. Also, learning Japanese slang will give you a better understanding of the Japanese mindset and how certain social situations require a certain different language.

Examples of Japanese Slang

Here are a few Japanese slang words you must know. Just be careful of when and who you say them to.

Baka = A fool / idiot / imbecile
Dasai = Nerdy, out of fashion
Darui = Sluggish
Busu = An ugly looking girl
Debu = A fatso
Kakkoii = Cool

Sugoi  = Cool, fantastic, wow!

Pittari = A perfect fit
Maa maa = So so
Kusojiji = An old fart
Kusotare = A shithead
Ijiwaru = Cruel
Mechakucha = Huge / extremley
Shibui = Smart, fancy
Chikushou = Shit!
Hentai = Pervert
Sukebe = pervert

Japanese Slang Expressions

Damare! = Shut up!

Baka yarou! = You are really stupid!

Masaka! = No way! / That can’t be!

Yatta! = I did it!

Kusoooo! = Shit!

Chikushou! = Shit! / Damn it!

Shimatta! = Damn it!

Hayaku shine! = Drop dead, bastard!

Uso tsuki! = Liar!

Busu! = You’re so ugly!

Bikkuri shita! = WOW! (Total shock or surprise)

Hottoke! = Lay off! / Stop bugging me! / Bug off!

Baka!  = You idiot!

Baka mitai! = You really look stupid!

Gaman dekinai yo! =I can’t stand it!

Nani sun da yo! = What the hell are you doing?

Tanoshimi yo! = Let’s Party!

Well, that should be enough to get you started. Learning and using Japanese slang is lots of fun. Enjoy!

My favourite way to learn Japanese years ago was with Japanese audio lessons. I would sit on the train going from Nerima to Shibuya with my “discman” and listen to a Japanese audio course I had borrowed from a private Japanese school. I can’t remember the name of the course. The course was from a Canadian university and focused on polite conversational Japanese. At the time it was the only Japanese audio program I could get my hands on.

For someone starting to learn Japanese in this century, there is an abundance of Japanese learning programs giving students of the language a choice to study what they want. Back in the 90′s there was very little in the way of quality Japanese audio courses. Most of them were still on tape and cost several hundred dollars. Now you can learn Japanese for free with the many Japanese language podcasts on  iTunes and hundreds of Japanese lessons on Youtube. The problem is no longer a lack of choice, but an over abundance of resources.

The Best Japanese Audio Lessons

The old expression “you get what you pay for” holds true with most online content for learning languages. While there are some great free audio lessons and podcasts out on there web, most fall short of providing what students really need – quality audio lessons that build upon each other in sucession. For example, you’ll find most Japanese youtube lessons are just random monologues of people sharing what they know of the Japanese language. I haven’t found a Youtube channel that provides concise lessons that build on each other.

There are a number of paid programs which I have tried including:

• Rocket Japanese
• Pimsleur Japanese
• Rosetta Stone
• Japanese Podcast 101

Rocket Japanese Audio Lessons

Rocket Japanese, in my opinion, still remains as the best paid Japanese audio program on the web. The lesson build on each other and reinforce past learnings. If you like talking your lessons on the go then you will be very happy with Rocket Japanese.

The product is unpdated often and has a great support forum where your questions about the Japanese language will be answered within 24 hours by the moderators.

There are also games and quizes with the program and a very helpful progress tracker.You also learn about Japanese culture and how it relates to everyday lagnuage and conversation.

Here is how Rocket Japanese compares with other competitors.

Visit Rocket Japanese Now and Take Advantage of Their Special Offer – an exclusive Rocket Japanese Survival Kit
worth $79.90, FREE with your order!

Free Japanese Lessons

If you are wanting some quality free Japanese lessons then check out NHK World’s Yasashi Nihongo Lessons. You can download the audio and text of each lesson free. No sign is  up required. They update their site with a ten minute lesson every week. The lessons are top notch and well worth your time. Like with most things in life, we tend to undervalue what we can get for free.

Why You Should Check Out NHK World

• The lessons are free and you can learn Japanese whenever you want.
• The lessons are concise and easy to understand so even kids can learn without getting bored.
• You learn Japanese from native speakers – it’s important to listen to the pronunciation of native speakers and practice by imitating the way they speak
• MP3 Downloads – You can download lessons onto your MP3 player and listen to them on your way to work or school.
• PDF textbook –  you can read the contents of all the lessons at once.

If you are a beginner and are not want to spend any money on online lessons then you’ll find more than enough resources at NHK World.

If you have read my post Speak Japanese - the importance of verbs you’ll know that Japanese often speak with just verbs, dropping the subject or object if they are understood by both the speaker and listener. For this reason Japanese speakers can come across as being very vague or indirect to a Western mindset or way of thinking.

I still struggle to understand my beautiful, lovey wife at times.  She will often say a word or two, usually a verb, and drop all context - the subject and object. It is not that I don’t understand the word or words she says. There is just no reference for me to work out what her point is. Then I’ll have to ask for more detail to work out what she wants to communicate.  This a general trait Japanese conversation. Japanese are quite conscious of how they present or say things to avoid conflict or confrontation. It is also a habitual trait that Japanese develop at a very young age. More often that not saying less communicates more in Japanese culture.

So it is really important to learn verbs and understand and accept how Japanese communicate. Learn as many verb forms and verbs as you can. So get started on the plain form basic Japanese verbs video lesson below. If you find it helpful leave a comment or if you have any questions on learning Japanese ask away.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pyjmJqMDs8

Japanese classes are like a sushi platter – you never know what you are going to get and you’ll always be unsure of the quality of the fish. I have had my fair share of Japanese classes, both group and private. In Japan I took volunteer lessons at the local ward office, then several years later I studied at a Japanese language college for several months full time. I took private lessons from several teachers in preparation for the Japanese language proficiency test at great expense. I also did a certificate course in Japanese back home in Australia. I have done more than enough study, but I could certainly learn more.

Looking back at my Japanese language education I would have to say the majority of my classes weren’t very beneficial considering the amount of money I invested. I say this because all but a few of my teachers rarely taught Japanese to suit my needs and goals. Most of them just taught what they thought I should know or what they had to teach.

Finding a Good Japanese Teacher

Finding a teacher who can understand your needs and deliver a lesson that will actually teach you something worthwhile is something few students consider. As a complete beginner you will most likely walk away from any lesson having learned something regardless of the quality of the teaching. You will probably find the going slow and develop a mindset that Japanese is difficult to learn and just accept the teacher you have. The problem comes to light once you have the fundamentals of the language under your belt and are ready for the next level. Few teachers will ever really ask you what you want to learn and customize lessons to met your needs. You need to be pro-active in finding a good tecaher or school.

Paid Japanese Classes

Before taking lessons, especially paid lessons, you should think about what you want you want to learn. For example, do you want to learn Japanese grammar? Spoken Japanese? How to read and write Kanji? Are cultural activities important to you? You should also set goals and share them with your teacher. Do you want to study Japanese to get into a Japanese university? Are you wanting you communicate with your Japanese in-laws? Are you interested in taking JLPT? Don’t ever pay for lessons until you know what you want and are sure you will receive lessons that will help and not hinder your progress.

My paid Japanese lessons at a school in Japan were a disaster. My level assessment and induction to the college went very well. However, after a few lessons I found myself in a very frustrating situation. I enrolled to the school with the hope an intention of taking a course to improving my spoken and written Japanese. I soon realized that I had been enrolled to classes for students wanting to take JLPT levels 1 or 2. Most of my students were studying Japanese with the intention of enrolling to a Japanese university.

On my first day I was quite shocked to find out that I was one of only four English speaking students in the whole school. The rest were Korean and Chinese students. Although I made some great friends, I found myself stuck in a class with students far beyond my level who could read and write Japanese. I had only knew a few hundred Kanji and certainly couldn’t read. Most of the classes were reading focused and very difficult. I spent the majority of my classes trying to work out just the readings of Kanji. I would work out their stroke order and then search for the kanji in an electronic dictionary. Just to work out the reading and then the meaning of a single kanji would take me up to 3 or 4 minutes. I rarely finished any of the in class work in time and found the homework far beyond my abilities.

I spoke to teachers and explained my situation. I was unable to change classes and just told to hang in there (Ganbatte kudasi) and keep at it. Eventually I become so frustrated and I started skipping classes. Some mornings I just couldn’t get myself up knowing I would be spending 5 hours frustrated and completely lost with a growing list of kanji and grammar I couldn’t understand. I kind of felt like the classroom pet. And I mean the animal kind because I couldn’t understand a bloody thing and everyone kept patting me on the back offering words of encouragement. No matter how motivated I tried to get myself in the morning the day would always end with me close to losing my sanity. So you have been warned – learning Japanese isn’t always fun. Find yourself a good school or teacher.

Japanese tourists have a tenancy to say “I am sorry” during almost any verbal encounter with strangers while overseas. They are renowned for saying  sorry in the most unlikely situations. This is because Japanese have been culturally and socially conditioned to “apologize” to strangers or people they don’t know well. However, it doesn’t quite work well in English and with the western mindset. The problem also lies with the Japanese interpretation of “I’m sorry” -  Introducing SU-MI-MA-SEN.

SU-MI-MA-SEN is a great power word. This one word has three meanings. It can be used to say;”Excuse me”, to get someone’s attention, “I’m sorry”, to apologise or “Thank you”, to express appreciation.

How to say sorry in Japanese

Most Japanese take “sorry” to mean SU-MI-MA-SEN. This is the reason why Japanese will often say “I’m sorry” instead of “Excuse me” or  “Thank you”. I consider SU-MI-MA-SEN a power word because of  its versatility, social and cultural importance and colloquial nature. You will be scoring big points with your Japanese friends if you can use SU-MI-MA-SEN to express the three meaning I explained earlier.

More Common Japanese Words

Japanese can communicate a lot with few words. I strongly believe in learning vocabulary from Japanese rather than textbooks. Text books generally go into the grammar to much. It is somewhat typical and and very “Japanese” that many Japanese authors teach how the the Japanese language should be spoken rather than how it actually is spoken. Text books generally avoid colloquial Japanese and go for polite “textbook” language and grammar. Japanese Grammar is very confusing and difficult to learn for the beginner. So if possible make some Japanese friends and get them to teach you heaps of vocabulary.

The Japanese language has some single word expressions will that translate to phrases in English. These words are amazing as they can express the speaker’s feelings, thoughts and intentions without being direct. This is the real spoken language. Japanese teachers and authors will generally teach phrases with the subject and polite verb forms. This is not how Japanese genrally speak when relaxed with friends. Japanese teachers feel compelled to teach “correct Japanese” with a strong emphasis on grammar. Here are some one word phrases you would learn from your regular Japanese guy or girl.

Japanese culture – there are two cultures in Japan. The traditional culture that most people seem fascinated by and attracted to. Then there is the modern culture which is equally fascinating, but quite dark and depressing.

Traditional culture includes Japanese Tea Ceremony, flower arrangement, Haiku (Japanese poetry), calligraphy, martial arts such as Karate and sumo, Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) and origami to name a few. However, this culture is being replaced by a new emerging culture and it isn’t pretty . School bulling, suicide, group suicides, school girl prostitution, shopping addiction, loveless marriages and broken families , television and computer game addiction….the list could go on and on.

When first coming to Japan I was overwhelmed by the culture and the friendliness of the people. I am still amazed by the culture, the food, the history and people. However, after living in Japan for 10 years I can no longer turn a blind eye to certain aspects of the lifestyle and the new emerging culture. Usually I am fairly protective of Japan and try to defend Japanese opinion, but opinions and facts are indeed very different things.

The Dark Side of Japanese Culture

School bulling in Japan is reaching epidemic proportions..well not really…but it certainly seems that way with the number of news stories on the subject. It is growing problem with which Japanese society lacks the compassion and responsibility to do anything about. I think it also underscores the problems with lack of love and relationship in families. School bullying has led to an increase in childhood and teenage suicide.

More than 100 people take their live everyday in Japan. In the news group suicides are now monthly news stories. Internet suicide web sites have become one of Japan’s most morbid trends — total strangers making arrangements online to kill themselves together. Rather than searching for support services to to get help, Japanese are now looking at these suicide web sites as the answer to their unhappy lives. Suicide web sites are easy to find. Japanese people post their feelings and details of their troubled lives in the hope to find someone to suicide with. Some post include exchanges on methods of suicide and lists of materials necessary for self-asphyxiation. The group suicides usually take place inside sealed cars, where people burn charcoal so that they will die of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Japan has had a homeless problem since the economic bubble burst in the early 1990s and unemployment began to rise. I remember once offering a homeless man a pizza in Shinjuku because I was so shocked to see him eating rice out a garbage can. Unfortunately, it became all-to-familiar site and I made efforts to avoid homeless people when they approached me as I walked to my teaching job in the morning.
In most major cities you will see homeless people.

Currently in Osaka there are more than 10,000 homeless people living in the city. The majority of the homeless are single men aged in the late fifties. Most of them victims of of the construction industry, day laborers who toiled without fringe benefits to help Japan flourish in the postwar era. The recession hit contractors hard and they have been out of work for years.
Many of the homeless are desperate for a job. But there are no jobs and no hope for their future. There is also little in the way of support from the government, and no compassion from people, even family members. In fact most of the homeless are systematically eliminated from society. The average homeless man is e middle or older-aged and single. They have difficult finding jobs because companies believe married men will work more strenuously, since husbands in Japan are usually the sole breadwinners.

Japan’s homeless problem is attributed to the deeply rooted discrimination of old age- a unique aspect of the problem of homelessness in Japan. While homeless people suffer from low self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy, age discrimination reinforces their sense of alienation. This is coming from a culture that many westers percieve respects the older generation. Homless people are considered to be stubborn, inflexible, weak, and forgetful because of their age. Because they are alienated from society for a long time, they don’t expect to be spoken to.

One of the most interesting and colorful aspects to Japanese is the increabile use of onomatopeia.
Onomatopoeia are words that reflect the sound things make. And for you, the student, learning onomatopiea will be lots of fun. Unfortunately onomatopeia is rarely taught in the classroom. However, it should be becuase it is very much an interal part of conversational and written Japanese.

If you want to learn Japanese start learning onomatopeia.  Onomatopeia is often thought as children book or comic language by non-Japanese teachers and some linguist. This could be one of the reasons why Japanese onomatopeia is not taught in the classroom.

Japanese has a rich onomatopoeic vocabulary, with several thousand words to describe the various
sounds things make as in the “the cat goes mewo”. Also there is mimesis, words to describe the state
of things. For example, “the tree stood looming”. It is important to realize that onomatopoeia can be used to make both grammatical and natural sounding sentences or language. This is not the case for English.

One of the first times you’ll probably hear the use onomatopoeia is in relation to rain or water. There are hundreds of onomatopoeia to desrcibe rain and , namely how it falls and how it lands. In Japanese, a statement such as “the water went drip drip down the sink” can mean various different things depending on the exact choice of onomatopoeia for “drip drip”. One could for instance use “taratara” which is the sound of a steady regular dripping, or “daradara”, which is a heavier sound. One could also use “botabota”,which is a fuller sound and implies big drops, or “tarari tarati” which would imply it’s only dripping intermittently. One could even use “pisha”, so that it’s the sound of only a single drophitting something.

As you can see Japanese onomatpoeia is a very complex use of sound words, something which in English is simply impossible because it lacks both the vocabulary for it, as well as the acceptance of using onomatopoeia in regular speech.

One custom of Japanese culture that Japanese themselves at times despise is “giri”. A dictionary will tell you that giri means obligation. However, to understand giri you really need to be Japanese. Giri is a way of living. From a very young age Japanese are bound by specific degrees of obligation to themselves, to their parents, their siblings, and to others who touch their lives. In short giri implies the give-and-take principle in social interaction taken to the extreme in Japan. It is a concept which drives Japanese to fulfill there life’s duties as a …….well ……Japanese.

As Japanese feels morally obligated to return a favor to those who have helped him or her in some way they do spend a great deal of time sorting out their giri. My wife is usually a little peeved when she or I receives a gift of some sort because she knows that she will have to go out and buy something to “pay back the giri”. I often forget how much giri is a part of the Japanese way of life. Then I will find myself with my wife wasting time and money buying a gift for someone who I don’t really know. I often suggest to my wife not worry about giri and just accept the gift or favor without any sense of obligation to return the giri. However, giri is so infused with the Japanese way of life that one will surely feel shame if they don’t return the favor.

The concept of giri to non-Japanese seems fickle and very…Japanese. I should also point out that Japanese generally only do giri with Japanese. Perhaps the obligation of giri is something that Japanese feel non-Japanese wouldn’t understand. I must say that giri does take away the good will, thoughtfulness or happy feelings associated with gift giving or helping out. Gifts aren’t usually gifts in Japan, that are some form of payback. If someone helps you out, then you owe them.

Acts of Giri

Acts of giri include such things as sending and giving gifts, attending weddings and funerals, and avoiding actions that would harm anyones’ reputation. My father in-law is the oldest son of a large family seven brothers and sisters. This makes him the big wig of the family. He is a very successful potter and the local community “God father” (he is not Yakuza). Anyway, not one week goes by without him either going to a wedding or funeral. He also constantly receives gifts of rice, beer, noddles, cakes and whatnot from friends, distant family and business associates.

The feeling of obligation also extend to relations between businesses. Companies generally continue doing business with companies that have helped them out or provided good service in the past. They will continue business relations even if it not the the companies best interest to do so. Workers will often not leave a job that are unhappy with because of the giri they feel they owe to their boss or co-workers. Aren’t you glad you’re not Japanese!?

Yesterday, I had a bit of a blue ( an intense argument) with one of my Japanese friends regarding a question he asked a foreigner. Several weeks ago at a small festival some foreigners were selling kebabs. I wasn’t sure where they were from, but was quite sure they weren’t native English speakers. It didn’t really matter. I just wanted to order one of the kebabs they were selling.  We spoke to each other in Japanese when I made my order.

Then one of my Japanese friends happened to by walking by. Naturally we greeted each other and  had a chat. I was eating my kebab at this time. He saw I was eating my kebab and saw the foreigners. As they were working they were speaking Japanese loudly and fluently. They were busy serving customers.  My Japanese friend walked over to one of them and asked “Where are you from?” in English. The foreigner ignored the question and just continued working. I told my friend off saying he shouldn’t have asked him that question and also that he should have spoken to him in Japanese and not English.
 

So yesterday when I met my friend again we argued. He is a very good friend so we are blatantly honest with each other. We were drinking and he brought up the incident and said he had done nothing wrong when he asked the foreigner were he was from in English. I disagreed and tried to explain myself and gave him some advice. My argument was that Japanese should speak to foreigners in Japanese in Japan at first point of contact. Most Japanese assume foreigners can’t speak Japanese. Japanese will rarely give foreigner the benefit of the doubt. I also said his question was pathetic and inappropriate.  The “Where are from?” question and resulting conversation becomes almost a weekly ritual in Japan for foreigners. Needless to say you get sick of  Japanese asking you the same questions. 

 
Japanese are socially challenged and by there own omission generally fear foreigners.  This is something you will have to get used to and not take personally in Japan. It is a result of lack of “worldly experience”, and experience in communication with people in general. Japanese are poor verbal communicators. In fact Japanese pride themselves that they can communicate feelings and thoughts to family members without the spoken word.  Japanese have strong assumptions about all foreigners and are conditioned , almost programmed, to ask the same questions. At the core of each of these questions is the underlying statement – “you are not one of us”.
 
So here they are, the questions you’ll soon hate to be asked if you

live in Japan for an extended period of time.

1.Are you American?

2.Where are you from?

3.Can you eat Natto?

4.Do you like Japan?

5.Have you ever eaten sushi?
 
It gets worse!

Some Japanese won’t even give you the courtesy of speaking directly to you. Often when I am with Japanese friends if we meet other Japanese questions will be asked about me, but not directly to me.  They are the same silly “where are you from?” questions, but your friends will be asked the question instead . It is quite surreal because you feel ignored yet you are the topic of the conversation. Now, I think in most countries this kind of behavior is rude and generally unacceptable, but in Japan because of the “outsider mentality” in is common and a natural social reflex custom. Then if you point out that you can in fact speak Japanese often what happens then is the conversation ends and you are ignored.