My wife and I are in the process of making a product for learning to speak Japanese. We have thought about what is most important for the student. We have come up with several factors that we believe are most important in order to learn how to speak Japanese fluently. One is that we teach real colloquial Japanese that is spoken by Japanese in Japan. So we won’t be going with formal text book Japanese. Another factor is recognizing the importance of situation and culture, and the influence they have on the Japanese language.

Competitive research is becoming an important factor in the development of our product. Without getting too detailed we want to differentiate ourselves from our competitors and obviously make a better product. This has meant we have looked at several competitors and purchased products.

We looked at Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone and Rocket Japanese. Which is the best one?

Well before we get into that let me tell you what we looked for in each product.

• Value for Money
• Ease of Use
• Realistic conversation examples
• Japanese cultural references
• Enjoyment Factor

Rocket Japanese

At this stage we are only recommending Rocket Japanese. I believe it to be the best product online to learn Japanese  In fact, at one stage we were considering promoting the product aggressively instead of making our own. The core of the product is the 14 and a half hours of audio lessons. The lessons cover all the fundamentals of basic Japanese – from introducing yourself to getting around on public transportation, and ordering food in a restaurants. They take a friendly radio style approach with their teaching method. At times I do feel the lessons go on a bit and sometimes the dialogue seems too scripted. However, over all the audio lesson are very good and teach Japanese you would actually use.

Each audio lesson comes with grammar and cultural notes in a down-loadable PDF format. The reference material also contains instructions and explanations on written Japanese. Even if you don’t want to buy any products I recommend you at least subscribe to their Email course. It is great value – you get lots of sample lessons. Sign up ASAP.

Pimsleur

Pimsleur claims that you can learn a language in 10 days. I know that a lot can be learned in ten days with multimedia products and cutting edge learning methods, but learning Japanese in 10 days with the Pimsleur method doesn’t seem possible.  I think Pimsleur is somewhat dated and is in need of  upgrade and update. In order to speak Japanese I believe you need a certain amount of cultural understanding of Japan. This is something missing with Pimsleur.  Pimsleur claims that their CDs have been scientifically sequenced to rapidly lock language material into your brain after just one listening and that you can absorb Japanese effortlessly without any reading, writing or computer use. Sounds too good to be true. Learning Japanese requires effort – it takes more than ten days.

Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone is the most expensive language program out there. I would probably make some good money promoting their products. They have 3 levels they individually sell  starting from around $260. Buying all three levels at once is the best option, but you will have to fork out $550 dollars. The product comes in a CD-ROM format, with audio CDs. This means it is software heavy. This can be good for some things such as learning vocabulary and Hiragana and Katakana. However, in general I don’t believe learning a language through software is the way to go. You end up stuck in front of a computer learning just the basics.  Rosetta Stone don’t provide any samples of their audio lessons on their site. You have to sign up to get a demo. There are promotion movies at their site. However, as I watched them they gave me the impression that I would get sick of using the software after about half an hour.

So if you are looking for a product to help you speak Japanese in a short amount  of time we recommend Rocket Japanese.

Thanks to the continual improvement in the delivery of high quality audio of video learning Japanese online is becoming the first choice of beginner students of the Japanese language. In fact the web is now the best source of information for just about anything, not only languages. I certainly wish the internet had been around when I started learning Japanese .

Online Japanese lessons are pretty much the norm now. A growing number of companies are offering online Japanese lessons for a fee. I have never tried learning a language using a web-cam with a live teacher so I can’t offer an opinion. I imagine it would be as good as having private lessons with a teacher, but it certainly is a cheaper and more convenient alternative. However, there is plenty of free quality content that you access everyday.

If you are wanting to learn how to speak Japanese, learn to read Japanese or just want to learn a few Japanese words it can all be done online. Some of the best resources are from Japanese websites which I will introduce to you.

Youtube is a great resource to learn how to speak Japanese. There are hundreds of teachers and students offering short video lessons. Most of them are pretty good. We have posted lots of video lesson showing you how to read hiragana and katakana. Please take a look at our videos. You can become a subscriber and be informed every time we upload a video. http://www.youtube.com/user/sodapencil

For Japanese audio lessons podcasts are your best option. There are a large number of Japanese language podcasts. Many focus on Japanese culture as we as spoken Japanese. It may take you a while to find one that suits your level. Be warned that some of the podcast hosts do waffle on.
A great resource for Japanese conversation practice is the NHK site. They have free short conversation lessons that come with the dialogue in romaji and Japanese script. These lesson are actually very good practice for the listening section of the Japanese language proficiency test.
Take a look at them at http://www.nhk.or.jp/lesson/english/learn/story/index.html

 
Japanese language software is also an other option. I personally don’t like using software to study Japanese . However, there is some free flash video showing you the stroke order of the hiragana, katakana and kanji available on the net. In fact, I have found an excellent Japanese web site that will show you the stroke order of pretty much any Japanese kanji. You need to be able to type the kanji in kanji script (not romaji or hiragana,) you are looking for in the search field. After the search flash video will start showing you the stroke order of the kanji you searched. It is an excellent resource to help you write kanji correctly. http://kakijun.main.jp/page/1364200.html

Finally, there are number of products that offer Japanese courses. Time for a bit of self promotion. We have a number of Japanese learning products that can help you with your Japanese study. If you are wanting to learn how to read Japanese – actually read hiragana, katakana and kanji in context then we have the product for you – Read Japanese.

Will you be taking the JLPT this year? If you are with have the ultimate study course featuring practice test with onscreen video tutorials taking you through hundreds of test practice questions. The product is called Japanese Proficiency Power. If you are taking levels 3 or 4 this year then our course can help you pass the JLPT.

As a student of Japanese it is very important for you to learn the Japanese writing system. The advantages of learning to read Japanese are well worth the study time. Learning to read Japanese involves learning and memorizing the two syallbaries, Hiragana and Katakana, and then about 1000 to 2000 Kanji.
Consider Hiragana as the baby of the three. It is the first syllabary Japanese learn. It is primarily used to write out things for which there are no kanji, such as verb endings and grammatical elements such as prepositions. It is also used for writing out things for which there are kanji but which do not warrant kanji to be used, such as some simple words, or writing out names without kanji. For example, my wife’s name is normally written in Kanji, but her parents choose to have her name written in hiragana instead of Kanji. So always writes her name in Hiragana.

Katakana is like the teenager constantly changing with the modern culture. It has two purposes. The main role of katakana is writing out foreign-derived words often referred to as load words which have been integrated into the Japanese language. The number or loan words is growing rapidly. The second purpose of katakana is to put emphasis on words, similar to the western use of italics, underlines or asterisks. This why you will find a lot of Japanese written in Katakana in manga. Katakana in manga is often used to express anger or surprise.

Kanji, the old, traditional and meaningful script. The wise half Japanese, half Chinese Grand Daddy. Most students of Japanese know that the bulk of Japanese script is not actually Chinese in origin. And the Japanese kanji that are in use today are merely a subset of a vast number of kanji that were in use up to less than a century ago. Ths problem with Kanji is in the “readings”. There are two readings for Japanese Kanji; one that comes from classical spoken Japanese called kunyomi and readings that come from classical Chinese are called onyomi.
The problem with these readings is that it is not always clear when to use which reading. There are no rules that state that a kanji is read in a particular way when used on its own, or when part of a word. The only real way to make sure you are using the right reading for a kanji when encountered in a context that
you had not seen it in before, is to look it up – while sometimes one can guess whether a kunyomi or onyomi is used, it is typically impossible to be certain.

Something that I think overwhelms all foreign men when they first visit Japan is the abundance of attractive Japanese. Sex is huge in Japan and it sells. There are  images of sexy girls everywhere. It is ineed hard to get through a day with out seeing a group of sexy bikini clad Japanese girls on TV, on the Japanese Yahoo home page or on some magazine cover.  Due to the Japanese diet most Japanese girls are slim. In fact, the the Japanese females idea of “being overweight” is pretty  absurd. If you are slightly over average weight in this country then you are considered fat. Also, the beauty and fashion culture here perpetuates a psychology that being attractive, beautiful sexy or cute is  just as important as the content of your personality. Beauty and sexiness have become the focus of many Japanese girls lives.  I have seen on countless TV show “idols” being interviewed simply because of their good looks Their “art or craft”  be it singing or acting is the topic of small talk – their sexiness is definitely the focus. On very rare occasions I have seen obese Japanese girls. On these occasion I do ponder how such large women or girls survive. Japan is not built for large people.
Bikini Models and Magazines

There is a huge demand for Japanese girl magazines videos and photo books which largely feature Japanese girls in bikinis or lingerie. These magazines and photo books are readily available from most book stores and convenience stores. Big breasted girls being very popular. Slightly distributing is the demand for sexy, big breasted girls with child like faces. There are also magazine that specialize in talking photos of pre-adolescent girls in bikinis and sports uniforms.- very disturbing. Like it or not there is a culture and huge demand for pretty, cute sexy Japanese girls. There seems to be an equally huge supply of young girls willing to show off their bodies at the expense of their dignity.

 
Top Ten Sexy Japanese Girls

If you do a search on You tube will will find plenty of video clips of the following Japanese idols and Japanese models

  Reon Kadena – One of the most popular Japanese bikini models in Japan. Apparently she is all over Youtube at the moment.

Waka Inoue – A very popular TV personality and bikini model. She seams to be doing more TV work than modeling now. She is big breasted and has that classic Japanese comic book (animie) face.
Eriko Sato – A gorgeous former bikini model with the most beautiful you could lay your eyes on. She is now an actress and seems to be getting some recognition. Check her out in the movie “Cutie Honey”.
Eiko Koike – A popular talent/actress. She always seems to be on late night TV. Agani, a former bikini model. Not as slim as most bikini models, but very voluptuous. She has worked as a ring side commentator for PRIDE Fighting Championships
Harumi Nemote – a”retired” bikini model. She is still one of the foremost sexy idols in Japan probably due to her huge breasts.
Yumiko Shaku – Another model turn actress Yumiko has a huge fun base. loves anime and martial arts.
Miho Toshioka – A race queen/model turned actress who has appeared in a Godzilla movie. She recently married a former cross dressing rock star.
Erina Yamaguchi – A new bikini idol. As all can say is she is getting a huge fan base with her “J-cup” sized breasts.

Mika Orihara – a race queen and bikini model. She has a cute child like voice.
Junko Fukuda – a cute and sexy bikini model. She appears on a strange late night TV show called the Miniskirt Police