I’m adding new podcasts to the TJP beginning conversation series. To see all of them, please go here. Here is #4:

Beginning Japanese Conversational Phrases #4: Food
Reviewed Phrases:
何か食べたいですか。 nanika tabetai desu ka. Would you like something to eat?
はい、何か食べたいです。 hai nanika tabetai desu. Yes, I’d like something to eat.
Vocabulary:
Here are a few common food names.
ハンバーガー [...]

I’m adding new podcasts to the TJP beginning conversation series. To see all of them, please go here. Here is #3:

Beginning Japanese Conversational Phrases #3: Drinks
Reviewed Phrases:
何か飲みたいです。 nanika nomitai desu. I’d like something to drink.
何か食べたいです。 nanika tabetai desu. I’d like something to eat.
The focus is on the ーたい which adds the [...]

念のため
nen no tame
Just in case

On the last train we rode yesterday—the last leg of the journey—Makoto, still full of energy, played for almost an hour with his cars.
He had lined up five of his cars, vans, and trucks when Yumi nudged me and showed me what he was doing.  Makoto is very neat and likes [...]

While waiting for Yumi to do some banking, Baba (grandma), Makoto, and I visited a park near the Kencho. The Kencho is 県庁 kenchou the Prefectural Headquarters and should not be confused with 浣腸—not at all.

虫
mushi
Bug

This was in front of the city hall in Fukui today.  It is too bad the bug was obscured by so many azalea flowers in full bloom.  It was a very lovely bug.

I think this picture was at the Tokyo station before getting on the Shinkansen.  It turns out Makoto really likes escalators. After going on a few of them, he started pulling us toward any escalator in sight. Unfortunately, we couldn’t simply use the escalator to get to Maebara…

This morning we went to a department store [...]

All in all this trip from Florida to Japan took 26 hours from door to door. Makoto did very well; better than I had hoped.
Getting to the airport was fine. Makoto enjoyed the many 18 wheelers, pickup trucks, and cars on the interstate. He likes machines that move, and there were a lot of [...]

We’ll leave for Japan early in the morning, but I’m about to pack up my computer and turn off the cable.  We’ll be gone for a while so cutting off cable seemed like a sensible thing to do.  Of course that means tonight, I won’t have internet.  I’m not sure how I will cope.
Will update [...]

Beginners JLPT 4 Vocabulary
Instant Download
Part 1 (of 2)

I added this product on Friday, I think.  Saturday night I got an email from a customer who ordered it here on this blog saying I had messed up the link.  I quickly fixed the problem.  This morning, I got another email saying I had messed up the [...]

From time to time I get emails asking how to learn only the spoken language.  I really have never given it much thought and have simply said “kanji is a major key to fluency.”
Today I got an email from a nice guy who had just completed the Pimsleur audio series.  He also said this:

I do [...]