Learn Japanese with Beb and Alex

In today's lesson, Waka sensei teaches us a very useful phrase "Kamben shite". This is used for excusing yourself from things you don't want to do, something you might find yourself doing a lot in Japan. We recorded today's podcast outside in the park so apologies for the noise in the background.

In this week's lesson Waka sensei teaches us the phrase åèåé jakuniku kyohshoku or the law of the jungle . Show notes coming soon.

In this week's lesson, Waka sensei teaches Ben and I some useful basic Japanese for phoning a friend. Enjoy.

In this week's lesson we study the verb ããã / hamaru. This has various meanings including something that you are really interested in. Enjoy.

This week's lesson covered the various uses of the word æ KI . For example: æããããã/ki ni shinai de / don't worry æãåãã/ki ni itta / I like it. æããããã/ ki wo tsukete ne / take care We covered five examples in the podcast although there are many more uses that you can find here. The podcast was recorded outside by the river. Waka sensei and I thought we would escape the confines of the studio ( the kitchen ) to the wilderness of Chiba ( the park ). It was wonderful to sit outside and hear the beautiful bird song. æåãæãåãã/I really liked it. Enjoy. Don't forget our Learn Japanese pod Facebook community and the Forums

Today's Fun Friday features a video of a trip Waka sensei and myself made to Toshogu in Nikko. More info coming soon... Fun Fridayãæåæçåãããããããããããèãããããã

This week I hung out with my good friend Daniel Edwards a music producer, composer and singer from the States. Amongst his many talents, he is also an excellent Japanese speaker. I asked him how he came to be in Japan and his tips for studying Japanese effectively. You can check out Daniel's music on his myspace page @: http://www.myspace.com/danieledwardsmusic Here are links to some of the topics we talked about: Basic Kanji Book Marutei Tsurunen

If you come to Japan it is impossible to avoid the phrase sho ga nai which means it can't be helped . This phrase along with it's more formal version shikata ga nai is used to express the concept of c'est la vie when life throws an unpleasant situation your way and you feel powerless to avoid or correct it. It's raining today, we can't go on a picnic, sho ga nai . I failed my entrance exams, sho ga nai . The entire world is against us on our whaling policy, sho ga nai . Sho ga nai has been interpreted as the stoic self sacrificing nature of the Japanese which can also be found in Buddhist teachings and their emphasis on group identity. I have to go into work on sunday- sho ga nai The ultimate expression of sho ga nai was at the end of the second world war when their emperor asked his people to endure the unendurable and embrace defeat. An unkinder and more western interpretation would conclude sho ga nai means I can't be bothered . Arguably, you cannot run a sucessful company by shrugging your shoulders when your employees are lazy and unmotivated. Regardless of whether you think sho ga nai expresses a fatalistic unwillingness to make changes or is an enlightened acceptance of life, sho ga nai is an essential phrase for students of Japanese. In this lesson, Waka teaches us how to use sho ga nai just like a native. Enjoy. Links: Kyuma Fumio and Sho ga nai

Today, Waka teaches us how to order a beer in Japan. She also teaches us how to stop your boss trying to get you drunk. KAMPAI!

This week's fun Friday comes from the conveyor belt sushi restaurant or Kaitenzushi. We sat and talked about various topics while stuffing our faces with delicious sushi. Some ginger slices and cups of green tea made it a fantastic meal. Enjoy!

My brother Ben and I hung out on the man made beach in the port area of Odaiba in Tokyo. The weather was perfect as we watched the sun set and talked on subjects from magic karaoke pills to architecture in Japan and more. Here is a list of links on the topics we covered Japandra.blogspot.com Provoice Karaoke pills Shutting out the sun (book review) Hikikomori Dave Barry Does Japan (book review) L'institut Franco-Japonaise The Fuji building Odaiba Also, don't forget to check out our forums and our Facebook community.

Today Waka teaches us how to ask people to go out for lunch in Japanese.

This week we study the word "uso". It means "lie" and that's the truth.

In this Learn Japanese podcast we look at the phrase tondemonai which has various meanings depending on the context including outrageous , unthinkable and impossible . Waka sensei was kind enough to research the various uses of this word and type up all the lesson notes for us. She also helped to record the podcast so in the end I paid her for her efforts in ramen. Enjoy.

In this podcast, Waka sensei teaches us the various uses of the verb "KASU" to lend.

a href= http://www.socialmarker.com Social Bookmarking /a Waka sensei was kind enough to teach me Japanese outside on her sunny flower filled wooden deck. This week we studied the verb Kariru which means to borrow. This is a very useful word you can use in everyday conversation. Sorry about the noisy dog in the background.

In this video, Beb tells us about the various intricacies of Valentine's day and White day in Japan. It's not just about buying a bunch of roses! Enjoy.

I hung out with Waka sensei again, sipped tea on her beautiful deck and talked our heads off. First off we discussed some news stories including whalers missing their targets thanks to the efforts of the Sea Shepard and other anti whaling groups. Apparently by the end of March, the whalers will only have caught 500 or so whales well under their original quota of 900. We also briefly talked about the Tax dodging sisters who got busted for stashing an incredible $56 million in their garage. We talked a little about retro Japanese games including Super Mario and about how I will be setting up a shop to sell Japanese goods abroad. Stay tuned for more info. For useful links for improving your Japanese check out Freejapaneselessons.blogspot.com and boostyourjapanese.com Finally we listened to some tracks from the hilarious show Sora mimi Awa (video). Viewers of the show submit songs in other languages that sound like they contain funny phrases or words in Japanese. Submissions tend to vary in quality but the good ones are hilarious including Through the never by Metallica. In the chorus James Hetfield sings Twisting Turning, Through the never . However, to Japanese people it sounds like Sushi, Tori, Furo, Nero or Sushi, chicken, bath, sleep . This show never ceases to cause a few giggles. Don't for get to check out: THE FORUMS THE NEWSLETTER

Today, Waka sensei and myself hung out in Chiba and discussed various news topics including an incident involving a man in drag turning up at a high school and causing a small riot. Listen to hear more weird tales.

Today Waka sensei teaches us about the word ãããããâ (atarimae) which has a few meanings including, obvious, of course and to take something for granted. This is quite a useful phrase that you will hear in daily conversation to express that a fact or answer to a question is obvious. It can also be used to express the idea of taking things for granted. Resources: Atarimae example sentences Don't forget to check out the... FORUMS CHATROOM BLOG And you can sign up to our newsletter to keep you informed on the latest Japanese language resources and entertainment here

Yes, yes, I know it's not Friday but I wanted to get this video out as soon as possible. In this video Beb and I talk about Rob and Makiko's wedding, music and other various things. Enjoy

Welcome to Fun Friday, a podcast where we put away our text books, relax and talk about issues on Japan and studying Japanese. This week, Waka sensei and myself talked about Genetically Modified organisms, whaling and other environmental issues and how they affect Japan. I hope we didn't get to preachy for you and we are certainly not experts on environmental issues. I just hope this podcast could be act as a point of departure for your own research and conversations on the environment. Here are some links to sites we talked about: Letter to Simon Crean of the Australian Ministry of trade to ask him to stop GMOs being grown in Australia and being imported to Japan. https://www.greenpeace.or.jp/ssl/gm/cyberaction/canola/?cyber Greenpeace anti whaling campaign Save Mr Splashy pants Campaign to stop Meiji using GMOs in their products. http://www.greenpeace.or.jp/campaign/gm/cyberaction/meiji2 The Pinky Show explains What's wrong with GMOs. And here are some useful vocabulary we used to talk about the environment: çåããenvironment ããããã éäåçãæãïäçï Genetically Modified (crops) ããããããããïããããï æé Whaling ããã Feel free to email us at mail[at]alexbrooke.com if you have any comments or responses to this. Don't forget to join the forums Our Facebook community Hang out in the chat room and the general blog

Hello again everyone and Learn Japanese Pod is back with a new free Japanese lesson podcast for your entertainment and edification. In this lesson Beb and I discussed the use of the word åã/ããã/samuiâ or cold. However, this word can also mean something is unfunny. Why? The idea is, when you hear a joke that is so bad, it sends shivers down your spine, hence Samui! . So it's a great way to tell someone not to give up their day job. Another word in Japanese that is used to describe something cold is åãã/ãããã/tsumetaiâ. Like Samui, this means cold however it is used to describe objects and liquids. Samui is usually used just to talk about temperature. For example you can say kyou wa samui or today it is cold. However you say kono koucha ga tsumetai or this tea is cold. Another possible use is ano hito wa tsumetai or that person is cold. (Standoffish/distant/unfriendly) Check out the show notes below for a full explanation and other examples. Also check out the Learn Japanese Pod Blog for general news and on Japan and Japanese lessons. And of course listen to the podcast! YOROSHIKU ONEGAISHIMASU Also, don't forget to join the forums to ask your questions about Japan and join the growing community.

Welcome to Fun Friday, a chance for us to put away our text books and talk about all things Japanese. This week Waka sensei and myself talked about various finds on the internet and TV that I have found helpful for studying Japanese. First off is The World Of Golden Eggs . It is a hilarious anime with English subtitles I found on the internet and that really helped me with my Japanese. After that we talked about Matsumoto's suberanai hanashi. Suberanai Hanashi basically translates as funny stories. In this program, Matsumoto, the famous Japanese comedian, gathers together some of his friends to spin some humourous yarns. Pretty hard stuff if you don't have Waka sensei to help you out. Finally we checked out the horror that is Japanesebugfights.com Links from the show: 1) The World of Golden Eggs 2) Matsumoto's Suberanai hanashi 3) Japanesebugfights.com 4) Learn Japanese pod Facebook community. Osaka beats Tokyo hands down community. Don't forget to join the forums and check out the chat room and blog. An apology for the sound which occasionally skipped. Gomen. I think we should have that problem fixed for next time.

I made this video just for fun and as a reminder of the many hours I have spent looking out of the Shinkansen at the countryside gliding past. I must have used it close to a hundred times commuting between Tokyo, Osaka and sometimes Fukuoka for work. It's clean, fast, on time and generally quite a smooth experience. However for some reason there always seems to be a competition between the pensioners as to who can eat the weirdest and most stinky bento. One old man opens his bento box with an expression on his face that seems to say behold, sliced boiled eggs and crunchy fishy snacks . And then another old lady will open her bento dried stinky squid, I win! . It is usually better to bring your own food on the Shinkansen on a long journey. Although the food isn't bad, it is expensive and if I wanted to burn money when I ate out I'd live in London. The thing I love about traveling on Japanese trains is that speaking on the phone is considered rude. Oh, the times I've had to endure idiots on buses in America and wankers on the tube in London screaming down their phone things like I'm on the train...no...I SAID I'M ON THE TRAIN . The Shinkansen also has quiet cars where phones have to be switched off completely. The other great thing is you can drink alcohol on the train. So phones are out and getting completely pissed is in. The Shinkansen started running in 1964 in time for the Tokyo Olympics and hasn't had a single fatality due to collisions, derailments, typhoons or even earthquakes. There was one fatality when a child got caught in one of the doors and there are jumpers too but it is a safe train. Top potential speeds of the Shinkansen would be 443 kph set by the Class 955 (300X) test train but general operation speeds are around 300 kph so I believe the TGV in France is actually faster. If you want to know more nerdy stuff about the Shinkansen you can go here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinkansen Enjoy the video. The music in the video is Muziqawi Silt by the Wallias Band . I chose the music because of the driving beat and the pentatonic melody slightly reminiscent of Japanese music. Here's to Ethiopian jazz.

If you want to know more about life in Japan, youtube is a good resource. There are more and more foreigners living in Japan and making some pretty entertaining and informational videos that are worth checking out. So I made a video showing three people I subscribe to youtube under the life in Japan umbrella. They include: atomicboyx discount sausage Tokyocooney You can also find my youtube videos here

Three posts in one day? Is it a record? Well here is the last video for you for the level 1 Japanese Language Proficiency Test.

Three posts in one day? Is it a record? Well here is the last video for you for the level 1 Japanese Language Proficiency Test.

Here is the level 2 Japanese Language Proficiency Test crammer video. Again, this is just for fun and to help you in a small way towards passing your test. Good luck!

Here is the level 2 Japanese Language Proficiency Test crammer video. Again, this is just for fun and to help you in a small way towards passing your test. Good luck!