Eng 
日本語 
It’s time for our seasonal roundup of Coto’s favorite Japanese learning resources — the fall 2022 edition. That said, autumn might be the best time to get back to your Japanese language studies. The weather, warm drinks and comfy sweaters make for a cozy vibe that just tempts you to stay in. Besides studying Japanese with a native teacher, outside resources are a great way for you to make learning fun. In this article, we compiled a bunch of learning resources, from blogs and websites to popular apps and social media accounts to follow. We even found a website that uploads past JLPT papers, as well as JLPT practice questions to prepare you for the 2022 December JLPT exam.
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Learning Blog
Maggie Sensei
This is probably one of our staff’s favorite learning resources of all time, as it keeps appearing in our weekly discussion. Maggie Sensei is a blog website that teaches you grammar, Japanese expression, and JLPT-targeted lessons. This website differs from other Japanese resources by teaching real Japanese used in everyday life in a fun and enjoyable way. This includes formal Japanese, as well as colloquial and slang words and expressions.
Website: maggiesensei.com
小説家になろう(Shousetsuka ni narou)
Preparing for your JLPT N2 or N1 test? Head over to this website that uploads novels, all in Japanese. There are hundreds and thousands of books to choose from to test your reading and comprehension skills. Genres vary from romance, fantasy, literature, sci-fi, and many more! This website is for everyone to use, and is free of charge after the creation of your own account.
Website: syosetu.com/
WasedaX
Waseda University is one of the top universities to attend in Japan. Want a taste of learning at a top Japanese university? Waseda offers free online courses in various subjects, including Japanese language courses. This ranges from various levels of beginners Japanese, and Pronunciation for Communication. In the post-completion of the course, you can issue a verified certificate for a small fee.
Website: www.edx.org/school/wasedax
Erin’s Challenge
Do you identify yourself more as a visual learner? Erin’s Challenge is a website that aims to teach Japanese lessons, as well as Japanese culture through a series of short skits. The context is the main character Erin studied a bit of Japanese in her home country, and comes to a Japanese high school. Through these skits and Japanese grammar videos, you will be able to fully immerse in Japanese culture, and see how certain expressions and slang play in reality.
Website: www.erin.jpf.go.jp/en
jpdb
jpdb is a Japanese dictionary that teaches vocabulary and kanji. Extra features such as extracting vocabulary from the text, prebuilt decks for anime watchers, and a broad variety of example sentences. An exciting aspect of this dictionary is if you are an existing Anki user, you can import your Anki database and continue your studies from jpdb.
Website: https://jpdb.io/
毎日のんびり日本語教師 (Mainichi Nonbiri Nihongo Kyoushi)
Preparing to take the JLPT exam in December? Reviewing your textbooks and notes from your Japanese lessons is a good idea. But you can take the revision session one step further by checking out this website that uploads JLPT past papers and individual JLPT questions.
Website: https://nihongonosensei.net
Japanese Learning Apps
OTO Navi: Sound Navigator
OTO Navi is an app for listening to audio material of books from The Japan Times Publishing. We recommend you use this app to improve your comprehension skills. It’s available on App Store and Google Play
Link: https://bookclub.japantimes.co.
Ringotan
Do you struggle with learning kanji? This app is for you to practice writing it, and helps you to remember how to read it as well. If you have no prior experience learning kanji, you can start out with this app as Ringotan teaches you hiragana, katakana, and 3,500 kanji characters. Ringotan also has a feature that helps you to keep track of how well you know a kanji. This means that when Ringotan makes quizzes for you, it will only be the kanjis you struggle with. In the near future, Ringotan plans to change its features to a paid app. However, users that download Ringotan now will keep the full version for free — forever.
Link: www.ringotan.com/
Patona
This isn’t technically a Japanese learning resource, but it can be. Patona is an app that allows you to create your own AI (named Patona) and interact with it. Now, Patona doesn’t actively teach your Japanese. Instead, it’s purpose is to support you by taking care of your physical and mental health.
Stressed? Lonely? Tired? Patona is there for you. This is perfect for advanced Japanese learners to practice Japanese because Patona acts as your friend. If you have trouble finding Japanese meetup groups or a language exchange partner, an AI might be the next option.
Link: https://patona.ai/
Japanese Learning: YouTube
YouTube Learn Japanese
Learn Japanese YouTube channel has videos on a bit of everything you may need help studying with. One key aspect of this channel is the individual playlists created by the creator such as The Writing Systems, Optional Pre-JLPT Studying (aka survival Japanese), N5 Level, and N4 Level.
Conclusion
That’s all for this season’s edition, but that doesn’t mean your learning journey stops here! If you learn Japanese the fun and easy way, Coto Academy offers small, cozy Japanese language classes from beginner to advanced. We’d love to hear from you and help you!
If you want to study Japanese online or in person in Tokyo or Yokohama, get in touch with us. We offer a free level check and consultation to match you with the best course.
