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Welcome to the first Learn Japanese Pod Magazine

ようこそWelcome

Welcome to the first monthly issue of the new Learn Japanese Pod Magazine. This has information about studying Japanese, traveling in Japan and anything else that floats onto our awesome radar that we would love to share with you. You can expect to find the following regular features:

- The latest news from Learn Japanese Pod.com- Japanese language lessons

- Japan travel and event guide

-Reviews of hotels, restaurants and products in Japan

- Japanese tech, including what’s hot online and apps for learning Japanese

- Interviews and more!

Remember, you can subscribe to this magazine via our email newsletter or by going to the main site and clicking on the link to our newsletter download page.

As this is our first magazine, we would love to hear your comments, ideas and feedback. See details at the bottom of this page to contact us.

ニュースLatest News

Japanese Study resourcesWe’ve just released some new posts on the main website with links to Japanese study

resources. These include 10 Great Text Books for Studying Japanese and 10 Great Japanese Cheat Sheets . We recommend these resources to students from elementary to upper intermediate levels in order to widen their repertoire and input of Japanese materials and media. These articles cover not only online content but also printed textbooks, as we believe it is good to tear yourself away from your computer screen once in a while.

One more related article is Japanese Language Learning Links and Resources, which has a larger and more comprehensive list of websites, dictionaries and applications.

連絡Contact Us

We’d love to hear about you and what’s on your mind. If you have any questions, comments or ideas concerning this magazine, the website or the podcast, please get in touch with us at the following addresses: Twitter: @japanesepodcastEmail: info@learnjapanesepod.comFacebook: Learn Japanese Pod Facebook group

CONTENTS

1 NEWSA welcome and the latest news from Learn Japanese Pod

2 JAPANESE LESSONThis month’s Japanese lesson is aimed at the first-time visitor to Japan. We have one lesson on basic restaurant Japanese and another with basic survival kanji.

3 INTERVIEW Wes Lang, an expert mountain climber shares some of his favorite hikes in Japan as well as some advice for the first-time hiker in Japan.

4 TECH AND EVENTSWe have some great information on new iPad travel apps, July events and shopping for goods from Japan.

LEARN JAPANESE POD MAGAZINE NO.1 JULY 2011

INFO@LEARNJAPANESEPOD.COM http://LearnJapanesePod.com

日本語のレッスンRestaurant Japanese

This is a lesson on how to order food and drink at a restaurant in Japan. This includes some useful phrases you might hear and use in an izakaya, which is a traditional Japanese style pub.（居酒屋 - いざかや - izakaya）

1) First off, you should check if there are any available seats when entering the restaurant. A good phrase for this might be:

席空いてますか

seki aite masu kaAre you full? (Do you have any free seats?)

2) If the restaurant is full, the staff might say:申し訳ありませんが只今満席です。

moushi wake arimasen ga tadaima manseki desuI’m very sorry but at the moment we are full.

3) If they do have seats, you will most likely be asked: 何名様ですか nanmei sama desukaHow many are there in your party?

4) To which you can reply the following:

一人 hitori One person

二人 futari Two people

三人 sannin Three people

四人 yonnin Four people

五人 gonin Five people

漢字の基礎Basic Kanji for Survival

Kanji can understandably be a little intimidating for those starting out in Japanese. Basic literacy for reading books, magazines and newspapers requires knowledge of 1,000s of kanji. Even if you are just visiting for a short trip and want to find your way around town or order food at a restaurant, it can all seem a little daunting. Well, fear not because we have compiled this mini cheat sheet to teach you the most basic and commonly used kanji for basic survival in Japan.

交番 - kouban - police box

地下鉄 - chikatestu - subway

病院 - byouin - hospital

コインロッカー coin locker (OK, not kanji, but very useful! )

入口/出口 - iriguchi / deguchi - entrance / exit

お手洗 - otearai - bathroom

男性 / 女性 - dansei / josei - men / women

駅 - eki - station

北、南、東、西 - kita, minami, higashi, nishi - north, south, east,

west (These will help you with station exits and maps.)成田空港 - Narita kuukou - Narita Airport

羽田空港 - Haneda kuukou - Haneda Airport

引く / 押す - hiku / osu - pull - push

立入禁止 - tachiiri kinshi - do not enter

両替所 - ryougaeho - money exchange counter

為替相場 - kawase souba - exchange rate

円 - en – yen

A DICTIONARY OF INTERMEDIATE JAPANESE GRAMMAR

A GREAT JAPANESE GRAMMAR BOOKA Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar is a great addition to your Japanese study materials. It includes comprehensive coverage of Japanese grammar with well-written explanations and natural sentence pattern examples.

This book is good for low intermediate to advanced students of Japanese and covers most bases in terms of what you will need to know for both written and spoken communication in Japanese. It should also help those wanting to study for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test.

Link: A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar

LEARN JAPANESE POD MAGAZINE NO.1 JULY 2011

INFO@LEARNJAPANESEPOD.COM http://LearnJapanesePod.com

InterviewHiking in Japan with WesAn interview with an expert mountaineer in Japan

What are your top 10 tips for people who are new to

hiking in Japan?

First off, bring a camera. Not only for capturing the scenery, but also for documenting the latest fashion victims: young ladies with down skirts, black tights and gaudy tights, old geezers with flannel shirts and fishing vests. Hiking in Japan these days seems to be more about fashion than anything else.

Number two, carry plenty of water. You can never tell if the water source marked on the map will actually be there, and if it is, whether or not it’s actually safe to drink.

Three, as with anywhere, pick up rubbish. Always try to bring back more than you started with. It’s appalling to see the amount of discarded candy wrappers strewn about.

Four, I would avoid Mt. Takao if possible as it gets super busy, especially on weekends. If you do want to go hiking west of Tokyo, then Mt. Mitake or Okutama might be a better choice.

Five, start late. Instead of setting off at 3am, why not have a lie-in and hit the trail around 1 or 2pm? Remember, it doesn’t really get dark until 7:30pm, and you can always bring a torch. There’s a better chance at seeing wildlife later as well.

Six, don’t be scared of bears. Honestly, your chances of encountering one are next to nil, so leave the annoying bells and shortwave radios at home! Older Japanese hikers love bringing those along on hikes.

Seven, know the lingo. Don’t forget the konnichiwas and other useful words, such as atsui (hot), kitsui (steep, or hard), raku (easy) and kirei (beautiful).

Eight, do loop hikes. While not always possible, you should try to help stop erosion by either taking an alternative trail back to the start, or by starting and ending in two different places.

Nine, don’t climb a mountain more than 1,000 times. It sounds silly, but there are some idiots out there trying to climb the same mountain more than 10,000 times. No really, there are!

And finally ten, leave the booze at home. You’d be surprised how many people bring alcohol on a hike, which can be pretty dangerous.

Could you recommend some good hikes for hikers new

to Japan?

Well, if you want some relatively easy and beautiful hikes, I guess I would recommend the following:

Kaimon-dake in KyushuMt. Ishizuchi in ShikokuMt. Ryozen in KansaiMt. Tanigawa in KantoDaisetsuzan in Hokkaido

Just be well prepared and be careful of the typhoon season or blizzards in the winter.

As the summer months are upon us, many people will

be hiking up Mount Fuji. Do you have any advice regarding that?

Just make sure you are prepared with enough food, water and warm clothing, as it gets cold on the top. However to be honest with you, I don't really recommend climbing Mt. Fuji. There are way too many people and there's no vegetation on the peak. It's much better to go somewhere like Kawaguchi-ko and climb Mt. Kuro or go to Lake Motosu and climb Mt. Ryuu instead.

Where can I find out more about hiking and get

information on specific trails in Japan?

You can check out my website, which has information on all the hikes I have done in Japan. You’ll also see a list of my favorite hiking blogs and resources for those who want to get out and explore the Japanese countryside. You can find my blog at: http://japanhike.wordpress.com/

LEARN JAPANESE POD MAGAZINE NO.1 JULY 2011

Sponsored link: MorinoLodge.com

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TechiPad Travel Apps

If you are interested in photography and traveling in Japan, we’ve been working on a set of new iPad apps. Each app includes over 100 high-resolution photos of various travel destinations of interest throughout Japan. They also include descriptions of the locations with GPS maps. This should hopefully give you a little inspiration when planning a trip. Alternatively, if you want to stay home and just enjoy the scenery, this would be a great app for you.

We have now completed apps for Nara, Kyoto, Kobe and Osaka. Each app is $0.99 and is available from iTunes.

EventsJapan in July

It’s summer in Japan and that means hanabi (fireworks), matsuri (festivals) and drinking beer in yukata. Here are some of the major events happening in July 2011.

SeasonalRainy Season: early June-mid JulyMt.Fuji climbing season: July 1-August 1Seishun 18 Kippu: late July through to early September

Festivals Tanabata Festival 7th JulyFukuoka: Hakata Gion Yamakasa July 15Kyoto: Gion Matsuri July 16-17Osaka: Tenjin Matsuri July 24-25

SportsNagoya Sumo Tournament July 10-24

HolidaysMarine day 3rd Monday, July 18Fuji Rock July 29, 30, 31

ShoppingJapan Goods Finder

For those of you who have ever wished you could get your hands on that elusive, Japan-only toy, fashion item, manga, or anything else, we have just the service for you. Japan Goods Finder not only sells some of the most sought-after Japanese

products on its shopping site, it also offers a personal shopping service for customers outside of Japan.

Just fill in the online request form and an agent will get back to you with a free price quote. Once payment has been made (via credit card or PayPal), the agent will then personally visit the retailer in Tokyo and buy your item just for you, before carefully packing it and sending it on. Once it arrives on your doorstep, you will be the proud owner of something that once would have required a plane ticket to Japan to purchase, and you'll be the envy of your friends. Japan Goods Finder's rates are extremely reasonable, so be sure to check the the service today.

美味しい和食GREAT JAPANESE FOODThis photo was taken at Watami in Ginza, Tokyo, which is part of a chain of izakaya restaurants located throughout Japan.

Izakaya are a great way to sample a wide variety of good Japanese food for the first time. Depending on what time of year you go, the menus will change seasonally to reflect the best seafood and vegetables on offer.

This picture features a variation of the American style sushi roll with tuna on top of a cucumber and seaweed roll. This was served with soy sauce and wasabi. Absolutely delicious.

LEARN JAPANESE POD MAGAZINE NO.1 JULY 2011

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