Japanese Ammo with Misa - If you’re a beginner, Misa’s videos are well put together, and she makes it easy for you to understand Japanese grammar.
Learn Japanese - He includes a lot of words in Anime by breaking down the vocabulary used so you can watch it without subtitles. His lessons include everything from JLPT N5 to N1.
Miku Real Japanese - Also aimed more for the beginner, her videos are cute and sort of humorous. She focuses on a lot of casual conversation Japanese and Osaka dialect and does a few video around culture (and cultural shock).
Masa Sensei- Geared toward beginners trying to go for the N5 and N4 tests. She uses “powerpoint” or visual presentations while she’s teaching verbs and grammar!
Sambon Juku - If you are N3 and above, Sambon Juku’s videos are great because there is less English and-or other languages to help guide you. He explains grammar, vocabulary, and kanji in Japanese
On the topic of Sambon Juku, YouTuber Kemushichan interviewed him on how Japanese people learn Japanese.
Culture/Identity:
Max D. Capo- I’ve been following him for quite some time now but I really enjoy his videos because he’s a little awkward but funny. His focus is mainly on mixed race Japanese identity in and outside of Japan, both in ENG and JP.
internationally ME - She focus on working, living, traveling, and eating in Japan. She seems sweet and down to earth.
KemushiChan- Her focus is on life, work, and language in Japan. She’s very proactive and kind. Her videos are especially useful if you are interested in the MEXT Scholarship or want to know what it’s like obtaining a degree in Japan.
The Black Experience Japan- Their purpose is to get rid of negative stereotypes of black people but to also share the experiences of black people (and mixed race folks) living abroad and/or in their home country in Asia.
Sunny and Chris- Their focus no longer is on Japan and is a more general travel channel but some of Chris Okano’s videos with a focus on Japan in regards to travel, culture, and identity are quite nice.
If you saw this earlier and noticed it was a giant wall of text, that’s because posting drafts from mobile seems to erase all links and other formatting in my posts. Note to self. Anyway: here’s to another set of resources.
Yuki’s Japanese TV: He’s got a variety of video content from JLPT and grammar to vocab but also topics like food and life during a pandemic. What makes his channel extra special in my book (can you guess?) is that he speaks in Japanese. He does have some in English, and others where he speaks both, but as far as grammar—it’s in Japanese (from what I’ve seen). If that sounds intimidating, he hard subs a lot of his sentences (still in Japanese) and supplies graphics to help demonstrate points, so even if you don’t understand all that he says it’s still difficult to feel lost with Yuki.
Automatic Japanese: I am in love with Asari’s channel! Most of her videos are spoken in Japanese and accompanied by Japanese and English subtitles (that she herself makes). She speaks with clarity and in a fair pace that I feel isn’t too fast or too slow, plus she’s given me some pretty solid learning tips this week. I also recommend checking out her IG!
Learn Japanese with Noriko: a podcast in Japanese for listening practice, of course. But I love this one a little more because she offers some (limited) transcripts on her site, and that makes it a little easier (and more fun) for me to follow along.
Erin’s Challenge! I Can Speak Japanese: having never used Erin’s Challenge, I’m not sure if this is an update of the old content or entirely new, but it’s here and ready to help you learn Japanese╭( ･ㅂ･)و ̑̑ ˂ᵒ͜͡ᵏᵎ⁾✩ It’s a series of basic and advanced skit videos with additional parts like key phrases, scripts, and manga for onomatopoeia. I went into Lesson 7 and found it to be, yeah–completely cheesy–but also fun!
Hito’s World: a fun game for learning kanji that I think is best for beginners–either that, or for hammering in the romaji spellings. Or at least in regards to the level I’ve worked up to. (And speaking as someone who never remembers which way is left or right–as in I literally bombed the same A&P quiz twice because I confused left and right–I really have to think about whether I need to type 右 or 左. It’s… a mental exercise.) I wish it allowed or accepted hiragana, but I know it’s a WIP. You can also join r/Hito and check out the road map.
Tobira Vocabulary: Anki deck for Tobira (obviously). Beware: although it says it’s a complete vocab set, I’ve read two comments that claim otherwise.
Tobira Kanji: includes kanji and vocab from all Tobira chapters. Another option if Anki’s not your thing (+ it may actually contain all vocab?). I’ve tried both the Tobira Anki deck and Memrise course, and I actually prefer Memrise in this case. But that’s just me.
Learning ENG & JPN: I did a lot of hunting to find this again, and I almost thought it was a lost resource—this is a blog run by a native Japanese speaker who is learning English. Posts are short and written in both English and Japanese while containing interesting tidbits about Japan and its culture.
Oshaberi Izakaya: this is a completely free way to get in some speaking practice with other learners organized by Japanese teacher Izumi Ise. They meet up a few times a month, but you’re not required to attend all meetings.
Japanese Learner Cafe: similar to the one above, this provides a means to practice speaking. The on-site English allows room for needed clarity, but this is also through Zoom and I therefore assume 100% free. If anyone decides to try it I’d be interested to know what your experience was like!
