Introduction

Thanks for checking out these Japanese lessons. If you have any questions or ideas, please let me know by replying in any of these topics.

I highly recommend doing the lessons in order. Each lesson will build on the previous ones, which will be confusing if done out of order.

The early lessons might not be very exciting, but I'm not trying to cram a few cute sounding phrases. If you just want a few words and phrases that you can memorize to pretend you know Japanese, there is a post for that called "Phrases That Can Be Used in JD".
But the other topics will be real lessons, and provided people stay interested, I will keep making them. It's good practice for me too.

What are the goals of these lessons?

• To be able to hold a conversation in Japanese.
  
• To share useful information about Japan for people who might want to visit. Not facts and figures, but real advice from someone who experienced it.
  
• To be able to pronounce Japanese well.
  
• To be able to read and write Hiragana and Katakana. Maybe Kanji too if people are really serious.
  
• To be able to understand manga, anime and video games to a decent level. They do use some specialized language though.

Don't misunderstand though. As any of you that speak 2 or more languages will know, learning a language takes a lot of time.
But I'm 100% serious about becoming fluent in Japanese, and would love to be able to do it with other people that I already know.
Not only that, but my wife is Japanese, and she is happy to help check these lessons when she gets time. Also, I've been living in Tokyo since 2008, so I know very well the difference between what is taught in textbooks, and real Japanese.

If you want to know about anything, just ask. If I can't answer it, maybe my wife can.
If you want to see what something looks like in Japan, I might be able to take a photo or video of it for you.
If it's difficult I won't, but I'll be happy that you asked.
 
To make the lessons easier to read, I've decided to use this format:

1. Japanese word written in Hiragana or Katakana
   
2. Pronounciation using Romaji (Roman alphabet). This will be coloured cyan.
   
3. Meaning in English

For example:

にほん　の　けえき　は　しぬほど　おいしい　です　よ！
Nihon no keeki ha shinuhodo oishii desu yo!
Japanese cakes are dangerously delicious!

I will also use spoiler tags so you have a chance to think about meanings before seeing them. I think this will help people learn a little faster.

For example:

にほん　の　けえき　は　しぬほど　おいしい　です　よ！
Nihon no keeki ha shinuhodo oishii desu yo!

Spoiler:

As far as new vocabulary goes, I don't want to stress you with too many new words each time.
I'll set the absolute maximum number of new words per lesson at 10. Less if there are a lot of difficult words.

Here is the most important tip:
If you are going to learn these lessons, then reply to the topics with your own sentences. I'll be able to check them and help you.
If you don't practice, you will end up like me: Can understand what people are saying, but can't respond.
Don't be shy either. No-one here is expecting perfect Japanese.
Anyway, the people who are scared of making mistakes are the slowest learners.
That's why Japanese people study English for a minimum of 6 years, but most can't say more than "hello, my name is *", "thank you", and "goodbye".