Posted on 18 September 2011.
CONTRIBUTED BY ERIN SCHALK Miyawaki Store Shortly after moving to Okinawa, I began to experience severe book withdrawal. My husband and I are not keen on recreational shopping, but while in the States, we did enjoy browsing around the local Barnes & Noble or Half Price Books during our free time. In an age of [...]
Posted in Books, Film, Music, Japanese Language0 Comments
Posted on 19 May 2011.
CONTRIBUTED BY ERIN SCHALK This is the last in a series on learning Japanese on your own. Click for Part I or Part II. TextFugu.com: Don’t panic! Just because there is “fugu” in the name, doesn’t mean consuming potentially poisonous fish is necessary for furthering your Japanese studies! TextFugu is actually a Japanese textbook – online. [...]
Posted in Japanese Language4 Comments
Posted on 12 May 2011.
CONTRIBUTED BY ERIN SCHALK We are continuing a series on self-taught Japanese. To read Part I, click HERE. Rosetta Stone vs. Mango Languages: We have all seen plenty of Rosetta Stone advertisements and know of its large price tag. As military families, we can (thankfully!) avoid that cost by registering for an account through the [...]
Posted in Japanese Language5 Comments
Posted on 09 May 2011.
CONTRIBUTED BY WENDELL JOHNSON Though I had been on this wonderful island for a year and a half, I had little ability to speak in Japanese to make a conversation. I knew basic complimentary phrases but could not engage in some meaningful dialogue. Several Americans and Okinawians informed me that to speak Japanese fluently takes [...]
Posted in Adult Programs & Classes, Japanese Language4 Comments
Posted on 05 May 2011.
CONTRIBUTED BY ERIN SCHALK This is the first of a three part series provided by one of our readers. Stay tuned for Part II & III on the next couple of Thursdays! I am avidly trying to learn Japanese. I think that my “hobby” may be verging on an obsession. I find myself desperately searching [...]
Posted in Japanese Language6 Comments
Posted on 20 April 2011.
CONTRIBUTED BY KARA LESPERANCE I keep reading the posts on all the great restaurants to eat at all over Okinawa, and I get very excited to try the new foods. But I keep seeing one reoccurring problem that I think may keep people from trying out a new place, the language barrier. Now, I have [...]
Posted in Japanese Language, Restaurants5 Comments
Posted on 13 March 2011.
CONTRIBUTED BY LEAH MAGID At the ripe old age of 40, I finally started carrying a purse. My previous reasoning for just jamming a wallet in my pocket (causing a need to carefully plan clothing assembly each day) was that I would just lose a purse. It had happened before, back in my early twenties, [...]
Posted in Books, Film, Music, Cooking Local, Japanese Language, Nani kore? (What's that?!)5 Comments
Posted on 19 November 2010.
CONTRIBUTED BY MARTHA You've driven by one or several of them. The baby blue sign with Roman letters spelling out "Kumon", but the O is an ambivalent-face. Boisterous Okinawan kids head in and out with their blue and yellow Kumon messenger bags. Perhaps you wonder what is going on in there. Or maybe you're better-informed [...]
Posted in Japanese Language5 Comments
Posted on 07 August 2010.
CONTRIBUTED BY KATHERINE MOORE Whenever I go out with friends, they quiz me about eating out in Japan. Some of them are more concern with etiquette, while others are just for fun and good to know kind-of-stuff. To give you some ideas, here are some things I think it would be nice for you to [...]
Posted in Japanese Language, Just in Japan3 Comments
Posted on 20 July 2010.
CONTRIBUTED BY KATHERINE MOORECounting in Japanese is easier than you think. You can actually count up to 99 by just memorizing the first 10 numbers. So here is how it goes:One IchiTwo NiThree SanFour Shi or YonFive GoSix RokuSeven Nana or ShichiEight HachiNine KyuTen JuOnce you memorized these 10 numbers, all you have to do is [...]
Posted in Japanese Language2 Comments
