I Speak Japanese

News

Speekit.com is opening tomorrow! I can’t believe it either.

I’m sure you’re probably wondering, “is it free?” And the answer is yes and no.

You will get access a handful of lessons, be able to ask questions, and browse all of the articles in Speekit Answers for FREE. These things won’t cost you a penny.

If you want access to our growing library of premium lessons, there will be a teeny tiny monthly charge. How tiny? $9–about the cost of 3 tall lattes at Starbucks. Plus, you can cancel anytime AND you get a free 8-day trial.

So why isn’t it 100% free?

Well, as you know, Kevin and I work day and night to keep this community together. It’s hasn’t been easy, but we love Japan and care about Japanese language learners like you.

To prove it, we both quit our full-time jobs to focus on ispeakjapanese.net and speekit.com, all while supporting our families. And no, we’re not crazy. We just care about this that much.

This isn’t a sob-story to make you feel bad. It’s just a bit of reality to let you know where we’re coming from

There’s just one more day to go! It’s free to try it out, so we hope to see you tomorrow!

-Aaron

News

It looks like our biggest secret about Speekit has leaked. In case you haven’t seen it yet, we’ve decided to bite the bullet and just announce it to everyone.

Staying motivated when learning Japanese is really tough. So we’ve made a fun website where it is actually enjoyable and motivating to study.

Wouldn’t it be great if learning Japanese was as easy as playing a game? And when you encountered problems, you could get help?

Well, that’s what Speekit is.

You will earn points as you play games and get help through our “Answers” community. You will compete with other members and earn “badges” for accomplishments.

It’s all a lot of fun and we look forward to seeing you there!

Aaron & Kevin

P.S. 2 more days until Speekit’s Grand Opening!

News

No, we’re not ready to open the doors just yet–that wouldn’t be fair :) But we are ready to tell you what we’ve been working on and when it’s going to be available.

The project that Kevin and I have been working on is a new website: Speekit.com. What is Speekit? It’s the new, painless way to learn Japanese. You’ll get to learn Japanese by exploring Japan right from home. And you’ll get to compete with your fellow Japanese language learners and track your progress.

The best part is that we’re planning to have our grand opening in just 3 days! We can’t wait and we hope to see you at our grand opening.

More details to come, so stay tuned!

-Aaron

News

I’m not going to lie. I’m really excited.

Aaron and I are just a few short days away from unveiling our latest creation. This is a project that we have been working on for the last 4 months straight–that’s 120 days of sleepless nights, about 960 cups of coffee, and 2,880 hours of nail-biting anticipation.

But it’s finally here…only a few days away. More info to come so stay tuned!

News

Hi everyone,

I’m back with another episode! After going on a couple of road trips over the last few weeks, I thought it would be a good chance to talk about driving in Japan.

As a lot of you know, driving isn’t the most popular way for travelers to Japan to get from point A to point B. Nevertheless, I still felt it would be worth discussing for those of you out there who are more adventurous and would like to travel somewhere (like to an onsen) that is only accessible by car, as well as for any of you planning to move here.

There are definitely a few things to be aware of before getting behind the wheel so be sure to watch this video if you plan to drive in Japan.

Kanpai,
Kevin

 

 Driving in Japan [10:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Happy Hour Japan

Some of you caught wind of my little accident on the slopes and I started getting emails from viewers like yourself asking if I was OK. I really appreciate everyone’s concern and thought it’d be best to make a quick little video to let you all know I’m doing fine.

I also thought this would be a perfect opportunity to talk about my experiences with health care in Japan as well as share a tip I have on learning vocabulary!

Kanpai,
Kevin 

 

 Is Kevin OK? + Healthcare in Japan and a tip for memorizing vocabulary [5:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Happy Hour Japan

I know I’m a little late, but here’s the latest video on New Year traditions in Japan

I think I’ve mentioned it many times already, but New Years here in Japan is a really big deal. It’s probably the biggest holiday of the year for the Japanese and it comes with a lot of traditions.

In this episode, I thought I would pass along some of the traditions (both modern and traditional) that I’ve encountered in my experiences here in Japan. 

Enjoy!

Kevin

 

 What's New Years like in Japan? [5:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Happy Hour Japan

あけましておめでとうございます！

I know I’m a little late, but Happy New Year! Thanks for a great 2009 and all the best in 2010!

Just the other day, I was in Tokyo and decided to make this short video about how to ride the train in Japan…afterall it is the most popular form of public transportation.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough footage for a full-blown episode, but you can think of this as the first of many “2-minute topic” videos!

Kanpai,
Kevin

 

 Riding the train in Japan [2:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Happy Hour Japan

Hi everyone!

We’re back with another video, but for this episode we decided to take a short break from discussing my move to introduce some Japanese culture. Why? Well, with the new year just around the corner, this is one of the busiest times for the Japanese and Aaron and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to tell you why.

In this episode we cover the extremely popular “forget the year” parties, Christmas illuminations, end of the year cleaning, and gift-giving.

Enjoy!

-Kevin

 

 How the Japanese end the year [11:44m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Happy Hour Japan