2-minute topic: Riding the train in Japan
January 9th, 2010
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
Ending the year, Japanese style.
December 30th, 2009
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
So I got my Gaijin Card…now what?
December 11th, 2009
Hello again!
A BIG thanks to everyone who emailed and commented on the first mini-series video. It seems like a lot of you are enjoying the content so I’m back with part 2!
I just recently got my Gaijin Card so I thought I would step through what I’ve done since getting my hands on that important piece of plastic. In this episode, I will talk a little bit about opening a bank account in Japan and getting a cell phone.
I’ve received tons of great suggestions on future topics and will try to hit on as many of them as possible here in the upcoming weeks! Thanks again and keep the suggestions coming!
Oh, and please be sure to check out our official facebook page that we just opened yesterday! Aaron and I figured this would be a great way to help our community meet each other and grow stronger. For now, we’ll be uploading videos from our Happy Hour Japan archives but stay tuned because we also hope to add some new, fun content on our facebook page in the not-to-distant future!
Hope to see you there!
Kanpai,
Kevin
We’ve got a Facebook Page! Fan us?
December 11th, 2009
Hey there! Long time no see. Kevin and I have been working on getting organized so that we can start posting some good videos again. In the meantime, we got our act together and put up a Facebook page. If you’re in the mood and you’re on facebook, fan us! Talk with you soon!
Kanpai!
Aaron
Kevin in Japan Mini-Series! Getting Ready for Japan.
November 28th, 2009
Hi everyone!
Ohisashiburidesu! I made it to Japan safely, and this is my first video from my new home!
Aaron and I are still trying to figuring out what our next version of Happy Hour Japan will be like. So in the meantime, I’ve decided to try creating a simple mini-series about my move to Japan.
I know this may not be as entertaining as our Happy Hour Japan videos, but I hope the information I provide will at least be somewhat useful to those of you out there who are planning to travel or move to Japan in the future.
In this first video, I talk about preparing to go to Japan and what to do immediately after you arrive. Most of the things I introduce in this first video are fairly basic and obvious, but I plan to cover more interesting topics over time.
And a special thanks to all of you out there who sent me messages wishing me luck and for all of you who have sent in your comments and suggestions regarding Happy Hour Japan. We really appreciate it!
Until next time!
Kanpai,
Kevin
The HHJ Finale?! Big Ideas on Learning Japanese.
November 16th, 2009
As the title of this post suggests, this is our last episode of Happy Hour Japan..
…well, sort of.
We will be coming out with an HHJ replacement soon, but with me moving to Japan, Aaron and I quickly realized that we wouldn’t be able to continue our video blog in its current format. In other words, we will still continue contributing to ispeakjapanese.net (rest assured!), but Happy Hour Japan (in its *current* format) will be coming to an end.
What we desperately need from all of you are suggestions! What would you like to see in our next version of HHJ?? Please leave us your comments and we’ll try to take all of your suggestions into consideration as we figure out what to do next. In the meantime, be sure to check out our archive of HHJ episodes and feel free to re-live past episodes here on our site.
For our final episode (our longest ever!), we invited a few of our close friends to have one big final panel discussion about learning Japanese. We had a great time hanging out with them and really appreciate them coming on the show. They all have unique viewpoints and experiences with the Japanese language so it’s a must-see for all of you out there who are interested in (or are currently learning) Japanese.
Lastly, we want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have been following Happy Hour Japan! Although we will continue with a new format, Aaron and I figured this would a great opportunity to extend a big thank you to all of our supporters and viewers!
So thank you & kanpai!
Kevin
PART 1 of 2
PART 2 of 2
Toilets in Japan: The good, the bad, and the ugly.
October 26th, 2009
Thanks for visiting us at ispeakjapanese.net! Aaron and I are back with our latest episode of Happy Hour Japan.
A couple of months ago, we received an email from one of our viewers asking us to do an HHJ episode on Japanese toilets. At first we thought it might be a little inappropriate, but we’ve since realized that it’s a really important topic to cover…especially if you plan to visit or live in Japan.
We’ll talk about the high-tech ‘washlet’ toilets as well as the more traditional eastern-style toilets that have terrorized foreigners visitors to Japan for decades!
Kanpai,
Kevin
Going to Japan? Bring cash!!!
October 4th, 2009
Hi there, and thanks for stopping by!
Every time I visit Japan, I inevitably learn or realize something new about the country and its culture. I recently got back from a trip to Japan and this time around was certainly no exception. In fact, I ran into a very unexpected and unfortunate surprise when I ran out of cash while on my trip. Through this experience, I realized just how important cash is in Japan and the troubles visitors to the country often encounter when trying to access their bank accounts back home!
If you have any future plans to visit the country, I highly recommend you watch this episode!
Kanpai and until next time!
Kevin
Have fun learning Japanese? + a BIG announcement!
September 12th, 2009
Trust me. We know it can be tough learning Japanese. We’ve been there.
Lately, we’ve been getting a lot of emails from viewers asking us to give them advice on how to learn Japanese effectively. In this episode, Aaron and I will talk a little bit about our own experiences learning Japanese and what we’ve discovered along the way. Hopefully this information will help some of you out there who are struggling with the language and get you back on the right track!
Plus, we have a big announcement!
Kanpai,
Kevin
Sun in Seattle? + Commonly mispronounced Japanese words.
August 13th, 2009
You may not realize it, but you’re probably using a lot of Japanese words in day-to-day life. With the rising popularity of Japanese culture, food, and ideas, we English-speakers are getting more and more exposure to the Japanese language. Don’t believe me? How about the words “sake,” “samurai,” “mottainai,” “kaizen,” “kimono,” “anime”….I’m sure you’ve used or heard at least a couple of these words recently.
Unfortunately, many of these Japanese words are mispronounced by English-speakers 
In this episode, Aaron and I cover just a few of these commonly mispronounced words and go over how they should be pronounced. Although it’s not 100% necessary to pronounce Japanese words “authentically” all the time, we figured that it would be good information to pass along to anyone learning Japanese and to those who want to travel to Japan in the future.
Enjoy & Kanpai!
Kevin
Happy Hour Japan, Japanese Vocabulary, Japanese for Traveling
Free Japanese Video-Course
- How to accelerate your natural learning process.
- 11 Crucial Survival Phrases.
- 37 "Repeat-after-me" audios clips.
- Why apologizing is so important and how to do it without insulting people.
