The moment you’ve all been waiting for!
May 20th, 2009
Drum roll please!! Watch as we draw the lucky winner of our omiyage prize!! Plus, learn how to say “congratulations” in Japanese!
Thanks to everyone who entered their names into the drawing and for commenting!! We really really appreciate it!
So who won?? Well, you’ll just have to watch and find out!
Kanpai,
Kevin
Son of a….
I mean, omedetou, crystal!
Thanks for entering me! It was cool enough just seeing my name in your video haha.
おめでとうございますCrystal-san (^_^)
Omedetou Crystal !
Missed Omiyage contest but maybe next time i’ll be on time
aaron & Kevin you guys are great keep up great work.
XD the drawing was funny. i loved how aaron was moving his fingers like some evil villain.
oops. well, now i know..
おめでとうクリシトさん！
and thanks for the video. i’ve been writing おめでとう as おめいでいとう.
Konnichwa,
Hawaii kara kaite imasu.
Hey guys, I think the clips and site are excellent. Too bad didn’t have something like this when I was going to school studying Nihongo.
Well
kurisutoru san, omedetou gozaimasu,
Mo
kevin san to aran san, ispeakjapanese.net no hyouban ni omedetou gozaimasu.
*seconds Keyla* Yeah, it was cool.
Thanks for all the comments and feedback everyone!
Woot, Congradulation Crystal S.
It was really cool seeing my name.
Minna-san arigatou! I just got it today! Arigatou Kevin-kun! Arigatou Aaron-kun!
Wow it got there much faster than I anticipated! Glad to hear it got there safely. Congratulations again and enjoy!
hi kevin and aaron!
I found out about your website through your iTunes podcast, and I just love what you guys are doing
I just wanted to say thanks so much for the effort you put in for us viewers. Too bad I learned about your website after your o-miyage contest, it would have been really nice to join in. Anyway, although I know most of the information in your videos, it’s just nice to hear it explained in a casual way. Very nice job.
I’ll be checking out the rest of your website after this post… I also subscribed to your 5 day mini Japanese lesson. Consider your website bookmarked on my browser
Arigatou gozaimasu!
Leen
hi!! i’m a Japanese girl.
these videos are so interesting for Japanese.
cuz i could know differences between Japanese and foreigner.
i’m looking forward to next episode so please keep trying to tell Japanese culture.
anyway i wonder why both of you always drink.
@Noriko
Hi there, thanks for the comment! I think you’re our first native Japanese person to comment on our blog so I’m very exciting! It’s really cool to hear that you find our videos interesting.
To answer you question about drinking…Aaron and I just want to create a really relaxed atmosphere. Personally, I think learning Japanese is so much fun but most videos and information you find about Japan is very boring and dry. So we decided to try something new. Plus Aaron and I like beer
やったー!!一番のり!!
actually i was searching some videos to learn English with “podcasts” then i found this video.
i really wanted to learn practical English so your casual and frank conversation is so convenience.
やっぱり!!ビールすごい好きですよね笑
recently Japanese boys don’t drink beer because it tastes bitter so they drink some kind of cocktail like カシスウーロン or カンパリオレンジ.
it’s like a girl, isn’t it?
Omedeto– Crystal-san♪
I found this site yesterday, actually through Podcast, and downloaded to iPod. Love these video!
keep up the good work, Kevin-san and Aaron-san.
Congratulations Crystal.
I explained omiyaga to my wife and she thought it was a great custom. Unfortunately, now I have to bring something back every time I go somewhere. Those giant Toblerones aren’t cheap.
Johan Need: funny,
On anther topic. I was wondering if you had any good tips about Japanese writing. I understand how it works but it puts me off as it is soo different. Can I write in romanji for ever. Please say yes.
omedetou Crystal!!!!!!
While I didn’t win, I was just happy to see my name on the video
@Noriko
Cool, we never thought that our videos would be used for English practice, but I think it’s a great idea! Just glad we can help!!
It’s funny that you mention Japanese guys liking cocktails. I’ve noticed that more and more guys order cocktails instead of beer too. I think everyone should drink what they like to drink….でも確かにちょっと女っぽいよね(笑)
@Keisuke from Chiba
Hi Keisuke and thanks for stopping by! Whereabouts in Chiba do you live? Back when I was in college, I spent a summer studying in Tokyo and lived with a friend of mine in Maihama. It was awesome.
@John Need
Funny story John. I feel your pain
@Peter
Interesting question, Peter.
In my opinion, the short answer is yes.
But let me explain a little bit…I started out learning Japanese the traditional way (learning to write, read, then speak). But after a while I realized that as a non-native speaker, the most useful skill was speaking, then reading, and lastly writing! Since realizing this, I decided to take this approach to learning Japanese and haven’t regret it at all.
Speaking is by far the most useful thing since you can always ask someone to read something or write something for you (not ideal, but possible). After I felt comfortable with speaking, I focused on reading, and now that I’m comfortable with reading, I’m working hard on writing. The thing is, with technology these days, you hardly ever need to hand write anything anymore. And when you type Japanese on the computer, you type in romaji and just need to recognize it (ie: be able to read) to make sure you didn’t make a typo.
I can’t say that writing isn’t important (since I’ve been embarrassed many times by my inability to write Japanese very well), but I definitely think you can get by just fine without mastering it. I’m a perfect example.
@Danielle
Thanks for taking part in the drawing Danielle!
Hi, Kevin. Your friend in Maihama might be my friend.lol Joke
Actually, I live in Uryasu, too, and station is next to Maihama! named Shin-Urayasu. World is small…
Anyway, I’m really looking forword to seeing next episode!!
Thanks,
@Keisuke from Chiba
What a small world! I actually stayed in Shin-Urayasu last September when I visited Japan. I really like that area of Chiba and can’t wait to go back!
Thanks for the comment!
The world is indeed small. I also was in Chiba (Ichihara) last year. @Keisuke: How´s JEF performing ?
Kanpai
Thank your for your research.