Alright, this isn’t really close to complete at this point, but it’ll take a while before I finish collecting my various links. For now, I’ll make a couple of the categories I intend to keep and put up a handful of useful links.
Japanese Links:
These are the more interesting sites I’ve found about Japan. Below you’ll find everything from interesting Youtube videos to photo tours of Japan.
Chokochoko “Japanese Blog”
The blog of a fellow Japanese learner Squire Starsquid. It’s an interesting site that has everything from language learning advice to book reviews.
The Japan Foundation “Los Angeles Website”
I’ve been to a few different websites by now, and I truly think that the Japan Foundation has the best links available for anyone that’s trying to learn Japanese.
I chose to link to the Los Angeles office, because I found their other sites to be somewhat lacking. Still, I highly recommend this one for anyone that wants to know about Japan, or is interested in studying Japanese.
Kids Web Japan
I was given a bunch of links to some Japanese language learning sites a week or two ago, and having gone through them, this actually turned out to be a pretty good page.
While this page’s language learning section leaves a lot to be desired, it has quite a bit of information on Japan in general, and I recommend it for anyone who would like to know more about the country.
[Youtube] Posatrocible “A day in the life in Japan”
A day in the life in Japan is my favorite video that he made. I do also recommend that you check out the various other videos he has created.
Quirky Japan
This is a (surprisingly) little known page that contains a ton of interesting information on Japan. This site has everything from travel tips to useless people (or rather, useless jobs… =P). It has always been a favorite of mine and I hope you go check it out.
Disclaimer: Discretion is advised when visiting the Quirky Japan pages since they do cover things like festivals, love hotels, and other content that could be inappropriate for children. If you would be offended by such content, I recommend avoiding those sections of the page and enjoying the rest of the site.
Quirky Japan Photo Blog
Created by the same people above, this is a photo blog that covers just about anything you’d want to see from Japan. as above, I rather enjoy this blog and I hope you will too.
Disclaimer: Discretion is advised when visiting the Quirky Japan pages since they do cover things like festivals, love hotels, and other content that could be inappropriate for children. If you would be offended by such content, I recommend avoiding those sections of the page and enjoying the rest of the site.
[Youtube] Tokyocooney
Easily my favorite Vlog on Japan.
Language Learning Links:
These are various online resources that have been useful to me during my language learning. Hopefully they’ll be able to help other people too! =D
Chokochoko “Japanese Blog”
The blog of a fellow Japanese learner Squire Starsquid. It’s an interesting site that has everything from language learning advice to book reviews.
Erin’s Challenge I Can Speak Japanese Online “This is Official”
Now this one is a gem. Thanks again to Honigon, the commenter who told me about this page and I just had to add it.
Erin’s Challenge is the next language learning supplement from the Japan Foundation, the creators of Let’s Learn Japanese Basic 1 & 2, my favorite language learning product. When I got the DVDs I had some problems with the subtitles and considered it mainly useless for newer users, but this page has added them!
I contacted the Japan Foundation to find out if this page is legit, the woman on the phone assured me that this site is official, so everyone can freely use Erin’s Challenge! =D
Japan Foundation “Los Angeles Website”
I’ve been to a few different websites by now, and I truly think that the Japan Foundation has the best links available for anyone that’s trying to learn Japanese.
I chose to link to the Los Angeles office, because I found their other sites to be somewhat lacking. Still, I highly recommend this one for anyone that wants to know about Japan, or is interested in studying Japanese.
Japan Guide Language Exchange
This is a little gem I found in the links page from the Japan Foundation. I was actually having quite a bit of trouble finding a decent pen-pal site when I stumbled across this one.
I can’t talk about the other functions, or even the links on the page, but I can say that I found a language exchange partner on here. You can either reply to the ads that are already there, or create your own.
Kanji-A-Day’s 100 most commonly used Kanji on the Internet
Since I’m currently lacking a decent set of Kanji flashcards (or ones even remotely at my level), I went searching for some decent lists of Kanji to start out learning.
The Kanji are listed ascending order and have a link to the readings/definition/stroke order. I’ve also had my language exchange partner verify that all of the Kanji in the list are very commonly used.
The Kanji Site
This is another site I was linked to recently, and this is by far the best site I’ve seen on Kanji yet. The writer of this page has a great sense of humor, and has created a great resource for anyone who is learning Kanji, or wondering if they even want to.
The only complaint I have about this page is that he hasn’t updated it in a couple of years. Still, it’s a great resource and I recommend it. =D
Lang-8
This is an interesting site that was recommended to me by Squire Starsquid. As it turns out the site is actually very large, and I’m surprised I had never heard of it before.
The site’s setup is sort of a cross between a social networking site and a blog. You can write up just about anything, and the various members, who happen to speak the language you’re trying to write with, will kindly correct your work for you. All of this is done free of charge, in the hopes that you will correct other people’s work and continue the cycle.
Anime Links:
These are legal, free sources of watching anime online. Many of these are subtitled, which can be useful for someone trying to learn Japanese. *Note: Crunchyroll also contains many live action dramas from all across Asia.*
Crunchyroll
This site has a really amazing setup. Not only do they have a massive list of anime and live action shows from across Asia, but they also have up-to-date Simulcasts in which they broadcast many animes within a few hours of their air times in Japan. (I would like to note, however, that the Simulcast service does cost a monthly fee. However, almost all episodes that have been Simulcast will be available within one week of their Simulcast time.)
Funimation
Funimation is, of course, a rather large name in the business. I was actually pretty surprised when I found out that they did live streaming and I’ve found quite a few shows on here that I have really enjoyed.
Hulu
Hulu is a rather large name in online streaming, so it might seem a little silly to list it here, but I felt that it deserves mention, if for no other reason than because they have such a great variety of shows.
As an aside, for any Linux users (or people who might want to be), I recommend the Mostly Linux blog run by my Mom if you have any interest in, or any specific questions/problems with, the Ubuntu or Kubuntu operating systems.
Felirc Learning Japanese 