Tofugu

May I present before you some new Japanese learning resources? I may?! Excellent, because last month had some real hits! Let's get right down to it.

JLPT Stories

Onomatopedia

Bunpo: Android

Kanjikai

The Japanese counter 発 (はつ) is the counter for shots, hits, punches, and many, many more. So many, that we've dedicated most of this article to showing you just how many loud, smacking thwacks 発 can be.

Before we get into usage, take a look at the table below to learn how to pronounce numbers + 発. (And if this is your first time learning about counters, check out our beginner's guide.)

Pronunciation of the Japanese Counter 発

How to Use the Counter 発

Gun and Cannon Shots

Missiles and Bombs

Motors and Engines

Arrows and Darts

Superpowers

Direct Attacks

Sports Shots

Bodily and Other Emissions

Other Types of "Shots"

Idioms

Blam! That's All, Folks

The Japanese counter 基 (き) is generally used to count big, hard-to-move installments—anything from fireplaces and statues to industrial machinery and even tombs and pyramids.

But wait a minute. There are a TON of large objects that you can't push by hand out in the world.

And we're going to go over all of them.

First, take a look at the table below to learn how to count with this counter. (Or if this is your first time learning about counters, check out our beginner's guide.)

Pronunciation of the Japanese Counter 基

How to Use the Counter 基

Graves and Tombs

Remains, Relics, and Ruins

Shinto and Buddhist Installments

Garden and Yard Items

Park or Public Space Installations

Lighting

Factory Machines

Power Plant Reactors and Generators

On-Site Transportation

Ocean Structures

River Structures

Large Screens

Large Tanks

Fish Fins

Towers

Foundations

Flying Vehicles

Large Indoor Installations

Other Installations and Structures

Installation Complete!

April showered us with tons of lovely new Japanese learning resources. We have an amazing selection: new apps, new shows, new games—even a brand-new social media platform just for Japanese speakers! (Whaaaat?!) Let's go!

和日帳: Wanicchou

Jishonari

日本語人: Nihongozin

Rilakkuma and Kaoru

少年ジャンマガ学園

Hiragana Easy

npckc games

Let's start with a riddle: what do a rice cooker, a golfing green, and a bra have in common? That's right—they all have cups! The Japanese counter カップ (かっぷ) is a gairaigo, or loanword, from English. As you can probably guess, the original English word is "cup."

The カップ counter counts a lot of different kinds of cups. Before we dip into them all, let's start by learning to pronounce it when it's paired with a number. Since カップ is a gairaigo counter, it can be counted using either the gairaigo or kango counting methods.

March has passed, but it left behind some fantastic new Japanese learning resources in its wake. In addition to the helpful apps and websites that usually grace our screens, we also found a conversational podcast and a book about kanji! Let's check them out.

Let's learn Japanese from small talk!

The Kanji Code

Niai

Benkyou

Kana - Hiragana and Katakana

Decks (Memrise)

Terrace House: Opening New Doors, Part 6

Ainori: Love Wagon: Asian Journey, Season 2

"Notice me, senpai!"

You've probably seen this phrase floating around the Internet. It took hold in 2012 and introduced many people outside Japan to the word 先輩 (せんぱい), as well as its counterpart, 後輩 (こうはい). It became a popular meme, shortly after the word tsundere did the same.

To most Japanese people, however, this "senpai sensation" was a surprise. To them, "senpai" doesn't necessarily carry any idolizing/romantic connotation. In fact, the senpai/kōhai relationship exists in almost all facets of Japanese life—far beyond the anime-high-school arena.

In this article you'll learn the real meaning behind senpai and all the different ways to use it, taking into account its cultural and social underpinnings. And pay attention—if you visit or live in Japan, you may find yourself having a senpai… or a kōhai. Without reading this article, you may not know how to address them, or even be able to tell which one you are!

Thanks to the popularity of sports like judo and karate, 先生 (せんせい) is a Japanese word people all over the world use in place of "teacher." If you take Japanese classes at a school or online, you probably call your teacher "sensei" there too.

But the word "sensei" is much more than simply a synonym for "teacher"—otherwise I'd stop writing this article right now! Besides your judo master Sensei Jeff and your Japanese instructor Yoshida-sensei, there are other people who deserve the title sensei.

To give you a clearer picture of who a sensei really is, I'll teach you using actual examples. By the end, you'll be able to use the word better than everyone else in your Japanese/judo class!

February has come and gone, and it proved to be a wonderful month for new Japanese learning resources! We have some excellent quality of life extensions, websites, and a ton of apps for you to peruse.

LLN: Language Learning with Netflix

Japanese Lookup Helper

Level Up Lingo

Japanese Conjugation City

Kanji Narau

Kaku: Japanese OCR Dictionary

JapaneseTab

In English, when you refer to yourself, you use "I," "me," "myself," and… not much else.

But what about in Japanese? Some scholars say that including all its regional differences and euphonic changes, Japan has more first-person pronouns than any other language.

Why does Japanese have so many 一人称代名詞 (first-person pronouns)?

Japanese pronouns convey different levels of formality, femininity, masculinity, and other bits of subtext—even hierarchy and figurative distance. How you refer to yourself in a given situation helps communicate your personality too. Do you want to sound polite? Modest? Cute? Do you want to sound like your favorite samurai anime character? The choice is yours—and this article will help you make a better, more personal choice.

Happy Year of the Boar! I hope all of you are ready for a new and wonderful year of fuzzy pigs with tusks. 🐗

After a dreadful December, we're back this month to give you a little insight into our top picks for the new Japanese learning resources that came out in January. We found some games and apps you might want to check out.

Atelier Sentô Games: The Doll Shop

No Fluff: Katakana

Late Shift

iTranslate Lingo

I was in Aichi Prefecture, about a thirty-minute train ride from Nagoya Station, on my way to visit the Momotarō Shrine when, on a whim, I got off at Inuyama Yuen Station. As I emerged, a colorful, flashy, psychedelic building jumped out at me. My first words were: "What the rainbow land?!"

The building was painted in the style of Tadanori Yokoo, one of most important graphic designers and artists to emerge out of Japan post-World-War-II. I went to check it out—I had to!—and found a quirky, art-filled karaoke spot: the Million Dollar Café.

I actually hesitated a little before opening the door, but a sign said 営業中 (えいぎょうちゅう)—"Open"—so I forced myself inside. I'd thought for a moment it would probably be just a normal café, but I was a million percent wrong.

Located thirty minutes from Toyota City in the Okuramachi mountains in Aichi Prefecture, the temple complex Iwatoyama Kanzeonji (岩戸山観世音寺) is a historic religious site with a main temple, built in 1178, and a few smaller temples. There's also a cave, called Fūtendō (風天洞), named for the Japanese god of wind, and surrounding grounds, which serve as a kind of outdoor gallery for hundreds and hundreds of religious carvings and sculptures.

I visited Iwatoyama Kanzeonji for the first time with a friend and her little boy. After parking at the foot of a small mountain, we were welcomed by figures of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, that lined the path from the entrance. Even though no other visitors were around, we felt the stillness broken by so many statues, which seemed to stare at us as we climbed the hill.

Built more than eight hundred years ago, the Iwatoyama Kanzeonji, like many Japanese temples, has an interesting history. It was closed for many years, but re-opened in 1978 with more statues than you can count—every one of which seemed to be along our path.

Do you like trendy shopping? How about cool architecture? Are you interested in Japanese history? In trains?

If you answered "yes" to any (or all) of these questions, you'll want to visit mAAch ecute Kanda Manseibashi, a historic Tokyo train station built under a railway bridge that's been converted into a modern shopping mall. Yes, you read that correctly, and it's as fascinating as it sounds. Rarely overcrowded, always changing, and centrally located in busy Akihabara, mAAch ecute is an unexpected treat—and a well-kept secret.

First, though, a little history. The giant red brick Manseibashi viaduct that hugs the Kanda River in Akihabara was constructed in 1912 as the Manseibashi Train Station, which for many years served as an important hub for Tokyo transit. It was designed by Mr. Tatsuno Kingo (辰野金吾), who also designed Tokyo Station, built two years later—Manseibashi is sometimes referred to as the "older brother" (お兄さん) of Tokyo Station. Manseibashi burned down in 1923 following the Great Kantō Earthquake, was rebuilt, and (while still functioning as a train station) housed a transportation museum starting in 1936. In the early 1940s, as the Pacific War was growing more serious, the number of passengers decreased significantly, and the station closed in 1943.

Fast-forward seventy years to 2013, and Manseibashi Station has re-opened as a fully modern commercial retail space, with incredible architecture, interesting cafés and shops, and enough of its historical past still on display to make it interesting and quirky. For those in the know, mAAch ecute is a low-stress gathering spot for discerning shoppers, railway nerds, and historians keen on Japanese architecture.

From the moment it opened in 1928 on a quiet side street in Ginza, Bar Lupin was a gathering place for Japanese literati. In an era when Ernest Hemingway, Picasso, Gertrude Stein, and others were hanging out at La Rotonde in Paris, Lupin was a hub for writers such as Satomi Ton, Izumi Kyōka, Kikuchi Kan, and other well-known Japanese painters, actors, and photographers.

We didn't know much about any of this when our group—Koichi, Viet, Mami, Sean, and Shinchan—stumbled upon Lupin. We had arrived randomly, after having dinner at Nanachōme Kyōboshi, a high-end tempura restaurant that turned out to be so expensive we couldn't afford anything but the course meal. With dinner over so quickly, we needed something to do, so we headed out into the neighborhood. And there, around the corner on Miyuki Street, was Lupin, with its iconic, red-and-white illuminated sign.

Named for the fictional "gentleman thief" created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc (who was a customer himself), Lupin is best known for two things: its literary clientele and its old school cocktails.

Aya and I decided to do a week of telecommuting in Tokyo following the Tofugu company retreat in 2018. After a brief session of Google-fu, we found a coworking space in Ueno called iioffice. The space checked off many of the requirements on our list:

✓ Near a JR station ✓ Reasonably priced ✓ Great-looking facilities ✓ Nearby restaurant options (we love to eat)

iioffice opened in Ueno, Tokyo on September 8, 2014. It's the creation of digital web agency LIG, founded in response to the lack of coworking spaces in Ueno and a general feeling of 僻み (jealousy/inferiority complex) towards Shibuya and Shinjuku—the two wards with the most coworking spaces at the time. What was once a worn-out space in an old building just minutes away from JR Ueno Station was transformed into an inviting, modern workspace that everyone would call いい—hence the name "iioffice."

This article is part of a series where the Tofugu team visits Iron Chef restaurants, pitting them against each other in some kind of Iron Chef sequel. Come back and see new Iron Chef restaurant reviews, and (coming soon) a final ranking of them all!

Sakai Hiroyuki is one of Japan's most famous, iconic French chefs, having led and inspired many of the country's brightest culinary artists throughout his career. Yet his greatest claim to fame might be his appearance on Iron Chef, the TV show where he served as the second (and final) Iron Chef French—despite having never been formally trained in France.

Sakai was born in 1942 into a family whose father fought in World War II and never returned. He endured Japan's postwar food shortages, eating a lot of sweet potatoes and squash. To this day, Sakai prefers not to use these ingredients, since they remind him of his poor, hungry childhood.

At sixteen, he left home to pursue his dream of becoming a chef on a cruise ship. Early in his career, he worked at a restaurant during the day and went to culinary school in Osaka at night. It was around this time that he saw a job posting for a French restaurant at a hotel in Australia, and he jumped at the chance. Sakai longed to work abroad, even though—as he has joked—no one would have picked Australia as an ideal place to study French cuisine.