The March issue of DTM Magazine, a Japanese electronic music magazine, boasts 122 free VSTs. They do a good job breaking them down by 32/64-bit, plugin type, and OS. BUT! You need to know how to read Japanese. If you can do that, click on to the rest of the article.
[Read the rest!]I signed up for the JLPT N1 again, and for classes at JOI. Meanwhile, I ditched Anki for now, and I’m working on improving my reading speed. We’ll see if there’s any change!
[Read the rest!]I finally bit the bullet and bought a second Kindle Paperwhite, this time for my Japanese language library. And I don’t regret it one bit. It has become an incredibly powerful tool for improving my Japanese, because I read more books, faster, with the Paperwhite than I have with any other reading platform.
And I’ve tried a bunch of different ways to read Japanese books.
[Read the rest!]Another year, another N1. I feel okay about how I did. If I passed or failed, I’m sure it was close either way. (I hope I passed!) In general, I’m going to focus more on writing to improve my Japanese, as well as reading “meatier” stuff, like literature, as opposed to light novels. That sort of thing. Heading home tomorrow morning. Also, my hotel room is creepy.
[Read the rest!]Traffic was heavy on the way to DC today. I made it safely to my hotel, and studied some. I’ll study some more in the morning, then go take the N1.
[Read the rest!]We had a nice Thanksgiving. Then I went deal hunting on Friday, all while getting ready for the N1 on Sunday. I’m leaving for DC on Saturday.
[Read the rest!]I spent Pocky Day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, then went to Kinokuniya. Dinner was with friends in Greenwich Village. Tomorrow I go back home. It’s supposed to snow.
[Read the rest!]I was done with the Career Forum by early afternoon, so I went to the USS Constitution, took some photos, then went to Shiki again.
[Read the rest!]Day one of the Career Forum started with a thud. My new Nexus 5’s alarm clock didn’t go off because it didn’t like my USB charger. I still got there on time, and talked to a lot of companies. Then I fought the wind back to the hotel.
[Read the rest!]Man, that was nerve-wracking. Part two of the A+ exam was trickier than I thought it would be. I know a lot of this stuff just because I’ve been messing around with computers all my life. I’ve built every computer I’ve used for the last 20 years. (Except for laptops.) But if you ask me
[Read the rest!]Passed the first part of my A+ Certification. Woot. Now I have to get ready for my sis and nephew’s visit this weekend. Part two is in ten days. Gotta hustle!
[Read the rest!]Crypton announced a great deal for people who own previous version of one of their Vocaloid sound banks, but getting it at that attractive price took a few extra steps. Still, it’s a great deal, and using a forwarding service, it’s pretty easy to get. (If you know Japanese!)
[Read the rest!]I’m dumping tons of new content into Anki now, which I’ve finally upgraded to 2.0. The upgrade wasn’t that bad. And I’ll need it for the N1 and A+ exams. Greenshot and e.Typist are making my exam prep a lot easier, too, helping me OCR stuff and dump it into Anki. Also, the piano class is a lot of fun.
[Read the rest!]This fall is going to be hectic. I’m going to take a couple of music classes at UNC’s new Community Music School. I’ll also be preparing for the N1, and getting ready for the Boston Career Forum by getting my A+ certification. Somewhere in there, I’m going to need time to breathe!
[Read the rest!]I bring up a lot of ideas for personal projects… so what’s going on with them? Well, some are moving forward, and some are on the shelf for now. GTD helps me figure out what I have the energy and time to work on, and what I don’t.
[Read the rest!]Back from Asheville. Lots of photos to process, including some fireworks in the valley, and a trip to Mt. Mitchell. Also, the new job is going well.
[Read the rest!]I’m headed to Asheville for a few days to help the folks out. Also, JOI is pretty good so far. I’m pleased with the classes and the pricing.
[Read the rest!]My calligraphy class in Raleigh has ended for good, unfortunately. So to fill that gap, I’m going to try taking some online classes at the Japanese Online Institute, which has an online speech/chat/whiteboard way of group learning for pretty reasonable prices.
[Read the rest!]I picked up some Japanese books on using Blender and Metasequoia to help me get a better handle on those two programs. I also started working on improving my 2D drawing skills, because the 3D stuff was looking somewhat “bleh.” I tried Autodesk’s Sketchbook, and it’s okay. I fell in love with the open-source vector graphics program Inkscape.
[Read the rest!]The N1 was a bear again. After the bear mangled me, I went to Georgetown for a bit, then headed back to the hotel. I’ll be heading home tomorrow.
[Read the rest!]I made it to Washington, DC today for tomorrow’s JLPT N1 exam. I listened to podcasts on the drive up.
[Read the rest!]A long day of driving, and I made it to Boston. You can read all the grisly details about the drive here.
[Read the rest!]In one of my stranger ideas, I’m thinking about writing “Grammar Rock” style songs using Vocaloids to help me remember Japanese grammar. You know, writing this out makes it sound even weirder.
[Read the rest!]I love cb’s EPWING to Anki program for getting sentences into Anki, but I’m not having any luck creating an EPWING file out of the copy of EIJIRO I bought. Still, E2A is great.
[Read the rest!]I have a new tutor for business Japanese. We’re working over Skype. It’s helping me a lot. The more opportunities to use Japanese, the better.
[Read the rest!]I met up with my first Japanese teacher from when I was a grad student about ten years ago. A-sensei is a great person who will always help a former student out, and I really appreciate it. We had a nice chat and she’s going to connect me with some local folks to talk to.
[Read the rest!]I’ve been back from Japan for a month now, and I’m worried. Worried that my Japanese is going to rust and fall apart, because I don’t have much of a chance to use it here. So I’m getting into high gear to find a way to keep it going.
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A whirlwind of a day as I thanked everyone at Yamasa during the closing ceremony, had lunch with all of my classmates and said goodbye, then rushed to finish packing and got out of town. I made it to Tokyo and passed out in my favorite hotel in Shinjuku.
[Read the rest!]I’m happy with my test results. Overall, I’ve learned a bunch since coming to Yamasa. We said goodbye in JBPP, had a big Christmas party at ZigZag, and I packed some more. Tomorrow is the closing ceremony, and I leave for Tokyo!
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Today was the last big testing day. I forgot to attach a file I was sending to one of my teachers, so I had to race home at lunch to send it. There was an earthquake in class, too. After class, I went to the calligraphy store in Anjo, where everyone was really nice again. I bought more packing materials at the Daiso, and frantically packed until 2 a.m. Oof.
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Getting ready for the big test tomorrow; mastering how to say nothing; one last trip to Nagoya to pick up supplies and souvenirs. I’m going to really miss living in Okazaki!
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Today I went to Toyohashi to pick up a calligraphy brush. The famous dish there is the curry udon, or so I was told by the people in the restaurant. It’s good, but really messy. I hope I can go back again sometime.
[Read the rest!]Yesterday’s grammar re-test went well. I owe M-sensei a lot. She’s been great. I also learned about Jiko PR, Entry Sheets, and about the concept of bragging without bragging.
[Read the rest!]Short update on handing in the writing re-test, more Japanese resume writing, and getting ready for the grammar re-test tomorrow.
[Read the rest!]After taking the aptitude test again, we took more phone messages in JBPP. Then I had tea with S-buchou, who had some great advice for me about my calligraphy.
[Read the rest!]Conversation and writing tests today. I’m pleased at how I’m able to express myself in Japanese since I got here.
[Read the rest!]Today was my first calligraphy lesson in Japan. I’ve been doing it for about five years in the US, but I’ve never had a chance to study it here. It was a lot of fun. Thanks to the teacher’s info, I’ll probably go to Toyohashi this weekend for supplies.
[Read the rest!]I went to Aichi Gakuin University in Nisshin to take the JLPT N1, then did a little shopping in Nagoya. This was my first try at the N1, and it was a bear.
[Read the rest!]I love the food at Kitsutsuki on the Yamasa campus. Get the A set. I also went to Nagoya to do some shopping, and ate at Mokumoku again. Dumping food over the rice in the bowl is really tasty, too.
[Read the rest!]I accidentally committed one of the big no-nos of living in Japan, but everything turned out okay. Also, next week is going to be full of tests. Yay.
[Read the rest!]Lots of testing today: listening, grammar, and re-submitting my essay from last week. Also, good luck/bad luck superstitions around tests in Japan are pretty popular.
[Read the rest!]I’m still learning how to say “No” politely in Japanese, and I’m finding it’s a lot harder that I thought. And I thought it was hard to begin with!
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Final exam for N1 grammar, tests on Wednesday, and we’re learning how to mail letters in JBPP.
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I made it to Kyoto; discovered a few things about buying shinkansen tickets, ate some delicious food in Kyoto, and some not-so-delicious food.
[Read the rest!]I bought a 100 yen manly hat, found someone to take my extra supplies, and I found a room for one night in Kyoto, but not two.
[Read the rest!]Today was my interview test in JBPP, and it was pretty stressful trying to remember everything I need to do in the proper order. Japanese-sized clothes still don’t fit. Also, Family Mart gloves save me from freezing.
[Read the rest!]I did well on my sakubun test, practiced asking for favors, and I’m going to try to go to Kyoto this weekend. (Along with the rest of Japan, it seems.)
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The Tokugawa theme continues from yesterday, when I did some local Tokugawa-related sightseeing today. I visited Okazaki Castle and the Ieyasu and Mikawa Bushido Museum, then went to Anjo to pick up some calligraphy supplies. This time, I took pictures!
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In spite of the pouring rain, I went to Nagoya, saw the Tokugawa Art Museum, shopped a bit, and made a full day out of it.
[Read the rest!]I had a nice chat with P-san, learned all about “Cushion Words” in JBPP, and watched the bad mixing of beer and FaceBook (by other people.)
[Read the rest!]The writing and conversation exams went pretty well. Even now, though, I still have a lot to learn about Yamasa. Today in JBPP, we covered job interviews and all of the things that need to be done the proper way.
[Read the rest!]Sick this morning, but soldiered on. Still looking for a “regrettable episode” to write about. Also, I need to find a sure-fire way to organize all of these handouts!
[Read the rest!]There was a fire in town today; I learned some polite Japanese.
[Read the rest!]I went back to Nagoya for more wandering around. I found an international market that sells oatmeal, and some fake plastic candy to stick on my phone. I also found the dictionary I’ve been looking for!
[Read the rest!]It’s Pocky Day! Which means nothing really, because I have work to do. Also, earthquakes and wild monkeys on the loose!
[Read the rest!]A short update on a few things, and I learned a new polite phrase.
[Read the rest!]Mid-week shopping to get supplies for class, something surprising happened to the computer store, and I heard some mysterious warning sirens.
[Read the rest!]Today I learned how to bow, how to refuse something (but not sound like I’m being negative), and how to say nothing. JBPP is handy.
[Read the rest!]Today I had my first big exam at Yamasa, I started learning how to write a Japanese resume, about 内 and 外, and writing about the seasons. Also, the bread truck lady came!
[Read the rest!]Classes are heating up. Things are getting more intense and busier, with full weeks of regular class, JBPP, and electives. Also, I learned something interesting about how to deal with big electronics stores in Japan. And we learned how to answer phones politely.
[Read the rest!]For the past few days after class and in the evenings, I’ve been working with my small group to prepare a presentation for class today. (In Japanese of course.) We settled on an all-purpose laundry wish-fulfilling machine.
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After hearing about an out-of-season blooming cherry tree at Nagoya Castle, I decided to go and check it out after classes ended.
[Read the rest!]It’s already time to pick electives! AIJP/JBPP take up a lot of time, so I’m not going to have a whole lot of choice in that area. Also, my classes are incredibly diverse!
[Read the rest!]Finally! My real first day of class! I still feel like hell, but my fever is gone, so I didn’t really have an excuse to stay home and lounge around. Besides, we’re on the fast track here at Yamasa. Every day I miss is like missing 3-4 days of Japanese at a univeristy. Keeping up
[Read the rest!]More orientation today, and the 入学式 (nyuugakushiki, or school entrance ceremony.) We got a lot of info about various things, what to do, what not to do, and we introduced ourselves in Japanese. What I said before about this being the UN of Japanese Language Education? I’m serious. We have a bunch of different countries
[Read the rest!]Today was my last private lesson. But first, we had a placement test at 9 a.m. I knew were going to have it, but I didn’t know it was such a big deal. When I came to Yamasa four years ago, right after I got off the train and came into the teachers’ office, I
[Read the rest!]It’s 3:30 a.m. Saturday, September 24th Sunday, September 25th. The driver is going to be here in an hour and fifteen minutes, and I’m trying to close my humongous Samsonite 29″ suitcase. My plan was to have a giant suitcase big enough to stuff Jimmy Hoffa into, but slim enough to fit nicely behind the
[Read the rest!]As part of my trip to Japan to study at Okazaki, an important part of my plan is to take either the N2 again (if I failed it) or N1 (if I passed it.) The deadline to apply is 9/30/11, and by 9/16, I still didn’t have my results from London. I guess going over
[Read the rest!]I mentioned earlier that I was dissatisfied with the way my Japanese was progressing when I took the JLPT N2 last month. After talking to Michele, I realized that I have completely neglected my spoken/written Japanese in order to prepare for the N2, which tests neither skill. I considered my options seriously, and realized that
[Read the rest!]My first stop today was Piccadilly Circus, where there’s a neat used Japanese book store called Adanami. It’s in an old dry cleaner’s, and when I got there, I could still see the old dry cleaner’s sign. I got there just a little too early, because they were still closed. They open at noon, and
[Read the rest!]Well, today was the big test. The one I traveled 3,940 miles and paid a few thousand dollars for. I honestly don’t think I did any better than I did when I took it in December. So very frustrating. I know my Japanese is better. I know I can speak better, and listen better, and
[Read the rest!]I don’t know how many Anki users are out there with Logitech G15 series gaming keyboards (mine is one of the older ones), but yes, they do work with Anki. And by that I mean that you can program the G-keys to do all the answering dirty work for you, just as you would with
[Read the rest!]This is something I stumbled upon last fall while trying to find an easier way to go through a ton of Anki reviews in a short period of time. I mentioned it on the Reviewing the Kanji forums somewhere, but I never posted it here. Well, here it is for posterity’s sake. Problem: Using the
[Read the rest!]If you’re going to go Android for Japanese first you need a keyboard. I like Simeji. It’s ugly, but very useful… and really, the only good choice out there, to be honest: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.adamrocker.android.input.simeji Also, if you like to add Japanese-style emoticons, then Kaomoji List is a great add-on to Simeji. It’s activated through the “mushroom
[Read the rest!]Things have been hectic. I decided to start taking JLPT exam prep classes offered at the NC Japan Center, and I find that that has been helping me to focus on acquiring new vocabulary and grammar. For some reason or another, I had gotten a bit bogged down doing the self-study thing. Maybe it’s just
[Read the rest!]So what’s a 電子辞書 (denshi jisho)? Japanese for “electronic dictionary,” it’s a gizmo that’s really handy if you’re learning Japanese. They’re usually full of all different kinds of dictionaries, and now they have things like a drawing pad where you can draw a kanji on the pad, and they will (usually) recognize the kanji you
[Read the rest!]I was looking for a good portable dictionary for my iPhone, and I’ve found a couple of programs. One is great, one is free. If you’re going to use either one of these, make sure you install the Japanese keyboard and the Chinese Traditional “draw the kanji” keyboard on your iPhone, and take the time
[Read the rest!]I’ve gotten a lot of great advice and tips from reading all kinds of message boards and blogs, but to be honest, I think the best lesson I’ve learned is that eventually, you just have to stop drinking the bathwater and start getting things done. When I saw the 999th iteration of the same general
[Read the rest!]After seeing this post by Vosmiura on the RtK forums, I’m going to try Iversen’s method of learning lists of vocabulary before entering them into Anki. I’m not usually obsessed with getting particularly high pass rates or having high long-term retention percentages (mine is already around 96%), but I have been noticing lately that there
[Read the rest!]I want to talk about SRSing today, because it’s the one item that is overemphasized and underutilized at the same time. Using an SRS is a process that demands some care and feeding. It’s sort of like having a sick plant. Some people will nurture the thing for a while, it’ll start to get big
[Read the rest!]EDIT: I put the links in at the bottom of the page, in a more coherent order. I also added a couple I found recently. This is something I’ve been wanting to talk about for a while, but I never really got around to doing it for various reasons. But now I want to try
[Read the rest!]UPDATED WITH 2013 INFO! If you have suggestions to improve this post, or have stores you recommend, please add a comment! If you’re like me, and studying Japanese, you probably want to get your hands on some books in Japanese. You may be tempted to just go to amazon.co.jp and buy from them. A lot
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I’m back in Kyoto, safely out of Okazaki now, although I kind of miss Okazaki. The Sky Is Crying Way Too Much I’m so happy to finally be dry. Why is it whenever I go to Kyoto, it rains? (Does two trips count enough for a “whenever?”) It started this morning, during “The TP incident,”
[Read the rest!]I’m still in Okazaki, but I’m leaving for Kyoto in just a few minutes for the weekend. I need to rest for another 5-10 minutes, then I’m heading out. That’s one thing I’ve discovered I have to do– make time to rest. If I don’t, I suffer. Classes are hard. For some reason, the Japanese
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