This post is a list of Japanese resources and stands as a collaborative wiki gathered by the WaniKani Community. If there’s a resource you feel is missing from the list, please add it by clicking the edit button above.

The vast majority of the resources here are free, however, the ones that aren’t are marked with a dollar sign ( $ ) or otherwise noted. Paid resources are only included if they are highly recommended or widely used, like WaniKani.

Notes:

This list is an updated version of the archived original post by user @Aikibujin and now appears as a pinned wiki thanks to @viet.

💮 KANA

Taking your first step in your Japanese learning journey.

📚 TEXTBOOKS AND GRAMMAR

These all teach you grammar. WaniKani does not teach grammar, if you want to learn it’s recommended that you use one of these resources ~30 minutes a day when you reach level 10.

Online:

Paid online:

Physical textbooks:

These are available from Amazon, the links are to the official sites.

You will see Genki and Minna no Nihongo as the most prominent recommendation. These textbooks are commonly used in classroom situations. As a community, we usually recommend the online textbooks to self learners, learning Japanese on their own accord.

References:

㊙️ KANJI

“Learning kanji is hard.”

WaniKani community resources:

KaniWani WaniKani reverse vocab EN–>JP, based on WaniKani API

KameSame WaniKani reverse vocab EN->JP using Japanese Keyboard Layout, based on WaniKani API.

WaniKani beyond Lv 60

WKnai most complete solution

Fake Levels 61 - 70 or 無限 INFINITY a new version currently in active development by the community

JLPT Vocabulary vs WaniKani Google spreadsheet format. Created by script. If you are good, you can import it into Anki. --> Original thread

Learning Kanji - Youtube channel. Goes through Kanji by Grade level, showing and explaining stroke order, giving examples of words that use it along with pronunciation. Also goes through various tests (such as the JLPT), breaking down the questions and correct answers. Mostly in easy Japanese, some English.

📘 ONLINE DICTIONARIES

Japanese to English:

Japanese to Japanese:

Goo

KotoBank.jp

Weblio

ALC

Zokugo-dict Japanese urban dictionary

Alternate dictionaries:

📓 GENERAL PRACTICE

J-CAT - Take the practice J-CAT to see where you need to improve. Good prerequisite to the JLPT.

LearnWithOliver - online flashcards for words and sentences (free and premium)

Mondly $

HiNative - for asking questions, getting translations, etc from Native speakers

iKnow $ - Smart.fm

Torii - Teaches the Core 10k vocabulary using spaced repetition. Users can choose between different study modes to select and order lessons by certain criteria (JLPT level, WaniKani level, kana-only). Available on Windows, Mac, Linux and Android.

Japanese Projects - Verb and Adjective Conjugation practice, Kana and Kanji practice and Number, Time and Counter practice

Kitsun (paid to use):

Anki decks:

Memrise courses:

🇯🇵 RESOURCE PORTALS AND LEARNING NETWORKS

📱 SOFTWARE

Human Japanese Teaching kana, some kanji, culture/geography, beautiful pictures, audio conversations, vocabulary, quizzes. Available as physical CDs, downloads, app or PC.

Duolingo

Kakitai is a Windows 10/8.1 app for learning kanji by writing. (Tablet and pen recommended.)

KanjiTomo identifies Japanese characters from images.

Torii - Teaches the Core 10k vocabulary using spaced repetition. Users can choose between different study modes to select and order lessons by certain criteria (JLPT level, WaniKani level, kana-only). Available on Windows, Mac, Linux and Android.

Browser extensions:

“Translate Japanese words by hovering over them.”

Rikaichamp browser-based Japanese word search functionality for Firefox

Rikaikun Chrome port

Rikaigu - a variation of Rikaikun for Chrome with different/improved features

Rikaisama Firefox deluxe version (no longer supported)

Yomichan alternate version, includes audio

Safarikai Safari version

Kitsune a Firefox IME

Input Method Editor (IME):

Type in Japanese!

Android and iOS apps:

Android apps:

iOS apps:

Japanese Learning Games:

👀 READING

Learning:

Japanese Graded Readers - $ Full furigana, so you don’t even need to know the Kanji. However, the instruction says – do not use a dictionary. Lv 0 -Beginner, Lv 1 - N5, Lv 2 - N4, Lv 3 - N3, Lv 4 -N2

Satori Reader free/$ - A series of articles with grammatical explanation on every sentences, plus you can ask moderators for more explanation. Freemium.

Japanese the Manga Way

NHK Easy - Simplified for Japanese children and Japanese language learners. Reddit provides articles translations, just be warned that the translations are done by other learners.

Natsume Souseki Works - Digital chapters of Souseki’s novels. Words have translation on hover and there is also audio.

Matcha Travel Magazine - A web magazine specialized in information for foreign visitors to Japan. You can change the language to やさしい日本語 for easier reading.

Watanoc - A free web magazine written in easy Japanese. Designed for all Japanese learners from Beginners to Intermediates. Has audio for their articles.

Yomi.ai free/$ - Improve literacy by reading authentic Japanese.

Daily JLPT Quiz - Free newsletter with JLPT style quizzes and explanations based on text passages of works by Eiji Yoshikawa

Children’s Books:

みらい文庫 Visit Site

Elementary and middle school level reading. Books are also available on Amazon.jp by searching 集英社みらい文庫

青い鳥文庫 Visit Site

Light novels in four levels from beginning of elementary to upper middle school. Full, or almost full furigana use.

角川つばさ文庫 Visit Site

Light novels on elementary and middle school levels. Offers feathers to rate difficulty. Full, or almost full furigana use.

福娘童話集 (Folklore and Stories for Japanese Children) Visit Site

The site is a little cluttered, but the content is good. They offer online folklore stories for children and the texts have low level kanji. Most stories also have a narration provided by a native speaker. The narration pace is slow enough that it is good for beginning listeners and you can of course check your listening with the script.

News:

Manga:

Free Online:

Places to buy:

Websites and Blogs:

Nippon Talk Visit Site - Provides articles “written by a native speaker” and includes English transcripts and furigana.

B! Hatena Bookmark Visit Site

This is a strictly Japanese site that is a hub that can help you find other sites in your interest area. At the core, it provides a service that lets you save and share pages to view later. The home page provides a list of popular and recent articles all from other sites you can checkout. There are many topics like games, technology, news, travel, etc.

Example: Check out エリアガイド in the footer to find interesting regional specific travel sights and events.

4Gamer Visit Site

Nothing out of the ordinary here. A Japanese site to read about video games and game news.

Livedoor Visit Site

The Livedoor main site provides articles from both news sites and blogs. This is a regular Japanese site.

Youtube:

Pokemon Grammar - Learn grammar while playing Pokemon!

👂 LISTENING

Free Online:

Erin’s Challenge - This site has good content so don’t be deterred by the dated interface. The interface is in English and provides video skits of native speakers with the option to turn on English, romaji, hiragana or full kanji subtitles. They offer both Basic skits and Advanced skits and the speakers speak clearly but fast. A good source to really tune your ear better.

Japanesepod 101 - Free / $

Wasabi Read-Aloud - The read-aloud section has narrated short stories and podcasts with scripts and translations. Has option to adjust the narration speed.

Delvin - Delvin combines listening exercises with adaptive vocabulary review, fueled by clips from real videos.

遠くのごきんじょさん (The Far Away Neighbour) - Chapter 1 of a short children’s story written & narrated by the band BRIDEAR

Podcasts:

Paid audio courses:

Pimsleur

Rosetta Stone

Rocket Japanese (One time payment and has frequent holiday discounts)

Udemy Courses for N5-N2 by Attain Corp. Paid video courses. Spoken in Japanese by a native Japanese speaker, with full English subtitles. Also might be good for practice listening.

YouTube:

Nihongonomori Japan Learn japanese grammar with native speakers. Starts at very beginner level.

Lets Learn Japanese Narrated in English, but does skits of native Japanese. There are transcripts and vocab provided in PDF’s in the video info. Listening is good, however, scripts are in romaji.

Japanese Ammo with Misa Learn Japanese from a native. Offers a wide selection of topics and subjects.

toco toco TV Interviews with artists (game directors, mangaka, comedians) who talk about their work and offer a guide to their local area. Later videos have English subs.

トップランキング and 電撃ランキング Ranking channels. Huge variety of topics but each features the top ten style familiar to viewers of Watch Mojo etc making them easy to dip in and out of.

jstsciencechannel Videos with scientific themes.

三本塾Sambon Juku Videos in easy to understand Japanese explaining various grammar points from various levels, such as the difference between は and が. JLPT 3 to 1 each have a playlist. Also general talk videos on specific topics.

[おかね的日本語教室]

(https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh-GhnQ7qDQmS6Bz3pGc1Mw)

Videos themed around different scenarios. Also Live video as well. Video are in easy-to-understand Japanese.

✒️ WRITING

Practice:

WaniKani Community Japanese Only category

🗣️ SPEAKING

Online resources:

Paid resources:

Japanese Phonetics by Dogen

italki offers lessons with native speakers

🎓 TESTS

For more detailed descriptions of the tests please refer to this thread.

JLPT - The standard Japanese proficiency test

J-CAT - A short computerized adaptive tests

J-Test - All around proficiency test offered in East Asia

Kanji Kentei - A kanji proficiency test

A Real Me Vocab Test - Online test covering vocab only

⛩️ CULTURE

Blogs:

Tofugu Visit Site

General culture and language blog. The people behind Tofugu are also the creators of Wanikani and Textfugu. Their culture blog has a lot of interesting articles about quirky things in Japan as well as a number of helpful language articles.

What Japan Thinks Visit Site

A general culture blog. This site has articles related to Japanese culture and more uniquely random statistics and surveys about Japanese people.

Metropolis Visit Site

Metropolis is an online magazine which focuses on “upcoming events and exhibitions.” There are many features about art, music, bars and festivals.

Nihon Shock Visit Site

An English blog that has articles on travel destinations as well as some language learning articles.

Japanese Rule of 7 Visit Site

A blog about life in Japan, working in Japan, and learning Japanese.

YouTube:

Cultural Comparisons & Japanese Reaction Channels Bobbyjudo - He is in American living in Japan and does a lot of videos in Japanese targeted to Japanese People. He does some teaching English and answers Japanese questions about culture in other countries. He also likes to discuss different words and phrases and between English and Japanese.

PDR - A half British/ Japanese narrator. Among other things some interesting playlists are, “Being Biracial in Japan” and “Convenience Store Stories.” The videos are in Japanese, but you can turn on English subtitles. The videos are funny and the narration is good.

Rachel and Jun - Narrated by a Japanese/American couple. They have a lot of videos about culture differences and there is a lot to learn. The narration is good and the videos are amusing.

That Japanese Man Yuta - Yuta, a native Japanese man, goes around Japan interviewing Japanese people on certain topics. Narrated in English, but interviewees in Japanese.

Life in Japan Channels Micaela - Life in Southern Japan. Narrated in English. The experience of a Canadian girl who moved to Fukuoka Prefecture. Good narration and nice video shots of Japan.

QuickRhino - Has a “Life in Japan” playlist. This guy is a study abroad student living in Tokyo. His videos are him talking into the camera and discussing his personal experiences which is a lot of his blunders while living in Japan.

Sharla in Japan / Sharmander - Follows a girl who lived in Japan for 10 years. She does videos in both Japanese and English, with either subtitles. The narration is good the the videos have a lot of good shots of the shops, food and places. She does “Day in My Life in Japan” and “Getting to Japan,” which she explains how you can study and live in Japan. Sharmander is her more general station which still has videos on Japan but all in English.

Strawberry Mochi - The videos are in English and follow an English teacher living in Japan. Her “Travel and Hotspots” playlist has a lot of interesting tourist places and festivals with good shots of the area. These have good information for travelling and she narrates on information and history. She also has more personal playlists such as “Tips and Stories” and “Culture.”

Taylor R - Canadian native living in Tokyo. The videos in English. She does a lot on her personal lifestyle like workout, clothes and products and cooking. The videos and narration are good.

Eurodias - A British high school student’s life in Japan.

Gimmeaflakeman - Vlogs about life in Japan from the perspective of an American family man who has lived in the country for 25 years.

Tokidoki Traveller - An Australian girl vlogging about her Tokyo city life.

Tomoko Tomoko - Improvised Japanese lessons, cultural comparisons, and yoga videos.

Texan in Tokyo - Vlogs following a Texan living in Tokyo with her Japanese husband. Hilarious, cute, and amazing videos on Japanese culture and the couple’s life in Tokyo. No longer active due to plans of starting a family.

Ericsurf6 - An older man living in Japan with his Japanese family. Vlogs about food, Eric Meal Time, his travels, and other activities.

Japanese News (in English):

Other:

Niconico - Video site for anime style music and video games. Seems to be most popular for anime music. Community is in Japanese and has some Japanese tags and titles

🚅 Additional resource sites:

✈️ Immigrating to Japan:

A similar list compiled by Koichi from Tofugu:

Cheers!

PS: Some of the links may be outdated, if you find any please make a post telling us about it.