A numbered path, not a pile. Start at step one and each course picks up where the last one stopped — 1,872 lessons in all.
If you are new, take these in order. Each one assumes only what came before it.
From a fermented dye vat to the stitches on your jacket — learn the cloth that Japan wore for centuries.
Stones, moss, borrowed scenery — learn to look at a garden the way it was designed to be seen.
Learn the discipline of Japanese flower arrangement — one branch, one flower, one direction at a time.
Move from single strokes to flowing 行書, soft kana, and a finished work you can sign and seal.
Learn to write Japanese characters with real ink, real paper, and a steady hand — even if you never leave your desk.
Read any Japanese building — temple, teahouse, or Tokyo tower — with eyes that know what they're seeing.
Learn to see, hold, and buy Japanese pottery — from a 400-yen rice bowl to a National Treasure.
Yanagiba, deba, usuba — and the sharpening skills that make them sing.
Learn what the knife is, how to choose it, and how to use it — even if you never leave your kitchen.
Step into the theater with confidence: know the stories, the sounds, and the cues.
From Hokusai's wave to Van Gogh's stars — see how Japan's woodblock prints remade art.
Why your neighbor won't give you a comb, and why you're not supposed to cut your nails at night
Bow, rinse, clap, and walk away knowing exactly what you just did — and why.
What to say, what to bring, what to never say — for the guest, the partner, and the curious.
The handful of moves that make you easy to be around — in Tokyo or on a video call
Learn to hand over a gift, receive a favour, and never get the two directions backwards again.
From snow shrines to summer fireworks — what actually happens, and how to join in without feeling lost.
Step through the genkan and learn how Japanese homes really work — from shoes to soaking tubs.
Steam, tattoos, wooden buckets and why you wash before you soak.
Feel Japan's changing seasons through its festivals, food, and everyday rhythms.
From zazen to Zen in daily life — a practical guide for beginners.
From cherry-blossom mochi to a Tokyo department store basement — learn the sweets, the seasons, and the words to enjoy them anywhere.
Order with confidence, dodge hidden fish stock, and eat brilliantly from Tokyo to your own kitchen.
From a 7-Eleven egg sandwich to a ryokan's grilled fish — what Japan actually eats before 9am.
Seven-Eleven, onigiri, and the 3 a.m. register — how Japan's convenience stores work, and why you'll miss them.
Learn to read a Japanese whisky label, order with confidence, and understand the bar rituals behind every pour.
Sixteen lessons, one working kitchen, and food you'll actually make on a Tuesday night.
From conveyor-belt counters to Ginza counters — know exactly what to say, what to skip, and why.
Learn the unspoken rules, order like a local, and pay without panic.
From Hokkaido's dairy to Okinawa's bitter melon, taste Japan one region at a time.
How a century of civil war forged one country — and three men who finished it.
Spies, sieges, and night raids — what the documents actually say, and why the myth won't die.
A 250-year peace built the Japan you recognize today — walk its streets, meet its people, and see what it left behind.
From black ships to bullet-train thinking — the 50-year gamble that reinvented a country.
A thousand years ago in Kyoto, words could make or break you. Learn how.
From Jōmon pots to bullet trains — the story of Japan, one concrete thing at a time.
From nightclubs paved with cash to a nation that stopped growing — one story.
Scorched earth in 1945. The world's second-largest economy by 1968. How?
Beyond the movies: discipline, death, and daily life of Japan's warrior class.
The mimetics that don't show up in textbooks — regional, literary, and advertising Japanese.
From ぺらぺら to しとしと — learn the mimetic words that make Japanese vivid, funny, and precise.
Understand なんでやねん, order like an Osakan, and never freeze when the TV switches to Kansai-ben.
The casual Japanese your textbook skipped — for real chats, texts, and late-night calls.
Master the keigo, email patterns, and meeting language that real Japanese offices actually run on.
You already read some Japanese. This is the bridge from N3 back down to a clean N4 pass — and forward again.
Politeness that gets you through a front desk, a phone call, and a group chat
Why the Japanese you hear on the street doesn't match the textbook — and how to keep up
Master the grammar of control and consequence — from being scolded to making your friend laugh.
From first panel to last volume, crack the codes that make manga readable.
Pitch, rhythm, and the two English sounds Japanese never makes — no kanji required.
Stop memorising grammar rules. Learn the shape that turns every verb into permission, requests, sequences, and habits.
Why あげる, くれる, and もらう make you freeze — and how to pick the right one in three seconds.
Stop conjugating adjectives by feel. Learn the rules that actually govern them.
Stop sounding out each character. Start reading whole words, menus, signs and messages at a glance.
Big, small, hot, cold — plus the ます/です engine and the particles that hold every sentence together.
The words you'll hear in a Tokyo konbini, a Ghibli film, and your group chat — ranked by how often they show…
The two particles that trip up every learner — untangled with scenes, not rules.
Read the katakana that surrounds you in Japan—and at home—starting today.
Master the art of counting anything — from paper to people — and never guess again.
Stop guessing whether 山 is san or yama. Learn the system that tells you which reading to use.
Stop reading 待 as 持 and 未 as 末. Learn the one stroke that changes everything.
Master the kanji that unlock daily life, one story at a time.
Read prices, dates, and clocks like a local — no calculator, no panic.
Defend a weak renewal, survive a denial, and handle enforcement without panic.
Understand your status, avoid overstays, and handle renewals with confidence — no Japanese required.
From a single visit to months of treatment — the words you need when health stops being a one-off.
From a 38.5°C fever at 2 a.m. to a dental cleaning — how to find, talk to, and pay a doctor in…
From visa paperwork to your first apartment — everything you need to know before you land.
From your first job listing to your first day at the office — no Japanese required to start, real phrases included.
Everything you need to land a teaching job in Japan, survive the first month, and actually enjoy the classroom.
From 受験 to 成人式 — the real costs, rules, and rituals that shape a Japanese teenager's path to independence.
From first prenatal checkup to your child's first solo train ride — what actually happens, and why.
Whether you're moving to Osaka or just renting a kei car in Hokkaido, learn the rules before the road teaches you.
From opening a bank account to filing your taxes—navigate Japan's financial system with confidence.
From bowing to business cards: thrive in a Japanese office, whether you're visiting or relocating.
Navigate the real rules, costs, and culture of starting a business in Japan—without the guesswork.
Volcanoes, cedar forests, ferry timetables, and the Japan you only reach by boat.
Read the alerts, ride the storm, and know exactly what to do when the ground moves.
Judo, kendo, karate, aikido, kyudo — eight arts, one clear purpose each, and how to tell them apart.
Climb it, draw it, fear it, or just see it from the train — one lesson at a time.
From first basho to champion calls — know what's happening in the dohyo.
From the Tokyo Dome to a sandlot in Osaka—learn the game, the culture, and the Japanese that brings it alive.
Meet the creatures that shape Japan's wild places, art, and everyday life.
From Showa grooves to today's streaming hits — the music, the words, and how Japan counts a No.1.
How one country shaped how the world plays — and what its games say about Japanese life.
A reader's road map through Japan's comics — no Japanese required, no shame in starting with the big ones.
No Japanese needed — just curiosity about why grown adults cry over a handshake and a glowstick.
From 12 yen a cel to a global industry — the history, money, and craft behind the shows you love
From yokai to J-horror: understand the culture behind the chills.
From Hatsune Miku to Hololive: the online culture that took over the world.
From the ticket gate to the 300 km/h window seat — how Japan's railways actually work.
Strollers on subway stairs, konbini dinners, and the phrases that save the day.
From city pavement to volcano summit — the real logistics, gear, and moments of a Japanese hike.
See Japan without draining your bank account — practical, funny, and real.
Water chemistry, onsen towns, rotenburo, and the unspoken rules that turn a tourist into a regular.
Everything a first-timer needs before the sliding door opens — rules, tattoos, towels, and the one thing nobody tells you.
Skip the golden pavilion queue. Learn the Kyoto locals actually live in — with zero Japanese required.
1,200 kilometres, 88 temples, one white vest — how a 9th-century route still changes people today
Master Osaka's food, streets, and spirit — no Japanese needed.
From lavender summers to powder winters — a year-round traveler's guide.
Short, written as a series you can follow from day one. No enrolment, no commitment.
FreeEighteen games covering kana, kanji, grammar, counters and writing.
FreePlain explanations of the concepts you meet by name — keigo, wabi-sabi, JLPT.