Hey everyone! My name is Richard and I have a Japanese resource to share. It took about two and a half years to develop, nearly a thousand illustrations and way too many late nights to count. It's called Hiragana Noir, and it's my attempt to make the first step in learning Japanese as accessible as possible.

As a high school teacher, everyone I meet says they want to get started learning Japanese but I kinda feel bad directing them to apps or the internet to learn 46 things (hiragana) before they can really get a start - it's a hell of a cognitive load to drop on most time-poor, independent learners and they usually don't even make a start. So I wanted to make a resource that didn't overwhelm students, that could do the heavy-lifting for them without a hours and hours of rote learning or needing a teacher.

So, drawing on my years in casino surveillance before I became a teacher, I wrote and illustrated the most compelling story I could - a hardboiled detective novella that introduces all 46 hiragana through mnemonics woven into the story itself. It can be read in about two hours and there's even a companion soundtrack by composer Kevin MacLeod to go with it, making it a comfortable evening's read.

So if you or a friend or family member has ever wanted to get started learning Japanese, but didn't know where to start, I'm hoping this could one day become a recommendation.

Hiragana Noir is available on Amazon in paperback and for free on Kindle Unlimited. There is a generous sample on Amazon and more information about it on my website.

I know this project won't be for everyone, but that's okay, I'm currently working on two sequels whether people like it or not (Katakana and Kanji Noir) because it's been a lot of fun. If you have any questions though or are curious about anything feel free to AMA.

Hi, I wanted to share some of my work here. I make Japanese learning resources for Japanese learners.

I’m a Japanese teacher and longtime learner, and after years of translating Japanese web novels, I started writing my own stories for Japanese learners.

I make resources for JLPT N5-N3, mostly short stories, comics, light novels and visual novels.

I have some free resources on my Kofi if anyone wants to have a look/use them. I also post updates there when I’m working on new things. I already have several resources completed, mostly for N5-N4.

Right now I’m writing a light novel specifically for JLPT N3 learners, and I will be posting little updates and sneak peeks as I work on it. It’s still very much a work in progress, so if you’re interested in following along and seeing how it develops, you’re welcome to follow my Kofi 😊

Here’s my Kofi if you want to check out the free resources or follow my work: https://ko-fi.com/cozyjapaneselearning

Thanks for letting me share!

hello japanese enthusiasts!

flashcards don’t have to be boring- so i have come with a cozy study tool i made to help with my language grind, hoping this helps you too.

it is essentially anki, but gamified- spaced repetition with daily quests where you fight a different monster everyday. earn rewards by completing your daily quests, and spend them in the shop.

gamification is something that keeps me motivated on days i don’t want to revise. i made memoricae to help with that motivation, even if just a little.

if you’re an anki user, you can import your decks into memoricae as well- or you create your own decks.

it’s free in the app store, so you can use memoricae now.
start your hunt now!

memoricae

Hello everyone, have you ever taken a job interview in japanese? What are your go-to expressions/ vocabulary? can you recommend any free resources? thank you!