Hi there! This is hopefully the next step in a long Japanese learning journey.
I started studying back in 2012. I ended up double-majoring in English Lit and Japanese, taking 3 years of college level Japanese total. We studied Genki 1 and 2 and Tobira.
Since then, I have studied on and off. I’m so glad I subscribed to the lifetime of WaniKani all of those years ago, because I periodically come back to it and restart. I got really into studying again back in late 2024 and early 2025 as my husband and I prepared for a Japan vacation (which was amazing, of course!) However, I dropped off of my studies after coming home.
While preparing for our trip, I watched a bunch of Tokini Andy’s Genki videos, started doing WaniKani reviews again, and experimenting with other learning apps, but none of them stuck. I also read レンタルおにいちゃん volume 1 using the old forum posts here for guidance. I can still comfortably read hiragana and katakana and some basic kanji. I also remember basic grammar, conjugation, and random vocab.
I’m wondering what new resources I should check out as I get back into studying, and any tips y’all have for someone who is only ever going to be studying Japanese as a hobby. I think it is so fun and rewarding, but I’m not aiming to take the JLPT or speak fluently. It’s more for my own enjoyment and personal enrichment, but I would like to improve my skills so I can enjoy more media in its original language and keep my brain young and learning new stuff!
Thanks for reading 
this is great! rather than studying per se, why not start reading and/or listening to stuff you’re excited about in Japanese? it will be difficult at first, but it’s a great way to find out what your gaps are and motivation for filling them!
for example, i’m here because i wanted to read a light novel series (ようこそ、実力至上主義の教室へ) in japanese, and the thing i noticed immediately when trying was that it has kanji kanji kanji and furigana only somewhat rarely.
now that the kanji hurdle is (a year later) much reduced (i still encounter kanji i don’t know daily, but on the order of maybe every other page rather than … most of the page), the same book (i’m finally going to finish the first volume in the next month or so!!) is helping me notice grammatical constructions i don’t understand so well, and plenty of new vocabulary.
along the way, i’ve done a bunch of other reading working my way (back) up to this novel: manga through the “Absolute Beginners Book Club” (ABBC) here on the forums, Tadoku graded readers, and other stuff on my own (Death Note, for instance)
Welcome back! 
It seems I’m not the only cat here who took it slowly… Took me 8 years to finish WaniKani and reach the point where I can finally read non-adapted manga…
But I’ve managed it – and if a small clumsy cat like me can do it – so can a cool cat like you! 
May this time be successful!
Best of luck with your studies and other cativities! 
Yeah think it is a matter of perspective, studying for an academic purpose or concrete goal vs just doing it for fun and to get better at consuming the things I enjoy!
I am currently catching up on my neglected reviews – only about 400 to go! But it is fun to be burning some things after stepping away for at least a year. 
I get the sense that just diving into reading something that interests me to gauge my level is probably the best way to go, and I know this community is super supportive and helpful when people get stuck. I just get overwhelmed with all of the different options. For instance, I hadn’t ever heard of MaruMori until today, but from what I’ve gathered that is more like an interactive textbook than anything. I also tried Bunpro but I found that more helpful as a reference tool rather than something I want to use like WaniKani but for grammar.
I’m sure a lot of it will be trial and error. I’m just trying to dip a toe in and test the waters 
Meow! My profile pic is of Jubilee. I adopted her and her brother Gustave about 3 weeks ago after losing my 16 year old cat in the spring.
I’m very sorry to hear that… Still, your cat has lived long and happy life with you and, I’m sure, is very grateful to you and happy for you!
May Jubilee and Gustave too live long and happy lives together with you! 
I’m in the same boat so my advice to you would be to enjoy the journey and enjoy the fact you don’t have a schedule or a deadline you need to meet
that’s not to say procrastinate, try and do as much as you possible can while it still being enjoyable, but remember you don’t need to load yourself with a load of pressure if you find it tough
Welcome back! I think the most important thing is to avoid rebuilding a huge study routine all at once. It can be much easier to keep WaniKani as your structured study tool, then add one enjoyable activity with Japanese media.
For example, you could choose a Japanese series you genuinely want to watch and use Japanese subtitles without trying to understand every sentence. When a line feels interesting or almost understandable, pause and look at it more closely. That way, the vocabulary and grammar you study start connecting to real situations, characters, and emotions.
Full disclosure: I’m building a Chrome extension called KIKUGO, so this is a biased recommendation, but this exact problem is why I created it. It works with Japanese subtitles on Netflix and lets you click a line to get an explanation based on the full context of the scene, including grammar, vocabulary, slang, and nuance. You can also save useful sentences and export them to Anki.
The goal is not to analyse every subtitle or turn watching a show into another exhausting study session. I would suggest using it only when you are curious about a line or when something keeps appearing repeatedly.
You can find it here: https://kikugo.app
Whatever tools you choose, starting with something small and enjoyable is already a good way to get back into Japanese. You do not need the perfect combination of apps before you begin.
