Hi y’all, I’ll be visiting Japan in a couple of days (after 1,5 years in the planning). I wanted to buy some basic (very beginners) level books while over there. I tried going thru the threads but I am unsure if I should try to follow the book clubs or something else… My current plan is to get to …

for kids: Look for the grade level on the cover of the book. As an example, here’s a book that one of the book clubs here read recently. On Amazon there are some pictures of inside pages so you can see the kanji usage (fairly minimal, at this grade level). [image] なぜ?どうして?せかいはふしぎ 2年生 | 弓…

So… regarding Yotsuba&, there is an important distinction to make. It is extremely easy to READ but it is not necessarily equally easy to UNDERSTAND. My skills are limited, but I can read Yotsuba& quite well. On the other hand, there is a large amount of colloquial dialogue in it which requires me …

[image] vkninja: It is extremely easy to READ but it is not necessarily equally easy to UNDERSTAND . [image] vkninja: At the point where I am, I get the gist of what is going on, it is really funny nonetheless, and I am not bothering myself with understanding every single detail. I thi…

The graded collections for school kids are nice. I would totally go with those again! (I’m reading still the last 2 volumes of １０分で読める伝記) Only thing I would do differently been in Japan, since they are books aimed at natives, you can find the entire collection at BookOff for a price that’s a steal!…

[image] Belthazar: Love Himeji Castle. :slightly_smiling_face: I was there last year walking around the garden that surrounds the castle admiring the sakura when I got to a somewhat secluded spot and paused for a moment to take a break and then heard a cat quietly meowing. It got louder and t…

Last time I was in Japan, I bought a few volumes of Dr. Slump and I’m really enjoying them. I don’t get all of it being a beginner, but enough to appreciate the jokes, not to mention sweet art style. I also got a few volumes of Hikaru no Go, which I loved as a teen. I figured I may be able to pick u…

I loved the Kanji Books for Grade 1 and 2. They might differ from place to place but I remember well illustrated colourful comic style books until Grade 3 when they rapidly became a bit boring… I also really like the Nihongo Kantan series. Trove Australia’s free online research portal.…

I haven’t heard of that one yet. What exactly is in it? :slight_smile:

It may be out pf print. It was produced specifically for kids at an American International school in Japan. I had all three books by the time I left Japan, but because I left due to a health emergency in 1999, they did not follow me back to Africa. The grammar progresses naturally with very simpl…

Ideas of beginners books to buy in Japan

Japanese Language Reading

paperbagchild April 3, 2019, 10:03pm 21

You could have a look at some of the books for which there are vocab lists you can study on FloFlo Moe.

Make a list of any that sound interesting and then look out for those in bookstores.

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Ideas of beginners books to buy in Japan

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