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 
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Many of the resources here are free, however, the ones that aren’t are marked with a dollar sign $ or otherwise noted. Click on the triangle symbol ► to open a section’s resources.
Table of Contents
Getting Started
-
Kana
- General Resources
-
Textbooks and Grammar
- Online
- Paid Online
- Physical Textbooks
- References
-
Kanji
- General Resources
- Physical
- WaniKani Community Resources
Tools
-
Online Dictionaries
- Japanese to English
- Japanese to Japanese
- Alternate Dictionaries
-
General Practice and Tests
- General Resources
- Anki Decks
- Kitsun Decks
- Memrise Courses
-
Software
- General Resources
- Browser Extensions
- Input Method Editor (IME)
Immersion
-
Reading
- WaniKani Community Guides
- Social Book Cataloguing Websites
- Readers
- Manga, Books, and Other Publications
- News
- Blogs and Other Articles
-
Writing
- Digital
- Physical
-
Speaking
- Online Resources
- Paid Resources
-
Listening
- Free Online
- Podcasts
- Paid Audio Courses
- YouTube
Other Resources
-
Resource Portals and Learning Networks
- General Resources
-
Additional Resources
- General Resources
-
A guide to learning Japanese by Tofugu
- General Resources
-
Culture
- Blogs
- YouTube
- Japanese News (in English)
- Other
Getting Started
For new WaniKani users, check out the official Onboarding Series from the WaniKani Knowledge Guide. For community knowledge on completing WaniKani effectively, see the Wanikani Strategy Hub.
💮 KANA
Taking your first step in your Japanese learning journey.
- Tofugu’s Learn Hiragana: The Ultimate Guide and
- Learn Katakana: The Ultimate Guide
- Real Kana
- Kana Review Hiragana / Katakana Drag and Drop
- easyJapanese Kana Quizzes
- Type Kana
Physical workbooks
- Let’s Learn Hiragana and Let’s Learn Katakana
- Kodansha’s Hiragana Workbook and Katakana Workbook
📚 TEXTBOOKS AND GRAMMAR
Resources in this section teach Japanese grammar. Beginner grammar studies are a lot easier when you know around 200-300 kanji (about level 10 on WaniKani).
Online:
- Tae Kim’s Guide to Learning Japanese
- Imabi
- Renshuu
- Kanshudo
- Elon.io
- Japanese for the Western Brain
- Pomax’s An Introduction to Japanese Syntax, Grammar & Language
- 昨日 Sakubi: Yesterday’s Grammar Guide
- Visualising Japanese Grammar [Flash]
- Wasabi
- Tim Sensei’s Corner
- Irodori — Speaking Focus
- みなと丸ごと Minato Marugoto — Conversation Focus
YouTube:
- Japanese Ammo with Misa’s Grammar Lessons for Absolute Beginners
- Organic Japanese with Cure Dolly’s Japanese from Scratch
- ToKini Andy’s【N5-N4】GENKI Grammar Made Clear and【N4】GENKI 2 Grammar Made Clear
- TalkInJapan’s JLPT List 日本語能力試験対策
- Miku Real Japanese’s Grammar Videos
- Sarah Moon Japanese Grammar explanations, song translations, and Sailor Moon!
Paid online:
- 80/20Japanese
- LingoDeer
- 日本語の森 Nihongo no Mori
- Human Japanese
- JapanesePod101 – Listening Focus
- 文プロ Bunpro
- CosCom
Physical textbooks:
Physical textbooks can be purchased from Amazon; the links below are to the textbook publisher’s or author’s official website, unless otherwise unavailable.
- Genki
- Minna no Nihongo
- Japanese for Busy People
- Japanese for Everyone
- Japanese the Manga Way
- Japanese: the Spoken Language
- Yookoso! An Invitation to Contemporary Japanese
- Japanese from Zero!
- Adventures in Japanese – Aimed at junior and high school learners
- 80/20Japanese
Intermediate and Advanced:
- Kanzen Master
- An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
- Tobira: Gateway to Advanced Japanese
- QUARTET: Intermediate Japanese Across the Four Language Skills
- Authentic Japanese: Progressing from Intermediate to Advanced
- 上級日本語教科書 文化へのまなざし―テキスト
- 中・上級日本語教科書 日本への招待 テキスト
- そのまんまの日本語―自然な会話で学ぶ – Conversation Focus
References:
-
A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
- Intermediate and Advanced editions
- Tofugu’s Japanese Grammar Index
- JLPT Grammar List
- 日本語文法辞典
- Maggie Sensei’s Grammar Lessons
- 毎日のんびり日本語教師 Everyday Laid-back Japanese Teacher
- 絵でわかる日本語 - Japanese only
- A Handbook of Japanese Grammar Patterns for Teachers and Learners
- Basic Connections: Making Your Japanese Flow
㊙️ KANJI
“Learning kanji is hard.”
- WaniKani ($)
- Kanji Garden
- Kanji Damage
- Kanji Koohii
- HouHou Kanji dictionary with SRS
- Kanji Sheets lets you print kanji you know, for practise.
- Kanji Portraits
- Etymological Dictionary of Han/Chinese Characters [PDF]
- Kanji Clinic
- Learning Kanji (YouTube)
Physical:
- The Kanji Code
- The World of Kanji
- Remembering the Kanji
- The Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Course
- A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters
- Kanji in Context
WaniKani Community resources:
- KaniWani WaniKani reverse vocab EN → JP
- KameSame WaniKani reverse vocab EN → JP using Japanese Keyboard Layout
Anki decks for Kanji not covered by WaniKani:
- JLPT Vocabulary vs WaniKani Google Spreadsheet (Original thread)
Tools
📘 ONLINE DICTIONARIES
English:
Japanese–English (和英)
- Jisho.org
- Lorenzi’s Jisho
- 単語林 Tangorin
- RomajiDesu
- 楽しい Japanese Tanoshii Japanese
- Jim Breen’s WWWJDIC
Japanese:
National (国語)
English–Japanese and Japanese–English (英和・和英)
Alternate dictionaries:
- OJAD Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
- Tsuginoji 次の字 [Use Guide] – Pitch accent
- Forvo – Pronunciation
- Niai – Theasaurus
- Onomatopedia – Onomatopoeia
- goo辞書 全国方言辞典 – National Dialects
- 日本語俗語辞書 Zokugo-Dict – Japanese Slang Dictionary
- IT用語辞典 e-Words Dictionary of IT Terms
- Advanced Terminology Business / Industrial / Scientific
- Tatoeba – Sentence Dictionary [Use Guide]
- コトバンク KotoBank
- ALC 英辞郎 – English–Japanese translation database
- 和独辞典 Wadoku – Japanese–German
- JLPT Dictionary
- Yamasa’s OCJS Online Japanese Dictionary
📓 GENERAL PRACTICE AND TESTS
- Duolingo
- Mondly ($)
- Shirimono
- iKnow ($)
- Torii SRS – Vocabulary
- LearnWithOliver
- eboardで学んでみよう Let’s Learn with eboard – Elementary and Junior High School content
Tests:
For more detailed descriptions of the tests please refer to this thread.
- JLPT - The standard Japanese proficiency test
- J-CAT - A short computerized adaptive tests
- J-Test - All around proficiency test offered in East Asia
- Kanji Kentei - A kanji proficiency test
Tools
- ichi.moe – Sentence Parser
- NINJAL’s Japanese Grammar Point Bank [Use Guide] and Handbook of Basic Japanese Verbs
- Steven Kraft’s Japanese Projects — Conjugation, Numbers & Counters, Kana & Kanji
- Bailey Snyder’s Japanese Conjugation Practice
- Don’s Japanese Conjugation Drill [Use Guide]
- Katsu 活用 — Conjugation
- 鰐活用 WaniConjugation – Conjugation with WaniKani integration
- YYNIHONGO tool debris…
- 助数詞を練習 Jyosuushi – Counters
- Ultra Handy Japanese Verb Conjugator
- A Real Me Online Japanese Vocabulary Size Test
📱 SOFTWARE
Spaced repetition systems:
Browser extensions:
Browser-based Japanese dictionary extensions.
- Yomichan Firefox and Chrome
- Rikaichamp Firefox
- Rikaikun and Rikaichan Chrome
- Safarikai Safari version
Input Method Editor (IME):
Type in Japanese!
- CosCom - How to type Japanese
- Tofugu Article
- Google Japanese Input is available on Mac OS, Android and Windows.
Immersion
👀 READING
WaniKani Community guides:
- Resources for Starting to Read Japanese Content
- Master List of (WaniKani) Book Clubs
- Buying Digital Japanese Books
Social Book Cataloguing Websites:
- 読書メーター Bookmeter
- Koohi.cafe (Thread Link)
- Natively (Thread Link)
Readers:
- Satori Reader
- Japanese.io
- Kitsun.io ($: 14-day free trial)
- Yomi.ai ($)
Manga, books, and other publications:
Online:
- Comico
- Comic Walker by Kodakawa
-
tree by Kodansha
A series of contemporary Japanese short stories by acclaimed authors with English and Chinese translations available.
Parallel texts:
- Short Stories in Japanese New Penguin Parallel Text
- Read Real Japanese: Contemporary Writings by Popular Authors
- Read Real Japanese: Short Stories by Contemporary Writers
- Breaking into Japanese Literature: Seven Modern Classics in Parallel Text
Children’s Books and Young Adult Fiction:
- White Rabbit Press Japanese Graded Readers ($)
- Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Course Graded Reading Sets ($)
- Kodansha Story for You
- みらい文庫 Mirai Bunko– Elementary and Middle School levels
- Kodansha 青い鳥文庫 Aoitori – Light Novels. Elementary and Upper Middle School levels
- 角川つばさ文庫 Tsubasa Bunko – Light Novels. Elementary and Middle School levels
- 福娘童話集 Folklore and Stories for Japanese Children
News:
- NHK News [WKC Article Translation Thread]
- NHK News Web Easy [Reddit r/NHKEasyNews] [WKC Translation Thread]
- NHK News Web Easier [Use Guide]
- Asahi Shimbun [English]
- Nikkei Finance [English]
- TBS News [Use Guide]
- Sanspo Sports News
- Rocket News 24
- TechCrunch Japan
- 4Gamer – Video Games
Blogs and other articles:
- Livedoor
- 和タのC Watanoc – Easy Japanese
- Matcha Japan Travel Web Magazine
- Nippon Talk
- Soseki Project – Natsume Souseki novels
✒️ WRITING
Digital:
- HelloTalk
- HiNative
- Tandem Language Exchange
- WaniKani Community Japanese Only category
- LangCorrect
- Ringotan (Thread Link) – Kanji writing practice
Physical:
-
Kanji.sh
For downloading printable handwriting practice worksheets -
Simple Writing Practice Sheets
Writing practice sheets with katakana (for onyomi readings) or hiragana (for kunyomi) of all WK kanji grouped in 5 level chunks. There are also worksheets for kana writing and calligraphy practice.
🗣️ SPEAKING
Online:
-
Skype
Find speaking partners with HiNative, HelloTalk, Tandem, reddit. - VRChat [Use Guide]
- Second Life [Use Guide]
- Tofugu’s A Guide to Japanese Pronunciation: Sounds, Words, and Sentences
- Japanese Pitch Accent Memrise course
- OJAD - Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Paid online:
- Dogen’s Japanese Phonetics (YouTube)
- italki – 1-on-1 lessons with natives
Shadowing:
Online:
- にほんごたどく Tadoku
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Sing-Along Japanese Songs
Physical:
- Tadoku にほんご よむよむ文庫 Japanese Graded Readers
👂 LISTENING
Online:
- Speechling – Listening Comprehension Practice
- Erin’s Challenge! I can speak Japanese. - 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.
- Wasabi Read-Aloud - The read-aloud section has narrated short stories and podcasts with scripts and translations. It has the 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:
-
バイリンガルニュース
News show hosted by an English and a Japanese speaker. They each speak in their own language. -
ひいきびいき ・ [Backup Available]
Two presenters discuss their current favourite things in a casual style. Topics cover a wide range - from curry to studying to newly released game consoles. -
そこあに
Anime themed podcast -
荻上チキ・Session-22
Interviews and reports on current events and issues. Called by some the “This American Life” of Japan (not quite). -
The Lifestyle Museum
Hosted by Peter Barakan, this show has short 30-minute interviews with artists, writers, world whistling champions (?) and everything in between. -
ラジオ版 学問ノススメ
Similar to “The Lifestyle Museum”, but with longer interviews and a more in-depth coverage of issues. Guests in this show include more poets, novelists, philosophers, etc. -
Rebuild.fm
Tech show hosted by programmer Tatsuhiko Miyagawa, of CPAN fame. Shows are long (1~2 hour) unstructured conversations with friends and colleagues about recent issues in tech. -
Nihongo Con Teppei
Teppei Sensei talks about everyday subjects using simple (approx N4 level) Japanese. 11 minute episodes are great for a quick bit of listening practice. -
Hapa英会話 Podcast
Aimed at Japanese learners of English. Bilingual host translates short English conversations with guest speakers into Japanese.
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:
- A list of some Youtube channels that might help you
- Pokemon Grammar - Learn grammar while playing Pokemon!
- Nihongonomori Japan Learn Japanese grammar with native speakers. Starts at a very beginner level.
- Lets Learn Japanese Narrated in English but does skits of native Japanese. There are transcripts and vocab provided in PDFs in the video info. Listening is good, however, scripts are in romaji.
- 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 styles 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 has a playlist. Also general talk videos on specific topics.
-
おかね的日本語教室
Videos themed around different scenarios. Also Live video as well. Videos are in easy-to-understand Japanese. - Onomappu Japanese native speaks casually in Japanese, about learning Japanese, culture, and using Onomatopoeia. Choice of JP subtitles, JP & EN, and often other languages.
- Benjiro - Beginner Japanese’s Japanese Conversations
- Comprehensible Japanese - Japanese learning videos based on the CI (Comprehensible Input) method.
Other Resources
🇯🇵 RESOURCE PORTALS AND LEARNING NETWORKS
- Japanese Stack Exchange a system to ask questions about Japanese.
- Nihongo eな
- Japanese Language and Culture Network
- sci.lang.japan
- JGram
- Alan R. Miller’s Japanese Language Reference
- Japanga.com
- B! Hatena Bookmark Japanese only
- Keiko Schneider’s Bookmarks
- Jim Breen’s Japanese Page
- Charles Kelly’s Online Japanese Language Study Materials
🚅 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Other Software:
- Kakitai Windows 10/8.1 app for learning kanji by writing. (Tablet and pen recommended.)
- KanjiTomo identifies Japanese characters from images.
Apps and games:
Android and iOS:
Android:
- AnkiDroid (Anki on Android) – If you want to write with a stylus, you can ‘enable whiteboard’.
- JA Sensei Learn Japanese
- JA Audiobook $ - Graded reader with explanations and translations
- Kanji Study
- Akebi Japanese Dictionary
- Aedict3
- Takoboto
- Kakugo - open source - quizzes kana, kanji and vocabulary by JLPT (N5 - N1) - quizzes recognition, production and writing (stroke order)
iOS:
Japanese learning games:
- Learn Japanese Pod Kana Invaders
- easyJapanese Kana Invaders
- LeaRN Japanese RPG Slime Forest Adventure — Kana, basic kanji
- Digital Dialects Japanese Language Games
Other resource sites:
- LingQ
- JapaneseClass.jp - RPG text style learning
- About.com
- LearnJapanese.com
- Nihongo Resources
- Irasshai - Video Lessons
- Remembering the Kanji Forum
- Google Japan
- Fluent Future
Spaced-Repetition Decks:
Anki decks:
- Core 6000 Deck (29999 cards)
- List of shared Japanese Anki Decks
- Core 10K, AKA “so much vocab!”
- Core 10K breakdown by WaniKani level
- WaniKani vocab not included in Core 10k breakdown
- Some Supplemental Materials, by @hinekidori
- Anki Tutorials including video tutorials by @hinekidori
- http://wanikanitoanki.com a WaniKani exporter
- http://wanikanitoanki.com/doc can also work as an Anki tutorial
- Kanji Stroke order font This font works well with Anki, imho.
- WaniKani Context Sentences this is just not included in WaniKani-to-Anki; with Audio, by @hinekidori
Kitsun decks: ($ - 14-day free trial)
- Core 10k Kitsun optimized by @hinekidori
- Genki Complete Vocabulary by @hinekidori
- Katakana 4500 words by @hinekidori
- The Lost WK Levels: 61-70 by @s1212z
- 180 set expressions used by Japanese speakers by @s1212z
- Kitsun - JLPT - N5 - N4, N3, N2, and N1 decks also available
- Prefectures of Japan by @acm2010
- Aria Vol. 1 by @Radish8 - WK’s book club
- 時をかける少女 - WK’s book club
- Non Non Biyori by @Radish8 - WK’s book club
- Pokémon Generation 1 JP Names
Memrise courses:
- Vocab - Memoryfox’s courses / TL-Void’s courses
- Grammar - Beginner course
- Hello Katakana by まゆっち plus more of his courses
- WaniKani Expansion Pack by まゆっち
- WaniKani Reverse Vocab
- JLPT N5 Vocab
⛩️ 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 that 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 an American living in Japan and does a lot of videos in Japanese targeted at 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 cultural 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 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,” in 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 traveling 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 are 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.
- Life Where I’m From - “gives interesting and educational insight into the everyday, special events and uniquely Japanese aspects of life in Japan.” often from the perspective of YouTuber Greg Lam’s children as they go about their everyday. Both cute and educational.
Japanese News (in English):
Other:
- Niconico - Video site for anime-style music and video games. Seems to be most popular for anime music. The community is in Japanese and has some Japanese tags and titles
Immigrating to Japan:
A guide to learning Japanese by Tofugu:
Notes:
Some links may be outdated, broken, or a service is no longer available. If you find a broken link feel free to update or fix it, if a resource is no longer available or has drastically changed its function, please make a post in the thread about it.
This list is an updated version of an archived original post by @Aikibujin.
