The story starts with the year’s first snowfall, an event that is always celebrated in nature loving Japan. Once the little fox sets off on his journey to town, he has to learn to deal with humans. Through this experience, he learns that people are a lot more complicated than he thought. Here are 17 well-known Japanese short stories (and short story collections) to add some fun to your bookshelf! Update: NHK News Web Easy now has a button at the top of every article that lets you toggle furigana on and off. Awesome! This makes News Web Easy an even better resource… probably the best out of these three. The topics presented in each box set contain a wild variety, ranging from lighthearted and silly to genuinely heartbreaking.

Set a goal, collect a decent amount of new vocabulary, read aloud to yourself for speaking practice, and then stop. It’ll feel much better than plugging away until you burn out. Keep a dictionary handy…but don’t use it as a crutch FluentU even uses a learning program which adapts to your specific needs to turn every video into a language learning lesson and get you to actively practice your newly-learned language skills. This is an important time in terms of pronunciation too. Make sure you consciously mimic the vocabulary audio. Think about pitch accent as you do it. This work will prepare you for sentences later. Heralding from the adult Asahi Shinbun comes “ Kodomo Asahi,” a version of their newspaper made for children. There aren’t a ton of articles here, but definitely plenty enough to keep any beginner busy on a fairly regular basis. There is a “elementary school” section and a “middle school” section.

Here’s What We’ll Cover In This Article

Thematically, this collection shows another side of Murakami’s literary obsession. Loneliness, loss, destruction, confusion and loneliness are highlighted here, which will give Japanese language learners accurate insight into the melancholy present in Japanese culture. The collection also leans heavily into surrealism, a trademark style for the author. As I said earlier, you won't be working with a ton of vocabulary at the start. For now, let your kanji studies give you most of your vocabulary. Then, when stray street vocabulary does start coming up, send it through the vocabulary process you've built. Except for a few fancy words describing Mikage’s soul-crushing grief, the language in this book is again quite domestically focused. You’ll find reading this book is quite a calming endeavor…grab a cup of tea on a rainy day! 8. “Stories You Can Read Smoothly” As you learn kanji you will also learn vocabulary that use those kanji. Not only will this help solidify those kanji concepts in your mind, but it will also be where you learn the remaining kanji readings. Plus, as you know, this vocabulary will be used to give you something to glue together with grammar later.

The next step is processing. I'd recommend you create a habit where every day, week, or month (it depends on how much new vocabulary you want to introduce to your routine) you go through this list and put them into your SRS of choice. What is an SRS? I'm glad you asked. 3. Adding the Words to Your SRS Don’t let native Japanese-level texts intimidate you, with the aid of helpful tools like readers, dictionaries and furigana, Japanese reading can be both enjoyable and easy. Although Slam Dunk has furigana to accompany all kanji, there will be some parts of the manga that will be difficult for beginner readers to comprehend. This is mainly to do with its sports-themed plot, so make sure to warm up on your basketball terminology (or have a dictionary handy).The Magic Tree House books are by Mary Pope Osbourne and the Japanese versions are translated by Masako Shokuno. Plus, the Japanese versions have their own illustrations, done by Ayana Amako. Reading easy books that you don't need to try and translate (i.e., it's best to not push yourself with materials that are too difficult for your current level). Love blogs? This blogger helps you read casual, blog-style narratives by providing all the easy Japanese reading fixin’s you’ve already come to rely on: English translations, furigana and relevant images for context. She meanders through the ups and downs of daily life, marriage, travelling, overcoming language barriers, fun outings and more. There are years worth of entries categorized for your convenience. Definitely bookmark this one! An intriguing, low-key story examining the pressure on young Japanese men and women to marry—as a mark of success in life. Again fairly simple, domestic language here. Aside from some societal discussion and some words relating to mental illness, this novel is a good starting point for breaking into Japanese reading. Easy Japanese Short Stories 6. “After the Quake” This is your all-around tool for translation of real-world materials, online and offline. This will save your butt while reading menus, maps and more while traveling in Japan. It’s also a fun and convenient tool to have on hand for any printed Japanese materials, like books and newspapers, that you’re currently reading.

Here are some Japanese novels, manga, short stories and children’s stories to finally introduce you to the wonderful world of easy Japanese books! A bonus after reading “Rashōmon” would be to watch the well known Akira Kurasawa-directed masterpiece 1950 film afterward. 15. “Exploring Japanese Literature” translated by Giles MurrayBefore you’re certain that you’ve reached the dreaded burnout stage, I’ve got the answer for your Japanese reading woes.

This, in combination with mnemonics and worksheets, will allow you to learn how to read hiragana in a day or two instead of a month. Yahoo Questions– sure, Yahoo Questions has died out in the West but the Japanese version is still going strong – in fact, it’s one of the most popular forums on the Japanese internet. It’s a good way to get used to reading casual Japanese and hearing Japanese people’s viewpoints on all kinds of issues. This beautifully illustrated book features a collection of traditional Japanese folktales and fairy tales. These stories are excellent for language learners to read because they convey traditional culture and values shown through the stories’ morals. The stories are presented in both English and Japanese, so when you’re struggling with a word or concept, you can easily find the translated version.Expect to find robots, demons, and travels to outer space in this far out 20th century collection. 9. “Palm-of-the-Hand Stories” by Yasunari Kawabata V-Reader has a host of free texts by famous Japanese authors. In these texts, you can tap most of the vocabulary words on the screen to see (and hear!) the Japanese pronunciation and an English translation. Yes, it’s a little glitchy and has some trouble with given names and place names, but if you’re looking for an easy way to get your Japanese reading done, this app is your friend. Once you've finished learning how to read hiragana, go though that section again, but this time read about "Important Differences" as well. This section will cover all of the sounds that don't exist in English, giving you a head start. Make sure you can pronounce all of the hiragana characters correctly before moving on. FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.