Learning Japanese: My Journey So Far · Part 3: Daily Routine and Recommendations

After talking about the growth mindset and how I kept going over the past four years, it's time to share how I studied, along with the textbooks and tools that helped me.

It's highly subjective, and everyone is different, so it might not suit you. Take whatever feels useful for your own journey and leave the rest.

I won't argue over which is the best beginner textbook or the best apps to learn kanji. There are tons of great resources out there, and some might work better than others depending on the person.

The most important thing is keeping the habit system from collapsing and putting in enough volume to build a solid foundation. We already know it takes time, which is why making sure we follow our system almost on autopilot is crucial.

Language overview

Let's take a look at the components of the language:

• Hiragana and Katakana
• Kanji and vocabulary
• Grammar
• Reading comprehension
• Listening
• Speaking

And let's not forget hidden bosses like cultural awareness, honorific speech, reading the air, and other subtleties. For example, even if someone uses the right words, grammar, and native pronunciation, if they try to convey sarcasm or dark humor, there's a high chance it won't resonate with Japanese people.

All components can be studied individually. As we build mastery in each, the pieces start connecting, and things begin to make more sense. We often navigate between plateaus and breakthrough phases as we keep pushing forward.

So, where to start?

In my case, I followed the same process I used to learn English. I'm far from a native level, but it's enough for work and everyday life.

When I was learning English, I focused mainly on listening and reading, but speaking came way later. Starting with heavy input before gradually building output worked well for me, so I did the same for Japanese. Some might disagree and would focus more on speaking. It's totally fine, and as mentioned earlier, do what suits you best.

I'm fine with delaying speaking because I believe that, with mastery of listening and reading, speaking is a matter of practice. And with Japanese, speaking won't help you much with reading because of the kanji.

The Grind

I group these components together:

• Hiragana and Katakana
• Kanji and vocabulary
• Grammar
• Reading comprehension

There are two reasons for this. The first is that they depend heavily on each other, even though we can focus on each individually. The second is that we have to block time and sit down. We have to focus and do the work every single day. It's repetitive, boring at times, and can feel like grinding for exams. There's no shortcut, and it's where we lose many comrades along the way.

Hiragana and Katakana

The basics of the basics. It's the Japanese alphabet and the easiest part. No particular recommendation here. You can make flashcards with Anki, use apps like Hiragana Pro and Katakana Pro, or just print the alphabet on paper and learn it.

Kanji and vocabulary

Kanji are Chinese characters used in the Japanese writing system. We need to learn about 2000 kanji for full fluency.

Kanji have three types of readings, with two main ones: pronunciations derived from Chinese (on'yomi 音読み) and native Japanese readings (kun'yomi 訓読み). The third type is nanori (名乗り), which you can safely ignore at first, as it's mainly used for names and places.

Vocabulary words are made of hiragana, katakana, single kanji, multi-kanji compounds (jukugo 熟語), or kanji followed by hiragana (okurigana 送り仮名). To dive deeper, I recommend this article.

Quite overwhelming, right? It's one of the big walls when learning Japanese. It relies more on memorization and takes a long time. At first, I wondered why things had to be so complicated, but as I kept going, I began to appreciate the beauty of kanji and how it actually simplifies reading.

I use WaniKani, and it works well for me. I upgraded to a lifetime subscription during their end-of-year sale, and I'm currently level 52. That means I've seen all the kanji needed for the JLPT N2. It doesn't mean I remember every single one, but now I'm in consolidation mode.

If you decide to use WaniKani, my personal recommendation is to aim for level 30 before slowing down. Why? You'll find a detailed explanation thanks to this WaniKani post.

In short, it comes down to diminishing returns. There are too many things to do, and you need to shift your focus and consolidate your learning through different formats, like reading more or writing.

I actually don't know how to write kanji yet. It's difficult to do everything at full capacity, so I choose to set writing aside at first. Now that I've covered WK up to N2, I can make time for it. It will also help me reinforce the kanji and vocabulary I learned. Some friends recommended the app Kanji Study.

Grammar

This is where a good teacher is essential, particularly when starting out to build a strong foundation. I started with Minna no Nihongo Shokyu I and II. I worked through both textbooks with a teacher for two hours a week (covered by my company) and did additional study in my free time.

After finishing Minna no Nihongo I and II, I was able to work on my own with the book TRY!日本語能力試験N3.

Textbooks cover most components of the language in a balanced way, except for speaking, as real-life conversations are too different from textbook dialogues.

At the start, having a teacher who can explain grammar and cultural nuances in English (or your native language) is crucial. Little by little, lessons should transition fully into Japanese. You can ask your teacher to revert to English only when a simpler Japanese explanation fails, or to just give you individual keywords so you can piece the meaning together yourself.

It's fine if you don't understand everything right away. Think of it as a puzzle with missing pieces. As you keep going and revisiting concepts, the missing pieces will naturally fall into place.

Just like in our native languages, we eventually reach a point where we can pick the right grammar naturally without overthinking the rule. We don't explicitly remember the rules, but it just feels right, natural. That's what we should be aiming for, and it takes practice so the rules can run on a subconscious level.

Reading comprehension

At first, I practiced reading aloud with my teacher so I could get live feedback on grammar, expressions, cultural nuances, pronunciation, rhythm, etc.

After reaching an intermediate level, I stopped dedicating specific time to reading aloud in lessons so I could focus on grammar and conversation. I keep reading in my free time and gather questions I have to discuss during the next lesson.

Reading comprehension is all about volume. Textbooks aren't enough, so you need to read as much as possible. The tricky part is that you'll first need a certain mastery of kanji and vocabulary, but also grammar concepts. Otherwise, it becomes too tedious.

There's no shortage of content, but you need to diversify. You can read children's stories, Japanese novels, newspapers, blogs, and even ask AI to write Japanese content tailored to your current level.

Here are a few useful resources:

• Satori Reader
• Todai Easy Japanese News
• Learn Natively

I mainly use Satori Reader. It features original stories with professional audio, making it great for practicing listening and shadowing (repeating what you hear as you listen).

Listening

Like reading, listening requires volume, and we practically have unlimited content. I don't personally use Netflix to watch Japanese dramas or anime for learning. While it can help, I find it a bit too passive and less applicable to daily real-life situations.

The best way to improve is to be intentional and avoid passive listening, at least until reaching an advanced level. Sometimes, you need to enter "study mode" to analyze a video rather than just letting it play in the background. Trying to summarize what you understood in your own words takes more effort, but you'll progress much faster.

YouTube is the best platform for watching and listening to Japanese content like news, podcasts, entertainment, documentaries, and many more. From time to time, watching videos with Japanese subtitles is great for training kanji recognition.

I mainly focus on podcasts made for Japanese learners. I recently discovered the world of Virtual YouTubers (VTubers), which is a big industry here in Japan, where you can listen to long-format videos with a variety of topics. While I tried them, I still prefer podcasts and listen to VTubers occasionally to diversify.

Here are a few channels I recommend:

• YUYUの日本語Podcast
• Bite Size Japanese
• あかね的日本語教室
• OkkeiJapanese
• Rei Ch. 悠針れい (VTuber) — long video formats are in the Live section

Speaking

The hardest part of speaking is finding people who give you the space to make mistakes.

Practicing with a Japanese teacher or using AI tools are great starting points, but you can't stay in that comfortable bubble forever.

You need to find people to talk to and prepare yourself to make tons of mistakes. It can be embarrassing, but it's an unavoidable part of the process. It's easier if you live in Japan, but you can also find local communities on Meetup or an online community.

I recommend finding a language study partner who wants to learn English or your native language. If you have a one-hour conversation, split the time: 30 minutes in Japanese and 30 minutes in the other language, rather than mixing the two. It might feel a bit rigid, but setting clear boundaries ensures both of you actually get practice. It doesn't prevent you from having a good time and building a relationship.

Always keep mutual respect in mind. Use Japanese as a tool to genuinely connect with another human being, rather than treating your partner purely as a language sparring partner.

My daily routine

It will sound simple, but the hard part is staying consistent. I try to immerse myself in Japanese as much as possible. I block time for Japanese in my Google Calendar and track completion in a habit journal.

Every day, my routine includes:

• WaniKani (15 new lessons + all reviews): I initially rushed to level 30, then paused new lessons to focus on reviews and reading. Once I cleared all reviews, I resumed lessons until reaching level 52. Now I'm back to review mode, and I'll begin learning how to write.
• Satori Reader: Read one article out loud.
• Listening: Podcasts on YouTube or Spotify during lunch, dinner, breaks, and commutes.
• Textbooks & AI: Review one lesson or do exercises in a textbook like Minna no Nihongo (now I'm using 新完全マスター). I've also started using AI tools to practice.

I have two hours of lessons per week, during which I study a textbook (新完全マスターN2) and practice conversation.

On weekends, whenever I can, I block off a longer study time in my Google Calendar and sometimes meet up with a group of international and Japanese people.

One perk of living in Japan is "cafe study sessions". I often go to cafes to work on personal projects, though sometimes I just pretend to work while eavesdropping on nearby conversations for listening practice!

I built a "golden habit" that I highly recommend: whenever a thought pops up in my native language, I ask myself how to say it in Japanese. After struggling, I ask or confirm with Gemini App. AI is incredible for learning anything if used intentionally.

This list of resources I presented isn't exhaustive, and there are plenty of other great tools out there. My recommendation is not to use too many resources, but to focus on a few and master them.

We naturally tend to chase novelty or look for the easiest, most entertaining method. But real progress requires sticking with something, grinding it out, and doing the work required to reach our goals.

Friction and struggle are part of the learning process. Nobody goes to the gym expecting results without sweating and feeling the burn.

A reminder about the JLPT

I often refer to the JLPT because it's a solid baseline for gauging one's progress outside of speaking ability. It gives learners direction, a tangible goal, and a sense of accomplishment when achieving it.

However, learning Japanese is more than earning a JLPT certificate. Plenty of fluent speakers have never taken the exam. It's not an obligation, but it opens opportunities, especially if you want to live and work in Japan. In fact, with the recent immigration policy changes happening here, in some situations, holding the JLPT N2 or an equivalent may be required.

The journey continues

This article concludes my three-part mini-series on four years of learning Japanese. I didn't expect to write this much when I started! While I still feel there are details and nuances I could polish further, or even add more topics, I'm choosing to resist the urge to make it "perfect".

I hope this series encourages you to keep pushing forward in your Japanese studies until you reach a level you're proud of. It's a beautiful, challenging language, and every bit of effort you put into it is worth it.