Welcome to Japanese-Journey.com.
Let me quickly tell you my story and the purpose of this blog:
My name is Johannes, I’m a 28 years old German.
In 2004 I started practicing Aikido, which was the reason for me to visit Japan for the first time in 2009. During this stay of 16 days, I started to like Japan a lot. However, I did not start to learn the language after that and I also did not visit Japan again. I intended to go there, but for several years, it did not work out.
Until, in late 2013, I met a beautiful girl of the same age on an Aikido Seminar in Bavaria. みどり (Midori) was from Nagano, Japan. After she had returned home, we kept in contact via Skype. Finally, in November/December 2014, I made my way back to Japan to visit her. Two more visits in April and June/July 2015 followed. When I returned to Germany after that last visit, I took her with me.
She now has a working holiday visa for Germany, which is valid for one year. In July we will then return to Japan, where we will get married. We did not decide yet for how long we will stay. It will be anything from between three months to forever.
This brings me to the purpose of this blog.
I am capable of speaking some basic Japanese and of reading the two syllabaries Hiragana and Katakana. However, I want to increase my proficiency in the language as much as possible, especially while I am still in Germany. I want to learn the Kanji (Chinese characters) that are listed on the Jōyō-Kanji-list (2,136 characters) and get myself onto a level of Japanese at which I am able to have a conversation with my Aikido teacher without needing a translator. I am aware that these goals are not easy, even unlikely, to achieve in only six months. However, I will give my best (頑張ります)!
I’m a fan of learning in smart ways, using techniques and programs that are not based solely on repetition, but that are engaging and utilizing the human’s power of imagination. I want to share with you my progress on learning Japanese and give you recommendations and tips that have made my life easier.
The second purpose of this blog is to inform you about Japanese culture, how to behave in Japan, give you travel tips and the like. I have made and am still making so many mistakes, maybe I an help you to avoid some of them.
That’s all for the introduction. I hope you will enjoy reading this blog’s content as much as I am, when writing it.