How I Learned Fluent Japanese (With No STRESS!)

How to Learn Japanese... "Nihongo" has allowed me to fly planes, captain boats, apprentice under legendary Japanese musicians and so much more. Studying Japanese was the single best decision of my life and has changed Everything. This is how I became fluent in Japanese, and how you can learn too!

MIGAKU GAVE US 50% OFF THEIR LIFETIME PACKAGE!!!
(they say they've never done this before so... we're special!)

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LENSES

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**Where to Send Stuff** - As of 10.2021
Norm Nakamura - Tokyo Creative Redhorse Corporation Co. Ltd
1-10-5 Yokoami, Sumida-ku, Tokyo
Kokugikan Front Bldg 2F
130-0015
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Tokyo Lens Podcast:

[TokyoLens]

HOW'S YOUR JAPANESE JOURNEY? LET ME KNOW BELOW!! -- I'd love to hear what has worked for you!!
Also 2 Exciting updates- a Thank you to Migaku who
and secondly....
FINALLY GOT THE LAST OF THE SHAMISEN PLUSHIES LISTED!!
They are now on the merch shelf below the vid and on teespring!!

[joefroelich]

I been studying Japanese for 5 years. If I watch a show in Japanese I understand some of it but I never really get a chance to speak Japanese with anyone. There are not a lot of Japanese people in Florida. I also didn’t start studying until I was 56 years old. I think young people have an easier time learning. But I will keep trying. I been to Japan twice and I want to go back again.

[scoobydoo]

So many other videos like this say “just go to Japan and immerse yourself!” as if that’s easy for the average person, so thank you for keeping this realistic!

[LaineeeTravels]

I surprised myself with how comfortable I was using my (very very) basic Japanese on my last trip, and the reaction I got every time I tried gave me such a boost. Hopefully I will have improved even more by next March!

[nickp]

lived in tokyo for 2.5 years and been practicing japanese as much as i can. some days i feel like ive made a lot of progress then others it feels impossible. thanks for the video, giving me motivation not to give up.

[issohyatt]

Norm, I've been watching your videos since the pandemic and I have gained so much inspiration and motivation from you and your travels around Japan. I hope to one day learn Japanese well and have a chance to visit and talk with locals who otherwise I would not be able to communicate with, to learn about their culture or their local communities. You do all this and more and that's why I love your channel so much.

[jwbrobst]

In my experience, the hardest part of Japanese to learn with the internet alone is around the 10 – 25% range, where you're past sentence structure, hiragana, katakana and a few kanji but not nearly fluent.

There are thousands of YouTube videos about how to start learning Japanese, and there are even more resources to help once you're conversational (when you can really start listening to Japanese and immersing yourself). I feel like most people quit around that 10 – 25% range it just takes hard work and finding a great, in-depth learning tool to overcome—I think Norm's comparison to finding a camera you enjoy using is a great metaphor.

[inkuing]

The Migaku app is mindblowing. It's like Christmas for me! I wish I had this app when I started learning Japanese a decade ago. As a fellow long-time learner of Japanese, I totally agree with every piece of advice here. Gotta share this with my students!

[publicpersona]

So learning Japanese basically kept you from becoming a delinquent 😉Really appreciate you sharing this with us, much more practical and doable than a lot of the advice out there!

[With_Me_JAPAN]

Just like you, being hooked on the language and having strong goals which you really want to achieve might be a great motivation to succeed the language mastery! These are very informative tips and I would love to share them with anyone who is learning Japanese! Arigato😆

[senyarizui]

I really like that you emphasize do what works for you. I want to add to that, don't let others discourage you from doing whatever that is. I watched too many Japanese language channels say how bad it was to learn with what I was using. Even though I was already frustrated with that thing too, I let all those other voices convince me to do something else. That really set me back. I had my own workaround to all the frustrations on that system and just stopped because I believed there was a better way. What I should've done was keep doing what I was doing but also add on to it.

[Shxdow_is_bored]

Been learning japanese for a year and a half now. Will definitely use these tips aswell!

[christianilacqua]

I always love your videos! I'm 23, and I've been studying Japanese for the last 3 years. Even though I hardly think I can handle a conversation, lmao, thanks again for the tools and explanations!

[TonyLudlow]

What a FANTASTIC video! Truly! I landed in Tokyo in 1988 with my wife and three little ones. I returned to the States in 1998. Life back in the States was stressful and completely without Japanese anything. I was working 60-hour weeks and had all the demands of fatherhood and life on top of that. In 2022, I finished my PhD and decided I'd try to relearn some of the Japanese I'd forgotten. I was so sad to realize just how much I'd forgotten in almost 25 years of not speaking or hearing Japanese. (I had the little red dictionary too!) I love the Yoshida Brothers! How cool that you actually KNOW them and play with them! Amazing! I recognized the Japanese aviation drama "Good Luck" in your video! A pilot's license in Japan? Get outta here!!! What an accomplishment! Again, your video is awesome in both content and presentation! It's perfect! Thank you so much!

[kyoko]

That confidence explanation immediately reminded me of Natsuki. And he’s an absolute legend 😂❤

[DividedZone]

I've been self learning Japanese for about three years now and it's really cool to hear about how you started! Especially to see that you still have that dictionary from your teacher. I never knew about ごまかす or even realized I do that very thing in English without noticing. Watching that part of the video was a really "oh right, this is a thing!" moment and I'll definitely be taking that to heart for whenever I struggle remembering the right words in japanese!

[bnsgokugreat]

I'm so happy that you mentioned "Let's learn Japanese Basic 1 Series." It's one of the most useful beginner free courses I have ever seen!

[joshuamstark]

Norm, been wanting to know this! Thank you!

[homeboyzer]

Long time lurker here, but I had to comment after seeing the parallels.
Finding someone else that obsessed over learning hiragana to have it ingrained into their brain was shocking. So many of my notebooks and notes and papers from high school have all of the kana, a i u e o, ka ki ku ke ko, etc... written in both hiragana and katakana on the last pages/the back, and really it was that constant exposure that made me so comfortable with the language.
Another funny story with the gomakasu section, in my most recent trip I had arrived at my accommodation after a long day of hiking and forgot what the word for electric kettle was so I said 「お湯を作る機械」(literally hot water making machine) and the host immediately understood what I was talking about and showed me where it was 😂😂

I've been learning Japanese casually for the lesser part of a decade now and am nowhere near being proficient, but the information in this video is solid. Will be sharing with my friends.
Keep up the great work, Norm!

[Loyal-cat]

In the 1990s, I took a business traveller Japanese class. It was just simple phrases with no reading lessons. I loved the classes and I found it helped when I travelled to Japan in 1998. I would practice my new Japanese phrases everyday. I would greet my cat in Japanese. Thanks for the great video and you have provided the spark to learn more phrases and begin learning how to read Japanese.