FujiPan - Famous Folktales

While this Japanese bread site offers products, recipes, and more, this post highlights the section called FujiPan to wa Hagukumu which has famous folktales for kids that are also great for learners of Japanese. There are tons of stories which you can select by genre. There is also a section which has the stories categories by each prefecture of Japan where the story is popular. You don't need perfect Japanese to navigate to the stories. Just scroll down and click on the picture or its title!

When you do click, a separate window opens up the story which are all accompanied by audio file so you can follow or read along! These stories include Kanji characters, but there are Hiragana readings in parenthesis which are also included.

Japanese Nihongo - Conversation

This is a page directed from Japanese-nihongo.com which lists a variety of different conversation topics for beginners including but not limited to introductions, first visit to Japan, taking the train, and getting lost. These conversation lessons are geared towards beginner and intermediate students of Japanese. Options for viewing the lessons may be in HTML webpage form, or PDF or DOC which you can download and save to your computer. In many cases, there are audio files included which play in your web browser.

If you click the Home link at the top of the page, you can find a link which directs you to entries--including some written in Japanese that you can study. There is also links for more conversation dialogues, JLPT, and essays. If you are ready for advance level, I think you will also like reading these.

生活日本語会話 - Japanese Life Conversation

Sekatsu Nihongo Kaiwa is a site of collected example conversations offered by a Taiwanese university. While the accompanied sound files seem to broken, intermediate and advanced speakers can find a wide variety of example conversations here for speaking practice with topics ranging from self-introduction to shopping expressions to apologizing for something.  The readings for each Kanji character is also provided here. If you're using Rikaichan, words can be interpreted despite the use of parentheses.

As for beginners, if you don't mind the absence of English on this site you might also find this site useful to you. The pronunciation practice located at the bottom of the page could be most helpful to you.

Kids @ Nifty - Practice Worksheets

This Kids@Nifty doesn't seem to be so difficult to navigate since there are so many images to help you! This website offers a collection of PDF worksheets perfect for kids and beginners! There are Hiragana worksheets and writing practice worksheets. You can also find other materials such as daily chore sheets/timetable, multiplication table, and typing games. There's so much more available by accessing the main site here. Give it a try!　

School House Family Net - Game Plaza

School House Family Net is in Japanese and geared towards Japanese children but it's a great resource and entertainment venue for learners of Japanese, especially if you love games!

If you have the Rikaichan tool which allows you to scroll your mouse over Japanese text for translations, this site works well with it. If not, you can learn more about it here. Use Rikaichan by hovering your mouse over text to better navigate this site.

Explore the site! You can find some games and activities that will give you good practice!

...Like these:

• Scroll down and click 頭脳系 and click はっぴーヘアメイク
  In this game, commands are given in Hiragana. Following these commands you have to style the clients hair appropriately!
• Scroll down and click アクション・シューティング系 and click  ウサコ・うさおの雪合戦
  Press the yellow Start button. Choose your character. Collect and throw snowballs. You can get some reading practice while enjoying a good snowball fight!
• Scroll down and click 入学準備 学習幼稚園 on the left hand side. Click on the first option: ゲームコーナー , scroll down again and click on プレー！　to play なぞポンの　なぞなぞゲーム２. Practice your reading skills and identifying matching vocabulary to such questions such as:
  まるくて　あまくて　おいしい　けど、　まなかが　たべられない　おかし　なんだ？
  What do you call the snack which is round and sweet but the middle can't be eaten?
  
  It's not hard to be directed to sites for purchasing items, but I hope you can find this site helpful.
  

JapaneseEmoticons - Kaomoji & Emoji

JapaneseEmoticons - This site overs has 2,500 emoticons for your copy-and-paste use! Find the perfect icons for emotions, animals, actions, and more! ☆*･゜ﾟ･*\(^O^)/*･゜ﾟ･*☆

Kenchako Daibouken - Kenchako's Great Adventure

Kenchako is a website for kids and Japanese to practice Japanese but it can be just as helpful to you! This link will take you to some PDF files of Kanji worksheets with answer keys included! These are also great for reading practice. If you're not familiar with written Japanese, it's OKAY! You should still be able to navigate the site fairly well by following this key:
小学 means elementary school
１生 (lowest level in Japan elementary school) means 1st year (student)
２年　means 2nd year (student)....
６年 (highester level in Japan elementary school) means 6th year (student)

Each colored box represents a different level.

NHK for School

NHK for School Don't let this site scare you off because it it completely in Japanese. It might be kind of confusing if you dont know how to read much Kanji...but...You can access so many different types of content on this site! Though the site is designed for young children and students in Japan, it's a great resource for any person studying Japanese! It can get downright confusing, but just click around and visit this site from time to time and bookmark what's suitable for your level! There are a lot of videos, games, etc. to boost and improve your Japanese language and cultural understanding!

Here is a key and some links to get you started:
番組 -  TV Programs (Bangumi)
クリップ - Clips - Broadcast programs and short educational footage clipsWatch educational programs any time! Study what you are interested in and use for studying the information you are not completely comfortable with.Many of the videos here are 1-3 minute movies. There are supposedly over 3,000 clips.
ゲーム - Games - Educational pages with quizzes and games
There are tons of quizzes and games for fun and language learning including Recycling Trash, 

電子黒板 - (Electronic Blackboard (Denshi Kokuban)

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－　

国語　こくご　　  Japanese language/national laguage (also as a subject in Japanese schools)
算数　さんすう　Arithmetic
理科　りか　　　 science
社会　しゃかい  society
総合　そうごう　coordination/comprehension

Yurudara SeeSaa - Flash Games for Infants & Children

Yurudara SeeSaa has several flash games. Most of these games are suitable for infants. But there is a game here where you can practice Hiragana character writing and another game where you serve as a chef in a restaurant. You may enjoy these!

Japan Centre - Buy Japanese Food

Japan Centre offers a range of authentic Japanese food from sauces and spices to confectionery and drinks. Enjoy the convenience of shopping online for Japanese food, books and magazines, and more. Global delivery is available! All major credit cards are accepted.

Just One Cookbook - Easy Japanese Recipes and Food Blog

Just One Cookbook is a great website for Japanese recipes! This blog offers tons of authentic recipes for appetizers, entrees, and desserts! Complete recipes are accompanied with both instructional videos AND step-by-step pictures!

Rikaichan - Dictionary Tool

Rikaichan is a popup dictionary tool which allows you to read Japanese written on any webpage. Currently Rikaichan works with Firefox, Thunderbird and Seamonkey web browsers. See the blue box in the image above? Rikaichan s a web-based tool which allows you to understand Japanese texts on webpages. If you don't already have it, you can access it for Firefox here. It is simple to use! Just hover the mouse on top of a Japanese word. Rikaichan automatically de-inflects verbs and adjectives. There is an optional toolbar that allows you to manually type the word to lookup. Detailed kanji view shows meaning/keyword in English, on/kun readings, and other information. Hiragana, katakana and half-width katakana are treated the same making it possible to lookup stylized/emphasized words.

After downloading Rikaichan, you need to also download the proper dictionary file. For most, it will be Japanese - English and Japanese Names.

Usually to turn Rikaichan ON/OFF, you can click on the small red smiling face usually located at the very top right or lower right part of your browser window.

CookPad - The Best Japanese Recipes to Make your Cooking Fun!

CookPad has a wide selection of easy, delicious Japanese recipes complete with ingredients list and measurements, directions for preparation, and pictures. What I enjoy most about the recipes are the "Stores Behind the Recipe" and "Helpful Hints" sections that are posted with the recipes! The links above are for the English version of the site. You can access the Japanese version here. Using the Japanese version is a great way to practice reading in Japanese (especially if you have the Rikai-chan tool!) and learn new Japanese cooking terminology.

No Laughing in Yugawara Batsu Game

No Laughing in Yugawara Batsu Game is a Japanese gameshow. It is said that this is very popular in Japan. Currently it is available as a full-length movie on YouTube. As of today it has been available for about 2 months. Hopefully it is still available for you to enjoy!

The rules of the Batsu Game:
#1: You will stay overnight at a spring inn.

#2:  No matter what, do not laugh during this trip.

#3: If you do laugh, you will be punished immediately

Econtrader - Interactive Japanese

Econtrader - This website helps you learn Japanese through an interactive map style. Learn Japanese for the home, school, hotel, market, and more! Hear words and phrases in native Japanese!

Ba Ba Dum - Play and Learn

Ba Ba Dum is an online collection of games that lets you learn words in different languages by selecting the correct illustration of the example word. One of the languages offered is Japanese! You can pratice spelling words in Japanese, matching the word you see and hear to the correct picture among four pictures shown. 1500 words including nouns, adjectives, and verbs! Very great site for kids and beginner learner but also great site for reviewing learned material for upper levels. Create a free account to save your progress!

WebJapanese

WebJapanese might simple like a bland simple sight upon first sight of the homepage, but there is so much information available to anyone wanting to learn Japanese language, culture, history, and more! While there is different links available, maybe the ones you might find most interesting and helpful to learning about Japan and life there are:





Fun reading:There are readings in English and Japanese written by native Japanese, foreigners living in Japan, people married to Japanese, etc. Topics include marriage, language, life in Japan, recipes, and entertainment.


Archive - Free Japanese Learning Materials:
Via easy photo presentation, you can learn Japanese words and English translations of everyday life, food, nature, fashion, restaurants, history, and more.
 

Learn Japanese with "Pinterest":Although not as extensive, similar to the description of above, WebJapanese has a Pinterest page and you can see some photos mostly about language, history, and food.

Daily Yomiuri News Site

Pera Pera Penguin was a great place for access to grammar lessons! It seems yomiuri.co.jp changed their English website and along with it disappeared all of the Pera Pera Penguin Japanese lessons. Luckily, this Polish website has 88 of the 100 available for download. For those that haven't read these, they are 1 page quick lessons on various topics in Japanese. For example #50 deals with onomatopoeia like どきどき (feeling nervous) and ごろごろ (lie around). Despite being one page, they are surprisingly complete with examples, English explanations, and even a few exercises with answers provided. I recommend downloading all of them since it is uncertain whether or not yomiuri.co.jp will republish them.

You could also access those 88 PDFs here! ^_^

NHK Radio News

No matter what level you are you can still benefit from listening to the daily news on NHK Radio News. Up your vocabulary and learn about current news and events in Japan. You really don't need to be able to read Japanese to get your listening practice here. Just click on the speaker symbol on the left to start up a station. Of course you can recognize the Flash Player and Windows Media player symbol. Even 10 minutes each day while you eat your breakfast will surely help to UP your listening ability! 　Click on ふつう at the top to hear nws at normal speed. ゆっくり slows down the track to a slower speed. はやい speeds up the track so that it is faster than normal speed.

AJALT - Survival Japanese

AJALT Survival Japanese is for people who are interested in communicating in Japanese but have no knowledge of the language. If you plan to visit Japan, this site make your stay much more interesting and enjoyable. Survival Japanese is an on-line textbook. It has four categories: Communication Tools, Situational Conversations, Grammar and Vocabulary. Some topics include: sightseeing, asking for directions, asking for help, and home-stay.

Interpals - Language Exchange

InterPals is the premiere online community for meeting pen pals, language partners, travel buddies or just plain old fashioned friends!It's totally FREE!

Lang-8 - Native Speakers Correct your Writing

On Lang-8, you can practice writing in Japanese and get your entries corrected by native speakers! Write on any topic of your choice! Create a free account and write your introduction now. Practice using some vocabulary and grammar points you have recently learned and read entries of others learning Japanese and from native Japanese people. This is a great place to social network and make new friends. Perfect for any level!

Prefectures of Japan - Purpose Games

Can you recognize the 47 different Prefectures of Japan? Test your knowledge with the timer-based online game! A fun way to learn Japan's geography!

Real Kanji

Real Kanji is a drill style practice website for beginner, intermediate, and advanced learners. This site lets you practice the kanji and vocabulary typically found in levels N5 through N1 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). It’s easy to use.  Click the ‘Kanji’ tab and choose which of the five levels you’d like to practice.Then, click ‘Practice’.  As you are presented with each word, type its rōmaji equivalent (e.g., ‘genki’).

JapanesePod101 - Lessons Podcast

Here you can find podcast style lessons for Japanese ranging from beginner to Advanced level! Lots of culture are included in the lessons as well. While the Premium accounts on JapanesePod101 aren't FREE for the first 7 days upon signing up for a Basic Account, you have complete access to any and all materials: audio, dialog scripts in Japanese, translations, lesson notes, and more! After 7 days, Basic members can only access audio content on the site. I highly recommend making the most of your 7-day FREE trial. This makes downloading loads of content possible--for FREE! iTunes is a great method to do the downloads which you can collect in a feed and customize to your personal learning desires before downloading to your computer.

A Door to the World of Kanji

While there is not a lot of content on A Door to the World of Kanji you can find the vocabulary related to Kanji on Japan home appliances, at the train station, and on traffic signs. The words are written in Kanji, hiragana, and romaji.

Renshuu - Japanese Study

renshuu.org is a quiz-style website that  helps you to prepare for the JLPT (Japanese Language Profiency Test), content from Japanese language textbooks including Genki, Japanese for Busy People, Yookoso, Adventures in Japan, and Tobira. Study vocabulary, kanji, play games, and take quizzes. This site offers a free member account and is helpful no matter what your level!

My Kikitori - Listening Lessons

My Kikitori is a fun and easy way to practice your listening comprehension. These interactive listening lessons are based off of the Genki: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese Volume 1, perfect for beginner and high beginner language learners. It's is 100% free to use this website and there is no sign-up. Even if your level is higher than beginner, it's a great site to practice your listening skills.

Tsunagu Japan - All About Japan

Tsunagu Japan - All About Japan
Learn the culture of Japan and all about its foods, seasons, entertainment, and more! These articles are short yet informative and written by Japanese as well people with experience living in Japan.  The articles are plentiful and include a wide variety of topics such as anime, weddings, obento, fashion, and so much more. The articles are organized into 9 popular categories: Kawaii, Otaku, Entertainment, Beauty/Fashion, Travel, Traditional, Food, Art/Literature, and Living/Study.

Hukumusume Fairy Tales Collection

Hukumusume Fairy Tales Collection is a website where you can hear traditional folk tales, legends and fairy stories – from Japan and all around the world – read aloud for you in Japanese. You can listen to readings of Japanese legends and folklore, short stories from the Edo period and traditional ghost tales. The website includes not only the audio but also text of the stories. There are some animated ‘kamishibai’ (Japanese-style picture story shows). This site in in Japanese but you can look for specific stories using a keyword search.