Let’s hypothetically suppose for a moment that I were to produce one or more advanced Japanese cheat sheets, and that I planned to offer said cheat sheets for sale. Would you be more interested in them if they were laminated?

The alternative to laminated is 80# gloss paper stock (much thicker than regular paper but not at all stiff like laminated would be).

Keep in mind the laminated sheets would be more expensive.

I put a poll up on Nihonshock.com’s Facebook page, but don’t have poll functionality on the blog. Please vote on Facebook or leave your responses in a comment. Thank you!

For example: you might know to count the floors of a building with the counter-suffix 階 (かい). So １階, ２階, ３階, ４階 and so on. That’s fine and dandy if you only ever had to write the words. But we need to be able to pronounce them too, right? If you’re really thorough with your studies or have a teacher that has covered their bases well, you’ll know that these are read: いっかい　にかい　さんがい　よんかい.

But why? Why does 1 become いっ here but keep its original form ( いち) in １年 (いちねん)? And why do the counters get voiced in ３階 (さんがい) and ３千 (さんぜん) but don’t in ３回 (さんかい) and ３線 (さんせん)? This article hopes to answer some of these questions.

The three main pronunciation constructs

There are exceptions which I will get to in a minute, but basically there are three core patterns for the pronunciation of numbers. Here they are:

So first there’s a basic pattern that you’re probably familiar with. But before S and T sounds (= さしすせそたちつてと, NOT including their voiced Z/D counterparts), the “default” readings for 1 and 10 change to abbreviated forms. For K and H sounds (かきくけこはひふへほ, again, excluding voiced/aspirated counterparts G/B/P) the readings for 1, 6, 10 and 100 change. The purported reason for these changes is that they make words easier to pronounce. Whether or not they actually do, I’m not so sure. But that’s the way things are. So now, lets look at cases where these 3 core patterns don’t hold up.

Exceptions

1. The じ sound. (and also the counters 年 and 人)

The counters starting with this sound include 時 and 次 and their derivatives (時間, 時限, 次元, etc.), and also these two counters 年 (ねん) and 人 (にん). These counters follow the Basic pattern, with the following exceptions:

• 4: よ
• 7: しち
• 9: く

Note that this exception does not apply to じゃ, じゅ, or じょ sounds (examples: 重, 条, 畳). Also, the しち is optional for 年 and 人; ななねん and ななにん are also acceptable.

2. The “CH” sounds.

These include ち, ちょ, ちゃ, and ちゅ (though I can’t think of any counters that start with ち or  ちゅ off the top of my head). The CH sound falls within the S/T pattern (remember that ち is a T-line character), but instead of receiving はち for 8, they typically get はっ. This happens to avoid having two “CH” sounds too close together.

• ８丁、８兆、８町：　はっちょう
• ８着：　はっちゃく

3. S counters that take はっ (8).

• ８歳（はっさい）
• ８千（はっせん）
• ８席（はっせき） (the counter for meetings)

S-line counters are in most cases OK with either はち or はっ, it just depends on the speaker’s preference. The 3 listed above definitely tend toward はっ though.

4. Counters that take ひと／ふた

Some counters in Japanese take the native Japanese number stems for numbers 1, 2 and/or 3. Two you might already know are １人（ひとり） and ２人(ふたり). Here are some others:

• １束：　ひとたば (one bundle of things)
• １房：　ひとふさ (one bunch of things, eg. bananas/grapes)
• １箱：　ひとはこ ふたはこ　(one box of thing)
• １粒：　ひとつぶ ふたつぶ (one small, round thing)
• １皿：　ひとさら　ふたさら　みさら (plates of food)
• １文字： ひともじ (one character/letter)

Note that Hi-Fu-Mi readings ONLY apply to 1, 2, and 3. They do not come up again after 10. So １１人 is じゅういちにん, not じゅうひとり.

5. S/K Counters that (are supposed to) get voiced after 3 and 何

• ３千／何千：　さんぜん、なんぜん
• ３間／何間：　さんげん、なんげん
• ３階／何階：　さんがい、なんがい

Other counters that are supposed to get voiced include: 足 (そく) (pairs of shoes, socks), and 軒 (けん) (buildings/houses), and also 斤, 貫, 尺 and 寸. But honestly the only ones I ever actually hear voiced are the three listed above. And of those, even native speakers don’t always voice 階 where they’re supposed to.

6. Katakana words take いち.

Katakana words will generally take いち instead of いっ, regardless of what sound they start with. (１キロ＝いちきろ). However, P sounds can optionally take いっ form. So １ページ can become いっぺーじ.

What to do with H-line counters

Now for the really fun part: how to use H-line counters (including ふ)! Here’s the magic chart:

So 分 (ふん), the counter for minutes, becomes いっぷん　にふん　さんぷん　よんぷん　ごふん　ろっぷん and so on. In the chart, 8 is shown in gray because it’s only used for the most common counters. ８分 can be pronounced as either はちふん or はっぷん . 本(ほん) and 匹(ひき) sound perfectly natural with a P here too (はっぽん, はっぴき).  Other less commonly used H-line counters tend to sound more natural as はち+H, but a lot of it depends on the speaker’s preference.

The other thing you need to be aware of with H-line counters is that a select few become B with 3 and cannot change to P with 4. Notice how I’ve made a subsection to show this on the chart.

The counters that become B for 3 remain H for 4 are:

• 本（ほん）: long objects  – さんぼん, よんほん
• 匹（ひき）: animals – さんびき, よんひき
• 杯（はい） bowls/mugs – さんばい, よんはい
• 票（ひょう）: ballots/votes.　- さんびょう, よんひょう

Final Notes

How to pronounce counting words is an aspect of Japanese that doesn’t always have a clear line between right and wrong. In particular, less common counter suffixes used with higher numbers have more gray area. There’s also variation between individuals and I would also imagine between regions and dialects. The priority for learners is to grasp the basic patterns and the main exceptions, and then just always keep your ears open.

And, I’m sorry updates have been slow lately, but I promise I’m working on a super-awesome semi-secret project and you’ll all understand and forgive me once it’s done. The charts in this post are a hint of that secret project. (Now where have I seen that design style before…)

By the way, please “like” Nihonshock.com on Facebook! Right now the page is still a little lonely…

Indeed, learners will have no problem passing even the N1 level of the JLPT without knowing that 氵 is called さんずい or that 疒 is やまいだれ. However, in my personal experience communicating with native Japanese speakers as well as other Japanese learners, I’ve been thankful to know the names of some common radicals, and regretful that I couldn’t name more. Kanji radicals aren’t required for Japanese proficiency, but ignorance of them is a shortcoming nevertheless.

With that said, this article intends to explain the basics of kanji radicals (as well as their quirkiness), and also introduce to the reader a good beginning vocabulary on the subject.

Why radicals suck

If you’re an intermediate or advanced learner, you probably have a kanji dictionary of some kind. It probably organizes kanji by radicals, which are grouped by stroke count. And it probably has a section for kanji with no apparent radical. This is the most intuitive and effective way to get the job done.

Unfortunately, although the basic idea is the same, the real radical system used in Japan is far less intuitive than you might think. For one thing, there is no such thing as a kanji without a radical.

Even the lowly 一 (いち) has a radical (or rather, is a radical), which by the way is used to classify these guys: 三七上下不丁世且丙丑. Oddly enough, although 一 is the radical for 三, it is not the radical for 二. 二 is a different radical altogether (classifying: 五互井亜云于). I think you can see how this gets out of hand rather quickly. That’s why your learner’s dictionary uses a simplified system.

In many cases it’s impossible to tell for certain what a kanji’s radical is just by looking at it. For example, most Japanese learners would start searching for 歴 under the 厂 radical. Logical enough, but guess what: the actual radical is 止. How about 聞? Would you say 門? Nope, 耳 is the radical. And how about 巡? Think it’s 辶 ? Sorry, it’s 巛, which is also the radical for 川 and 州.

And 巛 leads me to my next gripe; single radicals have multiple forms. 火部 (かぶ: the “fire” radical) can become 灬 (not to be confused with 㣺, which is a form of 心部 (しんぶ). 水部 (すいぶ) is another shape-shifter that can become 氵or 氺. In Japanese, the meaning and origin matters just as much as the shape itself.

Your kanji learner’s dictionary has probably also invented some radicals that (although logical and helpful) don’t actually exist! Those dots at the top of 営 and 学? Sorry. How about the two dots and long stroke on 前, 美, 首? Also imaginary radicals.

Don’t despair!

Even native speakers–unless they’re actively studying kanji–don’t know radicals very well either. To get to their level you basically just need to have a general idea of how the system works including some of its quirks (like those explained above), and also remember terms for a few common radical forms.

So, let’s move on to some vocabulary! Actually, once you get the basics, most of the time you can come up with these terms on the spot. For example; 偏（へん） is the word for a radical on the left side of a kanji, so 松 is 木偏（きへん）, 銀 is 金偏（かねへん), 地 is 土偏 (つちへん) , and so on.

First, a quick note: while each kanji has only one  部首 (ぶしゅ), or radical, which is used for classification purposes. Kanji are usually made up of  multiple components (要素: ようそ). Various kanji components are also referred to as “radicals” (especially in English), which in the strict definition of “radical” is incorrect. Even so, the following terms are still useful for description and communication. For example, the 部首 of 聞 is 耳, but you can still describe the kanji with the word 門構え(もんがまえ).

In this list, I tried to cover common but not obviously-named radicals. Here’s a link (Japanese) to a much more complete collection if you’re interested. The Japanese Wikipedia article on radicals is also packed with detailed info. The English Wikipedia article isn’t so shabby either.

Most radicals can be classified in one of seven types, depending on their position in the kanji.

Table: Basic Radical Vocabulary

This table gives the names of various components (in hiragana), and several example kanji for each. If I thought clarification was helpful or necessary, I added the kanji on which the component is based in parenthesis after the hiragana reading.

A couple other quirks

There’s a couple radicals that appear identical, but are actually considered different. Look at the these two characters:

服 肌

See that 月? Well on the left, it’s the moon radical (月). But on the right it’s the flesh radical (肉). The too components look and are written exactly the same, but if the meaning of the kanji has anything to do with the body, it’s the 肉 radical.

So in 服 the component is called つきへん but in 肌 it’s called にくづき.

Next, look at these:

今 全

The radicals of these kanji are also written and look the same, but differ according to what kanji they are based on. 今’s radical is 人, and this form is called 人屋根（ひとやね) . 全 is 入, and in this instance is referred to as 入頭 (いりがしら).

Finally, I want to mention the kanji 書. Ever thought it strange that the kanji for “writing” had the sun radical? Yes, the 日 on the bottom is the radical. But it’s not 日. It’s actually derived from 曰 (いわく). Look closely: 日 曰. 曰 is a pretty rare kanji/radical that means “to speak”.

The bottom piece of 書 is still written as 日, but just know that the kanji isn’t actually classified that way.

Hikaru no Go

I first learned of the game at a small cafe in the outskirts of Nagoya. Like many small cafes in Japan, there was a small collection of miscellaneous reading material available. So I casually picked up the first volume of the manga Hikaru no Go while waiting for my lunch. Later that same day, on my way home after work I stopped by a used book store and bought three more. I was hooked.

Not only was the story compelling (I eventually read the whole series and watched the anime… more than once! I highly recommend it by the way.), I was fascinated by the game itself. It sounds kind of corny, but when I played for the first time, it felt like I was taking part in something much bigger and more important than a ‘game’. It was an experience more akin to meditation.

a Go game in progress

Go has an aesthetic that is minimalist to the extreme; despite its Chinese origin, the game itself is culturally neutral. Fascinatingly, there are no arbitrary rules, except perhaps the rule that black goes first (more of a convention than a rule, if you ask me). Yet despite the simplicity of the rules—or rather, because of the simplicity—playing Go becomes a task so complex that today’s best computer software still struggles against high ranked players. Humans can still beat computers at Go not because of raw calculating power (at which we would surely be outmatched), but because we can sense both potential and danger in situations that are too wide open and vague to be calculable.

Sadly, I left Japan last autumn after a little over a year of frequent play, and Go is under-appreciated outside of Asia. Many people haven’t heard of the game and of those who have only a few know how to play. It’s my hope that this article will raise awareness of the game and maybe even inspire a few people to try it.

So, what is Go?

Go (from the Japanese term go or igo), also known as weiqi (Chinese) or baduk (Korean), was first played in China more than two millennia ago. It is a creative game played on a 19×19 grid where two players compete to surround a larger territory than their opponent. Note that by “creative”, I mean that the board starts empty, and players take turns adding one stone at a time.

Image at right: in Go, stones are captured if they are surrounded. So, White’s 3 stones are taken off the board if Black plays on the circled point. Simple, right? This is the basic rule on which the entire game is based.

Victory rests not only on a player’s reading ability, but also their strategic cunning, boldness, adaptability, instincts and sense of balance. In short, Go is a contest of many virtues. Furthermore, there is no need to annihilate your opponent; a single point win is a win all the same.

I won’t get into the rules of the game, because I think there are plenty of other sites on the internet that are already doing a great job of that. If you’re interested, here are some suggestions:

• The Interactive Way to Go (old site, but excellent starting point)
• Videos by the American Go Association (a little corny, but they get the job done)
• Introduction by the European Go Federation (a little harder to follow than the above sites, but more detail)
• Video Tutorials on YouTube (These are great videos for beginners. More serious and less corny than the AGA videos)

The Go World

Go is widely known and practiced in Asia, especially in China, Korea and Japan. These countries have large Go organizations, each employing hundreds of professional players. Children hardly in their teens can become well known professionals, and elite players can make a fortune by winning title matches and signing book deals. Weekly newspapers devoted to the game report on professional matches and offer tips for players.

I remember looking forward to Sunday afternoons in Japan, when NHK would air a professional game (complete with commentary by a host and lecturer who would explain the game as it was happening). Though the level of play was far too high for me to understand everything, it was still intriguing and strangely relaxing.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that in Asia, Go is given the attention and respect that in the west is only afforded to physical sports.

Let’s play Go!

If you live in Japan, South Korea, or China, check out your local Go salon, or head to your regional Go Association headquarters if you’re close enough. In my experience, go players are almost universally very friendly and accommodating to newcomers, so don’t be shy. We all love the game and want to see it spread.

Me vs. Yamashiro Hiroshi (9P)

If you live in America, you might have a tough time finding physical locations where players gather, but the American Go Association homepage provides an excellent list of local groupings across the US. Internet Go is also very popular. I play on KGS under the username LV3 (say hello if you see me!), but there are many other places to play such as Pandanet IGS (also on iPhone), Yuugen no Ma (Japanese only, available on Android, run by the Nihon Kiin a.k.a. Japanese Go Association), or Tygem (Korean origin with English available, with an iPad client).

If you live in Europe, I’m sorry but I can’t be much more help to you than to suggest the Internet Go options I already mentioned above, and also point you to the European Go Federation homepage. Good luck!

Final warnings

A word of warning to all of you: Go is a very seductive game. If you’re anything like me, you’ll get pulled in quick and it will be very hard to be just a casual player.

It’s also extremely satisfying, so it might be detrimental to your desire to do other things (like me when I stopped blogging!).

Other Go-related links

Here are some of my favorite Go links for you to check out, should you be so inclined.

• My Go Tumblog (Shameless self-promotion, I know. And I write in it in Japanese. Check it out anyway )
• Go article on Wikipedia (Great background information about the game.)
• Sensei’s Library (The quintessential Go link. Tons of information here.)
• Go Game Guru (The leading blog for Go news and other topics.)
• Gokifu.com (Professional Go game records. Lots of them. I love this site.)
• Life in 19×19 (The leading internet forum for Go players on the internet.)
• Gocommentary.com (Great video lessons for more advanced players.)
• Seattle Go Center (Possibly the best facility for Go in North America. I wish I could visit more often…)

Private parking waza*

*: means “technique”

C3PO, shut down all trash compactors on the detention level!!

I have to admire the driver for being able to maneuver the car into that space. I presume they exit through the rear door.

I can not see you. Ergo, you can not see me.

頭隠して尻隠さず [atama kakushite shiri kakusazu] is a Japanese proverb literally meaning “to hide your head but not your butt”, and seems to fit perfectly with this picture.

(Note: the proverb actually refers to not completely concealing your mistakes/wrongdoings)

Its the feeling that counts.

The added work of having to lift the shutter in order to steal this car is of questionable deterrence value, but this owner seems satisfied. Doesn’t look like a car worth stealing anyway, to be honest.

If you can’t move out, move UP!

For those Japanese who have two cars but only space for one, apparently you can buy a private use car elevator. Also handy for cleaning 2nd floor windows, though you’d better double check their earthquake/typhoon durability rating.

Public parking waza

Actually, the notion of stacking cars is well developed in Japan. In fact, they have whole buildings that are basically giant car stacking machines. Pretty cool, actually.

You may question whether or not a タワーパーキング [tower parking] like the one in this video is actually economically viable, even in Japan. Well, here’s my answer:

If there’s sufficient demand for parking space in Japan that a two-car-capacity commercial parking (with one space being out of order?) lot can pay the bills, then so can a parking tower. I’m still looking for a single-car pay parking lot, by the way. If anyone knows one, please send me a tip!

The other popular method for communal/commercial parking is what I call “the honeycomb.”

While mathematically speaking this a very effective way of parking, getting out can become problematic.

Random pictures

Sorry, but making your car harder to see does reduce the mount of space it takes up. Try again.

It’s important to note that not all areas of Japan have parking issues, as you can see the above picture, taken in rural Japan (Shirakawago).

Ummm, are you SURE that I can U-turn in there?

チンピラ

[chinpira] – A small time gangster or a thug.

たかり

[takari] – A shake-down, where a group of people threaten some vulnerable person into giving up their wallet/money/etc. The (infrequently used) kanji is 集り, meaning to “gather.”

かつあげ

[katsuage] – A shake-down. This word is basically the same as たかり, but with more of a slangy nuance. One of my friends reports this word is associated with ヤンキー types and isn’t used much any more. (kanji: 喝上げ)

スリ

[suri] – Pickpocketing. (kanji: 掏摸)
Note: a “pickpocket” (the person who engages in pickpocketing) is also called a スリ, but the kanji is different (掏児).

といち

[toichi] – This is a loan that compounds interest at a rate of ten percent (一割 / ichiwari) every ten days (十日間 / toukakan).

車上荒らし

[shajou arashi] – Stealing things (like navi systems or CD players) from cars.

口止め料

[kuchidomeryou] – Hush money. This word has been on TV a lot with the Sumo gambling story.

ノミ行為

[nomi koui] – Speaking of gambling (賭博/tobaku), ノミ行為 is another related word you should know. It refers to bookkeeping bookmaking (taking bets), or in the context of stock markets it can mean bucketing (taking purchase orders from people without actually making the transaction).

Note: The person who takes the bets (the bookie) is called a 胴元 (doumoto).

空巣

[akisu] – Literally: empty (空) nest (巣). This crime is when a person breaks into houses when no one is at home to steal things. (shortened from: 空巣狙い / akisu nerai)

ポイ捨て

[poi sute] – “poi” is the onomatopoeic sound of tossing something casually on the ground. Hence, this word means littering.

ひったくり

"Watch out for purse snatchers"

[hittakuri] – 引っ手繰る [hittakuru] means to snatch something away from someone. So hittakuri usually refers to the crime of purse snatching. (Ladies, avoid carrying your purses on your road-side shoulder!)

シノギ

[shinogi] – This word refers to any of the many ways illicit groups like yakuza make their money, typically things like bodyguarding, drug dealing, high rate loans, scams, etc. It probably comes from phrase 糊口を凌ぐ [kokou o shinogu] which means “to eke out a living”.

オレオレ詐欺

[ore ore sagi] – This is a kind of telephone scam that has been happening a lot in Japan in recent years. A scammer calls someone and poses as a relative (usually a son), then explains some terrible predicament they are in and how they need the target to send transfer a large sum of money to their bank account. “ore ore” means “it’s me, it’s me” and is a phrase the caller uses to gain the targets trust.

極道 vs. 堅気

This is an interesting pair of words that you would certainly want to know to be able to play 龍が如く. 極道 [gokudou] or the extreme (極) path (道) is the word that refers to people who live illegitimately as gangsters/bookies/etc. 堅気 [katagi] or sturdy (堅) spirit (気) refers to regular people who live honest lives.

But this simple pleasure reveals a problem for us Japanese learners. The reason it happens is because of how insultingly low expectations are in Japan for foreigners to gain true mastery of the language. Japanese are by and large very congenial toward foreigners, but getting people to take you seriously in this country is a high, high hurdle.

So what should we do? I say let’s take the fight to them! I’ve selected 7 polite/advanced Japanese expressions for this article that native speakers won’t see coming. Use these babies to let Japanese know you’re more than just another kawaii gaijin! You are super-gaijin!

1. 恐縮ですが

[kyoushuku desu ga...] Getting what you want through humility? Yes, it’s possible in Japanese. The idea is to be so polite and endearing that people won’t be able to refuse you.

恐縮, taken literally, means something like “to shrink in fear of causing any unpleasant feelings”. It comes in handy when making requests for assistance or information.

つまらない質問で恐縮ですが・・・
I’m terribly sorry to trouble you with such a silly question, but…

2. 光栄に存じます

[kouei ni zonjimasu] Literally “to think of something as an honor”, this is a real whopper of a way to say thanks when you’ve received gifts, praise, or gratitude from a Japanese person.

お役に立てておりましたら光栄に存じます。
I’m honored that I was able to be of assistance.

3. お言葉に甘えます

[o-kotoba ni amaemasu] Take this one to the izakaya with you! In a country where offers and suggestions are almost expected to be refused, this splendid phrase gives you a free ticket to make a Japanese person walk their talk. So if they tell you to order whatever you like, pop them a それでは、お言葉に甘えます and get the most expensive thing on the menu! (but remember it’ll probably still be 割り勘 when you’re done)

お言葉 means “your words” and 甘え means something like “expressing your affinity for someone by letting them spoil you”.

(Note: the concept of 甘え is something very non-western and deserves a better explanation, fortunately there’s already an English-language wikipedia article about it)

4. お見知りおきを

[o-mishiri oki o] Meaning: “please remember me”. We don’t really have an equivalent phrase in English, but this is a very polite line sometimes heard in personal introductions. The ください that would logically come at the end is usually omitted.

〇〇と申します。以降お見知りおきを。
My name is  〇〇. I’m looking forward to getting to know you.

5. ご無沙汰しておりました

[go-busata shite orimashita] 無沙汰 means “going a long time without visiting or corresponding with someone”. The ご makes this phrase more polite, as does the おりました instead of いました. This is a useful phrase for getting back together with someone you haven’t written to or spoken to in a long time.

長らくご無沙汰しておりました。
I’m sorry that I haven’t contacted you in such a long time.

6. 御機嫌よう

[go-kigen you] Probably the easiest phrase on this list to actually use, 御機嫌よう is a sophisticated and polite greeting and parting phrase (that means it can be either “hello” or “goodbye”, similar to aloha). It literally means “may you be in a good mood”. (Note: よう here is a form of 良い)

If you read manga or watch anime, you’ll notice that this is the greeting word of choice for rich and high-class characters.

7. 冥利に尽きる

[myouri ni tsukiru] 冥利 is a kind of divine providence or fortune, a blessing of happiness that comes from having some role or position in life. 尽きる (in this case, at least) means “to be at the highest point”. Put it together, and you get a phrase that expresses attaining the highest level of happiness that can be derived from a role/position, probably because something good just happened to you.

外国人冥利に尽きます！
It’s so awesome being a foreigner!

Kangoku (監獄) means prison, and izakaya (居酒屋) is a Japanese style drinking restaurant.  So a kangoku izakaya is a Japanese restaurant/bar that has been styled to look like a prison! And if the thought of vicious felons and dirty prison cells doesn’t whet your appetite, I don’t know what will.

Kangoku Inshoku 42 Bou is the name of this peculiarly-themed izakaya, located in Sakae, Nagoya. With dinner courses ranging from around 2000 to 3000 yen and a nomihoudai (all you can drink) for 1000 yen, you can enjoy izakaya food similar to what you would find anywhere else, but from the comfort of a dark and spooky prison cell.

But why stop with just a prison izakaya when you can have a haunted prison izakaya! Kangoku 42 is decorated throughout with skeletons, chains, red blood-like splatters on the wall and other stereotypical haunted-house decor. It’s no wonder this place is so popular with the ladies, eh? (no, seriously, it is really popular with ladies)

At 8:00pm, there is even a nightly horror show. The entire restaurant goes dark (it’s dark to begin with, mind you, but once the show starts you can forget about eating for a while), and a spooky soundtrack starts playing. Gunshots fire off somewhere, flashes of light bounce off the marred concrete walls as an eerie voice narrates a deathly tale of… actually I was on the 2nd floor so I didn’t get a good view and I didn’t really know what was going on. Then the staff put on scary outfits and go around to the tables trying their best to spook all the customers.

It’s pricey (as are most izakayas), but an interesting experience. Might be good for dates. Definitely a great place for Halloween parties.

Come on, you know you want to… your table is waiting, prisoner! mwahahahahahahahahaaaaa!!!!

Here’s a google map for everyone:

View Larger Map
PS. For some reason they only have Heineken beer. Drink of choice for prisoners? (and exiles? *looks south*)

Japan Blog Matsuri

I’ve submitted this post to be included in the April 2010 Japan blog matsuri. This month’s Matsuri, about secret Japan, is hosted by Gakuranman, thanks!

Now, whenever you view the Nihonshock homepage, below the most recent post you will see:

These are basically short posts (just a paragraph or so) about a specific Japanese word that I thought was either interesting or worth talking about. The words included will (for the most part) be quite high level, or will otherwise offer unique trivia for lower level words, but I’ll do my best to make the explanations accessible to learners of all levels. I will, however, stay away from words that aren’t known even to native Japanese.

Note that on the top page, just an excerpt is given, so be sure to click the words to go to the page with the full explanation.

I haven’t gotten around to making a dedicated page where you can easily browse through all of the vocabulary (there’s only 2 words right now, anyway), but it’s on my “to do” list.

I’ll try to add words at a frequency of every day or every other day, but no guarantees.

There’s 4 ways you can keep up with Nihonshock’s new vocabulary section.

1. Bookmark Nihonshock’s home page and come back every day.
2. Follow me on Twitter (I’ll let everyone know when a new word goes up)
3. Subscribe to the Vocabulary RSS Feed
   • Vocabulary will not appear in the regular RSS feed.
4. Join the Nihonshock vocab goal on smart.fm (I’ll try to keep it as up to date as possible)

As always, I’m interested to hear everyone’s opinions and suggestions.

UPDATE: April 24, 2010

I made a dedicated category page that makes it possible to quickly access past vocabulary. If I can keep up the whole word-a-day thing, this section is going to get pretty big pretty fast.

Check it out: Nihonshock Vocabulary Bank.

iPhone-chan (or as I call my iPhone: ai-chan) tries to detect words contextually (I think…), but any non-standard character usages you manage to get into the system are quickly forgotten.

Fortunately, there’s a workaround. And don’t worry, you don’t need to jailbreak your phone to get it to work.

The answer? use the iPhone address book.

When typing in Japanese, your iPhone uses names and readings from your address book as a kind of second dictionary for its text auto-complete. This was a very smart way to program the iPhone since the most common reason to use non-standard kanji/words to begin with is because they’re used that way in a proper name (which, if it’s someone/someplace/somewhere you know, would probably be in your address book anyway).

1. The first word you want to enter (kanji)
2. The reading for the first word that you want to use to access it
3. The second word (in this case, a custom kaomoji)
4. The reading to bring up the second word

Of course, this is great news for us. It means we can create dummy entries in our address book for words we want to register in the iPhone dictionary. You can use both the first and last name fields to enter your custom words, meaning you can register 2 words per entry.

The downside is that this creates an entry in your address book that weighs your address book down with irrelevant information. So it’s your call; if there’s a word you use often that you want to be in your dictionary, consider using this method. But be warned that overdoing it will leave you with a really untidy address book.

Works like a charm.

There are a couple 辞書登録 (dictionary registration) apps at the (Japanese) iTunes app store but all they all use this same principle of adding to the address book. They just try to make the process of adding and removing words easier.

There is, however, one Japanese jailbreak app which add words and phrases directly to the iPhone. But unless you really need the functionality and you’re pretty good with both computers and Japanese, sticking with the address book workaround is probably your better option.