Ocha & Chat is our weekly live call to ask Japanese questions, chat in Japanese and talk about Japanese culture. I’ve got a bit of a cold this week, so there likely won’t be a new Interactive Story. But we’ll still jump on and practise our Japanese speaking together 😊 🗣️ What We’ll Do practise simple Japanese conversation review things we already know ask and answer questions just hang out and chat in Japanese or about Japan No pressure — just come along and speak as much (or as little) as you like. 🏯 Community Topic We’ll also discuss our next Japanese Language Learners tournament: 👉 Places in Japan to Visit! Think: cities temples food spots nature anywhere you’d love to go in Japan 🫵 Before the Call Try thinking about: 日本でどこに行きたいですか。 Nihon de doko ni ikitai desu ka? Where do you want to go in Japan? Example: 京都に行きたいです。 Kyōto ni ikitai desu. Looking forward to chatting with you all ☕🇯🇵 If you were recommending places to visit in Japan, where would you suggest? (You don't have to have been there yourself!) 🎎🏯⛩️ Post below!! Can you join?

New sakura species bloom in Kumano. I am not sure if this is Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail? https://www.facebook.com/reel/1459868139136194/?fs=e&mibextid=wwXIfr&fs=e

#JapaneseTopicTuesday What made you first interested in Japan/Japanese? In the photo, I'm the one between Batman and Robin. This is from kindergarten and I was wearing a Japanese happi from Edogawa and a kamikaze headband bought in Japan. I had a little sword too and thought I looked like a cool samurai. 😅 To be honest, I was borrowing them from my brother. He had been to Japan to play football (soccer) against Japanese high school boys his age. My brother got souvenirs and gifts from Japan and I thought they were so cool and fascinating. Everything from Japanese Coke bottles with cool writing on them and coins (with holes in them!), to toys like spinning tops and kendama. Then, we were lucky enough to host two Japanese boys from Japan as they visited Australia to play against my brother's team here. It was amazing to meet these kids from another country and culture. We couldn't speak much together not knowing each other's language, but we found a way to communicate and had so much fun, always laughing! That experience sparked my interest in Japan. It wasn't until university that I formally studied the language, but from meeting those Japanese boys and experiencing the generosity and kindness of their families too, I knew I always wanted to visit Japan. That was how I got interested in Japan and Japanese. How about you? Let me know in the comments!

✏️ Goal: Write a short diary entry in Japanese ✅ Beginner(with romaji + English) 今日、学生とシドニーのICCに行きました。 Kyō, gakusei to Shidonī no ICC ni ikimashita. Today, I went to the Sydney ICC with my students. ダーリングハーバーにあります。 Dāringu Hābā ni arimasu. It is in Darling Harbour. とても大きい建物でした。 Totemo ōkii tatemono deshita. It was a very big building. 学生はとても楽しそうでした。 Gakusei wa totemo tanoshisō deshita. The students looked like they were having fun. いい一日でした。 Ii ichinichi deshita. It was a good day. ✅ N3 Version 今日は学生たちを連れて、ダーリングハーバーにあるシドニーのICCに行きました。 とても大きくて近代的な建物で、会場の雰囲気も活気がありました。 学生たちも楽しんでいる様子で、充実した一日になりました。 校外学習として、とても良い経験だったと思います。 🫵 Your Turn Write 3–5 sentences about your day. You can start with: 今日、＿＿＿に行きました。 ＿＿＿は＿＿＿でした。 いい一日でした。 Short and simple is perfect 😊

My nieces and their families went to visit Japan for a week. I wish I could go with them. They went to Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, Uji.