Ocha & Chat is our weekly live call to ask Japanese questions, chat in Japanese and talk about Japanese culture. It is on at 10 am Sunday, AEDST. https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/?qm=1&lid=2643743,360630,2147714,4160021,5391811&h=2643743&date=2026-4-12&sln=1-2&hf=1 Let me know if that link is helpful and how to improve it for you. 🗣️ What We’ll Do practise simple Japanese conversation see an interactive story designed to boost your language production skills 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 ☕🎎🏯⛩️ Post below!! Can you join?

Konnichiwa!! Let's talk Japanese music! 🪭🎸🌸 One of the top songs of 2026 in Japan is Hypnotize by XG. Have you heard it? What do you think? XG is a Japanese group but they're based out of South Korea and I think that shows in the style of their music and definitely the style of their film clip. What Japanese music are you listening to? It can be from any era or genre - we'd love to hear about it!! Arigatou, Joe.

Hi I'm Brandon, from Arkansas I always had a fascination with Japan i watched over 600 animes and I really wanna go visit over there one day, my life goal is to eventually move there if ever possible, I wanna get to where I'm fully fluent in Japanese I'm a beginner at it so I have a long way to go so hope I can get help from the community.

#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!

Konnichiwa, What's your favourite Japanese word or saying? Mine is 儚い - hakanai. Hakanai means evanescent, fleeting, ephemeral. It suggests the passing nature of moments, beauty and life. The delicate cherry blossoms blooming and shortly falling are hakanai. The crimson sky and the setting sun moments before night falls are hakanai. Each day spent with loved ones are hakanai. We must appreciate the beauty of these experiences that will come and go and cherish them all the more for it. The special things in life are hakanai and that's why it is my favourite Japanese word. What is your favourite Japanese word or saying? Arigatou, Joe Sensei.