Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com! It’s your birthday, and you’re spending it in Tokyo with some of your Japanese friends. To celebrate, they buy you a birthday cake, decorate it with candles, and wish you “Happy birthday” in Japanese. You close your eyes, pause for a moment to make a wish in Japanese, and then blow your candles out. When you open your eyes, your Japanese friends are staring at you like you have three heads. You ask them in Japanese, “Is something wrong?” They inquire in Japanese, “Why did you close your eyes before you blew out your candles?” You tell them in Japanese, “Oh, I was just making my traditional birthday wish.” Nodding their heads, one of your friends suggests in Japanese, “If you really want to make a wish, we need to go to a nearby shrine. There, you can make a wish, and it definitely will come true.” You look at your friends and tell them in Japanese, “I’m ready to go! Let’s do it!”

Learning Japanese with JapanesePod101.com is the most fun and effective way to learn Japanese! This Japanese Audio Blog lesson will discuss a famous Japanese shrine located near Tokyo, Japan. We’ll tell you the sights you’ll see while you’re there, and we’ll even share with you the ancient Japanese wishing ritual associated with the shrine. If your wish doesn’t come true after following this Japanese ritual, try depositing more coins next time! Visit us at JapanesePod101.com where you will find Japanese lesson notes (remember-this lesson is spoken entirely in Japanese!) as well as many more fantastic Japanese lessons and learning resources! Leave us a message while you are there!

・

Premium Members 
Review | Play | Popup
Dialog | Play | Popup
Premium Learning Center
Premium Lesson Checklist

Basic Members 
Audio | Play | Popup
Lesson Notes
Kanji Close-Up
Lesson Notes Lite
Basic Lesson Checklist

Free Content 

Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com! Your friend says in Japanese, “You must see this! You won’t believe it. I think it’s one of the most beautiful shrines in all of Japan.” You ask him in Japanese, “What is it called?” He explains in Japanese, “It’s the Izumo Taisha shrine. It’s special and different from the other shrines in Japan. At certain times of the year, eight million deities come to the shrine and hold conversations.” You answer him in Japanese, “Surely that’s really noisy, and how do they all fit in the shrine?” Your Japanese friend gives you one of those looks that says he knows you’re just joking, but be careful with comments like that. Still, he appreciates your sense of humor because he smiles, too, as he begins to explain further in Japanese, “Let me explain the ritual for this shrine, because it’s different than other Japanese shrines.” You answer gratefully in Japanese, “Thank you. I do want to see the shrine. We’ve been to a number of them in the past few months, and they were all impressive and thought provoking. How many Japanese shrines are there?” He answers in Japanese, “Thousands. And we’d better get going if we’re going to visit them all.”

Learning Japanese with JapanesePod101.com is the most fun and effective way to learn Japanese! This Japanese Audio Blog lesson covers the Izumo Taisha shrine, a special shrine in Japan. The rituals, the festivals, the celebrations, the ceremonies, and the sense of serenity all contribute to the nearly magical environment that is the Izumo Taisha shrine in Japan. Check out JapanesePod101.com where you will find many more fantastic Japanese lessons and learning resources! Leave us a message while you are there!

・

Premium Members 
Review | Play | Popup
Dialog | Play | Popup
Premium Learning Center
Premium Lesson Checklist

Basic Members 
Audio | Play | Popup
Lesson Notes
Kanji Close-Up
Lesson Notes Lite
Basic Lesson Checklist

Free Content 

Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com! “You’re kidding,” you remark to your Japanese friends. “It can’t be. I’ve been around Tokyo, I’ve looked at the maps, and there just cannot be a forest in the middle of the city.” And you’re sure that no place in the middle of Tokyo can ever be quiet, peaceful, and energizing. It just can’t be. But your Japanese friends are insistent. They persist in Japanese, “Come with us. You’ll see. It’s a wonderful place to be.” The ride to Harajuku station does not take too long, and throughout the trip, your friends tell you ancient Japanese stories of the Shrine that you just can’t believe. You exit the station, and suddenly, there is a forest. The trees are huge, and even from this distance, you can feel a peaceful stillness coming from the forest. “Okay, there’s a forest in the middle of Tokyo,” you say in Japanese, “So let’s find out what else is here.” Your Japanese friends all smile and lead you into the forest. You can feel the calm. The noise of the city seems to just disappear. You’re sorry you have not come to this place before.

Learning Japanese with JapanesePod101.com is the most fun and effective way to learn Japanese! This Japanese Audio Blog takes you on a trip to a forest and the Meiji Shrine in the middle of Tokyo. Feel the serenity of the forest and the energy emanating from the shrine through the author’s words, which of course will be entirely in Japanese in this Audio Blog lesson. So practice your Japanese, while you learn a little about this amazing oasis in the middle of Tokyo! And don’t forget to check out JapanesePod101.com where you will find many more fantastic Japanese lessons and learning resources! Leave us a message while you are there!

・

Premium Members 
Review | Play | Popup
Dialog | Play | Popup
Premium Learning Center
Premium Lesson Checklist

Basic Members 
Audio | Play | Popup
Lesson Notes
Kanji Close-Up
Lesson Notes Lite
Basic Lesson Checklist

Free Content 

Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com! “Come on, you’ll really want to see this.” Your friend has been practically dragging you through the walkways of the Japanese temple, and you’ve been dragging your feet ever since you passed the red gate. At least you have the strength to answer him in Japanese. “Why don’t we just sit here for a while and then walk back down the hill.” You didn’t tell him it felt like a mountain, not a little hill. Your friend has cajoled you into visiting another famous temple in Japan, this time the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto. On the map, you could see the temple grounds are gigantic, but you had no idea it was so long a walk from the gate to the pagoda. “No,” he answers in Japanese, “You’ll see, the walk will be worth it when we get there.” “Maybe you could go ahead, and I’ll wait here.” “Now you’re whining,” he replies in Japanese, pulling you by the arm, “Do I have to carry you.” Now that thought makes you get up. You wouldn’t mind being carried by such a nice looking guy, but the embarrassment! What would all the Japanese people think? Finally, you see the pagoda, and it is impressive. As you get right up to it, your Japanese friend says, “Now turn around.” “What, I’m not going to stop now!”

Learning Japanese with JapanesePod101.com is the most fun and effective way to learn Japanese! This Japanese Audio Blog lesson describes some of the sites at a very famous temple in the Kyoto district of Japan. The Kiyomizu Temple is famous for its size, its age, it’s pure water, and the spectacular views of the surrounding area. Check out JapanesePod101.com where you will find many more fantastic Japanese lessons and learning resources! Leave us a message while you are there!

・

Premium Members 
Review | Play | Popup
Dialog | Play | Popup
Premium Learning Center
Premium Lesson Checklist

Basic Members 
Lesson Notes
Kanji Close-Up
Lesson Notes Lite
Basic Lesson Checklist

Free Content 
Audio | Play | Popup

Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com! Think of walking towards a large red gate. You see many people and you see Japanese writing all around you. Your lessons have come in handy. You’re ready to experience one of the most famous shrines in Japan. As you pass through the gate, your anticipation grows. You walk onward. And you walk onward. And you walk onward. You begin to realize it’s going to be much farther to the Japanese shrine than you originally expected. It’s much bigger than you thought. But you eventually achieve your goal. The ancient Japanese structure is all you expected and more. You say to your companion in Japanese, “I hope we find the monkeys.” Your companion is confused because he has not studied the Japanese lessons the way you have. “You remember the three monkeys,” you tell him in Japanese, “The ones who cover their eyes, mouths, and ears to avoid seeing, saying, or hearing evil.” “Oh, those monkeys,” he replies in Japanese, “I remember them. Are they here?” “They are, and so much more. Didn’t you know that this is the place the monkeys were originally carved, over four-hundred years ago? You should join me in my Japanese lessons with JapanesePod101.com more often.”

Learning Japanese with JapanesePod101.com is the most fun and effective way to learn Japanese! This Japanese Audio Blog lesson recounts the wonders of a very special shrine in Japan. You’ll find the original carvings of one of the most famous iconographic images in the world. You’ll be surprised how well you know the image, but surprised at the location of the original. Check out JapanesePod101.com where you will find many more fantastic Japanese lessons and learning resources! Leave us a message while you are there!

・

Premium Members 
Review | Play | Popup
Dialog | Play | Popup
Premium Learning Center
Premium Lesson Checklist

Basic Members 
Audio | Play | Popup
Lesson Notes
Kanji Close-Up
Lesson Notes Lite
Basic Lesson Checklist

Free Content