Today, we bring you another blog post from Motoko, JapanesePod101.com lesson creator, host and Office Party Planner! Motoko will be sharing more bilingual posts on our blog, so check back often and leave a comment! Hey everyone. Motoko here! I’d like to talk about our year-end cleaning event, called Ō-sōji(大掃除) in Japanese. Most of our staff had questions about why people in offices did cleaning themselves instead of hiring cleaning staff. But this process is very significant for the year end in Japan. As you see from its kanji, this is the biggest cleaning season and takes place at the end of the year. It has its origin in a Shinto event called Susuharai (煤払い), in which monks and people cleaned their houses to purify them and... Show more

Hello Listener, While people were out getting TVs and DVDs... Our listeners were getting better, faster, stronger in Japanese instead. Black Friday and Cyber Monday were prime time for language learning.. But if you missed out on Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals at JapanesePod101, then good news! The holiday season is fast approaching which means two things: one, wear a sweater and two... The JapanesePod101 Holiday Countdown Begins December 10th. Serious about mastering Japanese in 2013? Join the Holiday Countdown as we count down the holiday season with 10 days of the 10 BIGGEST deals on Japanese Apps, Audiobooks, Software Subscriptions, and much much more. How big? Try 53% OFF Premium! 55% OFF Basic! 50% OFF... Show more

Today, we bring you another blog post from Motoko, JapanesePod101.com lesson creator, host and Office Party Planner! Motoko will be sharing more bilingual posts on our blog, so check back often and leave a comment! Hey everyone. Motoko here! Today I would like to talk about our recent visit from Innovative Language’s Co-Founder, Eran. Though he’s usually based in New York, he came to visit the Tokyo office in mid-November. It had been a year since his previous visit, so we welcomed him and took him to some interesting spots! The first event was dinner at Ninja Akasaka. I’m sure you know what a ninja is! And this is a restaurant where you can see modern-day ninja and enjoy creative, gourmet meals. When we arrived, we were let in... Show more

Hi Listener, It’s about to get really busy. The holidays are coming up which means... Gifts for moms, gifts for dads, gifts for friends. Everyone but yourself. And your Japanese? If you’re not careful, your Japanese language will take a backseat. So this Thanksgiving, you come first. Thank yourself with something that gets you speaking better Japanese in minutes. We owe you a thank you too! Thank you for learning Japanese with JapanesePod101 and for being part of the Innovative Language family. To show our gratitude, get a head start on 27 languages in under 2 minutes by learning one of the most important phrases, “Thank You.” Learn how to say “Thank You” in 27 languages with this free video lesson! Click Here... Show more

Hello Listener, Mothers don’t choose favorites. But we do! When it comes to apps, WordPower Japanese v4.0 has a special place in our hearts. And for good reason. WordPower Version 4.0: Not Just an Update, It’s Like a Brand New App WordPower for iPhone and iPad has been rebuilt from top to bottom and the reviews are coming in. This latest update turns WordPower into your complete Japanese language and culture course. We've changed the look and doubled the amount of words with the Japanese Local List. The Japanese Local List contains words and phrases specifically related to Japanese daily life and culture. Ever wonder what the most popular beverages are in Japan? Need to know the name of famous landmarks? You’ll... Show more

Today, we bring you another blog post from Motoko, JapanesePod101.com lesson creator, host and Office Party Planner! Motoko will be sharing more bilingual posts on our blog, so check back often and leave a comment! Hi everyone, Motoko here! Today, I’d like to let you all know what we did for Halloween here in the office. Unfortunately, Halloween has not been popular in Japan in the past, but it has been getting more and more popular recently. The most famous event would be the Halloween parade in Kawasaki, as well as some other costume parties in nightclubs in the city. People usually wear a costume and become their favorite characters, and can enjoy dancing and eating. Few people go to the neighbors and say “Trick or Treat!” like... Show more

Let’s play a game of Would You Rather? Would you rather have this... Over 300 Japanese learning CDs (yeah, CDs...remember those?) piled to the ceiling in your bedroom next to stacks upon stacks of expensive, outdated textbooks that teach you dry, humorless Japanese conversation. ...or this? The same amount of content, shrunken down to fit onto your smartphone or tablet. And all those lessons? They’ve been updated to teach you vocabulary, grammar and culture so that learning Japanese is actually fun! The answer is clear. You’d rather have the JapanesePod101 Mobile! The biggest Japanese course. All on your tiny mobile device. Introducing JapanesePod101 Mobile Beta! Take all of your favorite Japanese lessons and lesson... Show more

Today, we bring you another blog post from Motoko, JapanesePod101.com lesson creator, host and Office Party Planner! Motoko will be sharing more bilingual posts on our blog, so check back often and leave a comment! Hi all, Motoko here. Today I'd like to tell you about the baseball game the Innovative Language team went to at the end of September. But before I do, which sports are popular in your country? And do you know which sports are popular in Japan? The answer is: soccer and baseball. Soccer came to Japan because it was popular in Europe. Baseball, on the other hand, can be written in kanji (野球), and that’s because it was introduced to Japan much earlier than soccer was. In fact, it came to Japan in 1872. It is said that... Show more

Today, we bring you another blog post from Motoko, JapanesePod101.com lesson creator, host and Office Party Planner! Motoko will be sharing more bilingual posts on our blog, so check back often and leave a comment! Hi everyone, Motoko here! Today I’d like to tell you about another listener meetup we had. The other day, we had two JapanesePod101.com listeners come to visit us. One was from Canada, and the other was from France. It was the second meetup for me, but I still felt nervous beforehand! Andre from Canada, and Becher from France paid us a visit. They met each other through their Japanese studies, and this was their first trip together – they were staying in Japan for two weeks. They told us that right before... Show more

Another Fall has come and gone and just like that, another iPhone model has hit the market, along with iOS updates for all. If you’ve updated your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad to iOS 6 already and tried looking for your favorite InnovativeLanguage.com podcast, you may be scratching your head wondering if we’ve packed our bags and closed up shop. We haven’t. In fact, we continue to release new lessons every single week in over 25 languages! Here are some tips on where to find us and listen on-the-go!* Using the Podcast App To find these apps using iOS 6, you’ll need to download Apple’s Podcast app. (Here’s a quick link to the free download.) Once you have the Podcast app installed, you’ll be able to find us under Education or... Show more