Japan – Page 2 – Blue House Okinawa Japanese School

Who We Are

Beyond Language Learning

A Close-Knit Multilingual Community
Join us and become part of a vibrant community where Japanese and English learners teach and learn from each other.

Authentic and Immersive Practice
Experience genuine language practice with native Japanese speakers in our Japanese class providing endless opportunities for real-world application.

Supportive and Community-Centered
Embrace a relaxed, community-oriented approach to learning. Together, we support, grow, and share joyful moments, making every step of the journey enjoyable.

Curriculum

Tuition & Schedule

FAQs

Japanese Learning Tips

Our Japanese Classes

There are a Japanese Conversation class and Japanese Languages classes at Blue House Okinawa.

Conversation Class

Our language class offers a more casual and relaxed approach, with no pre-study necessary. We’ll explore and learn together during the class sessions.

For those with limited study time yet eager to grasp basic Japanese, our casual conversation classes are ideal.
Tailored for learners focused on speaking—not reading, writing, or grammar—these sessions aim to equip you with simple phrases and essential understanding for communication.

These classes emphasize pronunciation and everyday expressions, perfect for interacting during travel or residence in Japan.
Plus, you’ll enjoy Language Exchange opportunities with Japanese students learning English at and gain access to our exclusive online learning community!

Japanese Language Classes

If you’re keen on mastering all aspects of the Japanese language, including speaking, reading, writing, and grammar, our comprehensive Japanese language classes are designed for you.

Adopting a self-paced strategy, we integrate various study resources—from traditional materials to abundant speaking practice within class sessions, complemented by access to our exclusive online community.

Beginners Japanese 1

Starting with the basics, you’ll first learn pronunciation, counting, and essential phrases and greetings.
This foundational knowledge sets the stage for progressing to sentence structure, where you’ll practice constructing basic sentences with colors, adjectives, question words, and expressions of likes and dislikes.
Alongside expanding your vocabulary, you’ll also start writing, covering the first half of the Japanese Hiragana alphabet.This approach ensures a solid foundation in the language, preparing you for more advanced studies.

In this class, we’ll go over Lesson 1 – Lesson 11 on Japanese from Zero book 1.

Beginners Japanese 2

In the next phase of your learning, you’ll delve into expressing desires and preferences—talking about what you want or don’t want.
You’ll also tackle discussing locations, dates (covering days, months, and years), and time. Practical skills like asking for items and counting objects, a significant aspect of Japanese, will be emphasized.
Verbs will take center stage as you explore conjugation and the past tense, enhancing your ability to construct dynamic sentences.

By the course’s conclusion, you will have mastered writing in Hiragana, enabling you to script the entire Japanese language using this syllabary.
This achievement marks a significant milestone in your Japanese language journey, laying a solid foundation for future proficiency.

In this class, we’ll go over Lesson 12 – Lesson 18 on Japanese from Zero book 1.

Beginners Japanese 3

You’ll progress to mastering two essential Japanese verbs, ある (aru) and いる (iru), which are fundamental for discussing existence and presence.
This segment focuses on articulating specific objects and their locations, counting living things—a unique aspect of the Japanese language—and bolstering your understanding of particles, an integral component of Japanese grammar.

Additionally, you’ll start learning the first half of the Katakana alphabet, a significant milestone that opens up new vocabulary.
This stage not only expands your linguistic skills but also enhances your confidence in using Japanese effectively in various contexts.

In this class, we’ll go over Lesson 1 – Lesson 6 on Japanese from Zero book 2.

Beginners Japanese 4

Diving deeper into the Japanese language, you’ll explore the intricacies of Japanese family structure and the nuances of using adjectives.
An important aspect of your learning will be informal verb forms and conjugations, which are crucial for casual conversations.
You’ll also practice connecting sentences and delve further into essential grammar concepts.

A significant focus will be on the versatile verb する (suru), which allows you to form countless new verbs with your expanding vocabulary.
This skill is key to expressing a wide range of actions and activities in Japanese.

Upon completing the course, you’ll have the ability to write the entire Katakana alphabet, marking a comprehensive understanding of both of Japan’s phonetic scripts.
You’ll look back with amazement at the breadth of knowledge and skills you’ve acquired, ready to engage more deeply with the Japanese language and culture.

In this class, we’ll go over Lesson 7 – Lesson 12 on Japanese from Zero book 2.

Japanese Pre-Intermediate 1

As you advance, you’ll get the opportunity to practice discussing a variety of personal and relatable topics such as your family and relatives, hobbies, nature, the seasons, weather, and details about your town.
This practice will not only enhance your speaking skills but also expand your vocabulary and introduce you to relevant kanji characters, enriching your ability to read and write in Japanese.

In parallel, you’ll delve into important grammar concepts that are pivotal for expressing more nuanced thoughts and actions.
This includes learning the ている form, which is used to indicate ongoing actions or states. You’ll also explore how to normalize verbs and adjectives, a technique that allows you to turn them into nouns or adjectives for more complex sentence structures.

Additionally, you’ll learn to describe the timing of actions using とき (when), and how to express changes in state with なる (become).
These grammatical tools are essential for detailing transitions and sequencing events or conditions over time.

Finally, you’ll practice connecting adjectives and verbs, a skill that enables you to form longer, more complex sentences.
This comprehensive approach will significantly improve your conversational fluency, making you adept at discussing a wide range of subjects with greater linguistic sophistication.

In this class, we’ll go over Lesson 1 – Lesson 6 on Marugoto A2.

Japanese Pre-Intermediate 2

Engaging in conversations about everyday scenarios like meeting up with a friend, planning an evening out, discussing meal plans, and sharing language study and cultural experiences will be your next step. These discussions are not just practical but also enrich your understanding of Japanese social and cultural contexts. As you talk about these topics, you’ll learn relevant vocabulary and kanji, further bridging the gap between basic communication and more fluent expression.

Your grammar practice will evolve to include connecting verbs to craft complex sentences, enabling you to convey detailed plans and ideas. You’ll learn how to politely inquire if something is okay or agreeable, using the structure that’s common in Japanese to show consideration for others’ preferences or schedules.

Moreover, expressing intentions and actions like going to, wanting to, or trying to do something will be covered. These grammatical structures are essential for making plans or expressing desires and intentions in Japanese.

You’ll also navigate through relative time expressions, such as before and after, which are crucial for organizing events and sharing experiences in a clear, chronological order.

Lastly, you’ll delve into the nuances of もう (already) and まだ (not yet/still), two adverbs that are simple yet vital for accurately describing the status or progression of events and actions.

Through these focused practices, you’ll not only expand your language skills but also gain the confidence to engage in more complex and meaningful conversations in Japanese.

In this class, we’ll go over Lesson 7 – Lesson 12 on Marugoto A2.

Japanese Pre-Intermediate 3

Focusing on more specialized topics, you’ll practice discussing business trips and navigating an office environment, along with conversations about health and exercise, various celebrations, and expressing your feelings. This not only broadens your conversational range but also introduces you to specific vocabulary and kanji relevant to these contexts, enhancing your ability to communicate in both personal and professional settings.

In terms of grammar, you will explore expressing past experiences, a key aspect of sharing your life and stories with others. Learning to talk about doing too much of something adds nuance to your ability to discuss habits and actions, whether they’re yours or someone else’s.

You’ll also tackle expressing purpose or intention behind actions, a fundamental structure for conveying why you do what you do. This includes new ways to construct complex sentences, enabling you to communicate more detailed and nuanced ideas.

Furthermore, you’ll practice articulating your thoughts or relaying what you’ve heard someone say, an essential skill for participating in conversations that involve sharing opinions or discussing various viewpoints.

Through these focused exercises, you’ll significantly enhance your ability to engage in more sophisticated and varied conversations, equipped with the grammar and vocabulary to navigate a wide range of subjects confidently.

In this class, we’ll go over Lesson 13 – Lesson 18 on Marugoto A2.

Curriculum

Tuition & Schedule

FAQs

Japanese Learning Tips

Who We Are

Beyond Language Learning

A Close-Knit Multilingual Community
Join us and become part of a vibrant community where Japanese and English learners teach and learn from each other.

Authentic and Immersive Practice
Experience genuine language practice with native Japanese speakers in our Japanese class providing endless opportunities for real-world application.

Supportive and Community-Centered
Embrace a relaxed, community-oriented approach to learning. Together, we support, grow, and share joyful moments, making every step of the journey enjoyable.

Username & Password

How to Check Your Username and Password

1. Click on the three lines or down arrow in the top menu bar.

2. Click on the arrow next to your name.

3. Click on “About”.

4. Scroll down and click on “Account”.

5. Note your registered ①User Name, ②Email so that you can log in on multiple devices (eg your phone, computer, tablet).
In order to add/change your information you must put in your ③current password.

Don’t forget to click on ④Save after adding changes.

Notifications

1. Click on “Notifications” next to Account.

2. Click on Disable e-mails to turn off all email notifications as needed.

You can see notifications on the menu bar (the bell icon) too.
Keep checking up on them and reply to them!

Profile Setup

What’s the first thing you notice when visiting another user’s profile for the first time?
Likely, it’s their name and photo.
You might hesitate to accept friend requests or respond to messages from someone with an unusual or obviously fake name, or from those without a profile picture.
The same principle applies to others.

To maintain a secure community, we encourage members to use their real names on their profiles.
If you’re uncomfortable sharing your full name, we ask that you at least display either your first or last name.

Please understand that to protect the integrity of our community, the Blue House Okinawa management team may reach out for verification if your account appears to be fraudulent.

We also recommend setting up your profile in both Japanese and English, if possible. This is because profiles only in Japanese might be challenging for Japanese speakers who are still learning the language.

Help us to know you better by writing about yourself in both languages. Share your passions, dreams, and more. Our community thrives on mutual support and sharing 🙂

1. Click on “About”.

2. Scroll down and click “Edit All”.

3. Fill out your first name, last name, gender, and birthday.

For ABOUT ME,
Write your self-introduction
in both Japanese and English.

You can write about:
your name,
where you’re from,

why you want to learn Japanese,
what would you like to do
when you speak Japanese fluently,

your dream,
your passion,
something that you love,
something that you’ve been doing for a long time,
etc…

Write the information you would like to know when you look at other members’ profile pages, or the information that makes you want to be their friends 🙂

Enjoy 🙂

4. Click Save All after editing.

5. Click on “Preferences” next to About.

6. You can choose how you’d like to display your name.

If you’d prefer not to display your birth year, then you have the option to hide it 😀

7. Make sure “Enable Chat” and “Open minimized chat” are turned on.

Profile Picture Setup

1. Click on the camera icon to Change avatar.

2. Click on “Upload new”.

3. Choose your profile picture.

4. Crop your image.

5. Click on “Confirm” after cropping.

6. Click on “Done”.

Cover Picture Setup

1. Click on “Change cover”.

2. Click on “Upload new”.

3. Choose your cover picture.

4. Click on Reposition and reposition your picture as needed.

5. Click on “Save” after repositioning.

Introduce Yourself to School!

You have your profile set up.
Now you’re ready to introduce yourself to our school.
Let’s go to Living Room and post your self-introduction!

Remember to write a post or comment in both Japanese(if possible) and English.

Sometimes, it’s hard for us to help members when they only write in one language and we can’t understand what they are trying to say.

Help us understand better by writing in both Japanese and English so that we can suggest a correction or better way to say it, if you’d like.

1. Click on “Living Room”.

On Browser:
Search “Blue House Okinawa” and open it.

OR click on the home icon.

2. Go ahead and introduce yourself and post in both Japanese and English.

Write about:
your name,
where you’re from,
why you’re learning Japanese,
what are your goals for learning Japanese,
what is your dream,
what kind of help you can offer.

3. Click on “Post”.

4. You can also add photos, audios, videos, backgrounds and polls if you’d like!

5. You can choose who sees your post under Privacy.

6. You can choose where to post under Post to.

7. You can also add an emoji to add your mood, too 🙂

8. You can tag your friend with “@”.
Type your friend’s name after @ and choose who to tag.
You need to be friends on Living Room to tag someone, so make sure you are friends with people you’d like to tag.

9. Your friend’s name turns blue once you tag them.

10. You can filter your news feed to see all the posts from community members or to just see your own posts.

Try different types of posts and have fun!

Edit Your Post

1. Click on the top right corner of the post.

2. Click on Edit Post and begin editing.

3. Click on Post and you’re all set!

Comment on a Post

1. Please comment in both Japanese and English here too.
Click on Write a comment.

2. Write a comment (in Japanese & English) and click on Post.

3. You can also comment with photos and/or GIFs.

4. Click on the 3 dots to edit your comment.

5. Click on Edit and begin editing.

6. Click on Save to finish editing.

Join Groups

Let’s practice Japanese even more!

There are different groups and topics where you can practice your Japanese easily without feeling like “I don’t know what to talk about…”

The groups are run by the management team based on a certain number of requests from members.

Let us know if you have an idea for a group.
We’ll start a new one when we have enough requests!

2. Here you can see all the existing groups.

Let’s take a look at one of the groups.
Click on the icon.

3. On the group page, you can see the information about the group and posts from other members in the group.

4. Read the top post about the group and see if you’d like to join.

5. To join the group, scroll up and click on “Join”.

6. Go back to the Groups page and see if there are other groups you’d like to join.

Once you joined the group, it’ll change from ① Join → to → ② Member, and Member means that you’re in the group.

Help Japanese Friends

Your support is invaluable here at Blue House Okinawa!
Your kindness greatly assists your Japanese friends.
If another member seeks assistance, please lend a hand when possible.
We cherish seeing members aid one another and grow together 🙂

1.Click on Living Room.

2. Browse other members’ posts and please help them learn or give them advice if you can.

It would be great if you can help them in both Japanese and English but help only in English is very helpful too!

Thank you for all your help and kindness! Additionally, if you have any suggestions, requests, or questions, please don’t hesitate to share them with us.
We’re constantly working to improve our community every day, and we’d love to hear your thoughts 🙂

Send a Message

You’d like to send a thank you message to your friends directly?

Here is how to send a message to your friends.

1. Click on Message.

2. Or click the envelope icon.

3. Click on View All.

4. Click on edit button to start a new message.

5. Select your friend and write your message.

6. Select your friend and write your message.

7. Click on Send to send the message.

8. Now, your conversation has started!

Come back and check your message box to see if you have a reply!

Send a Friend Request

Now, let’s browse the members’ profile pages and send friend requests.

1. Click on Members.

2. Let’s take a look at the members list to see if you can find someone you’d like to be friends with 🙂

3. Find one?
Click on the icon.

4. See his/her picture and their description under About.

5. Like him/her?
Send him/her message and introduce yourself a little before you send a friend request.

6. Write about:
your name,
where you’re from,
why you’re learning Japanese,
what are your goals for learning Japanese,
what kind of help you can offer,
like English conversation practice,
pronunciation practice,
etc…

And send it!

7. Now send him/her a friend request by clicking on the “Add Friend” button.

8. Go back to Members and keep looking for your new friends 🙂

After sending a friend request, it’ll change to “Cancel Request”, and it means that it’s waiting for the other member to accept your friend request.

When you guys become friends, it’ll change to “Friend”, and that means that you and the other member are now friends 😉

When you receive a friend request,

1. You’ll receive notifications on the menu bar.

2. ① You can see the person’s profile,
you can ② refuse the friend request,
③ accept the friend request.

Go ahead and send a thank you message to your new friend after accepting their friend request and start a conversation!

Japanese Classes

Curriculum

Tuition

FAQs

Japanese Learning Tips

Who We Are

Beyond Language Learning

A Close-Knit Multilingual Community
Join us and become part of a vibrant community where Japanese and English learners teach and learn from each other.

Authentic and Immersive Practice
Experience genuine language practice with native Japanese speakers in our Japanese class providing endless opportunities for real-world application.

Supportive and Community-Centered
Embrace a relaxed, community-oriented approach to learning. Together, we support, grow, and share joyful moments, making every step of the journey enjoyable.

Who We Are

Blue House Okinawa Japanese School

Take our online placement test to find the class that best fits you.

Come and visit our school for a trial lesson!

Japanese Classes

Curriculum

Tuition & Schedule

FAQs

Japanese Learning Tips

Language Exchange

Mixing Learning with Real Connections

We’re incredibly lucky at Blue House Okinawa to host local Japanese students who are eager to learn English.
This sets the stage for our Language Exchange program, an integral part of what we offer.

Picture this: engaging in genuine conversations with native Japanese speakers and experiencing the language as it’s truly spoken.

Learning Is a Two-Way Street

The Language Exchange is all about jumping in and getting involved.
It’s a student-driven, mutually beneficial setup where the real learning happens through exchange.
There’s no need to wait until your Japanese is flawless.

Start speaking from day one, even if it means getting creative with gestures to get your point across. Your Japanese counterparts are there to help guide you towards better accuracy.

Engage, Ask, Share

This is your chance to dive deeper than ever before.
Ask questions, exchange cultural insights, and offer feedback.
Building your speaking confidence comes from these real, interactive experiences.

The Language Exchange program is designed not just for you to practice Japanese, but to use it in practical, everyday situations.

Make Meaningful Connections

Through Language Exchange, you’ll meet and connect with our Japanese students.
These aren’t just language practice sessions; they’re opportunities to forge genuine friendships, understand the Japanese way of life, and gain insights that books alone can’t teach.

It’s about bringing your textbook knowledge into the vibrant, real world of communication.

Rules

Rule 1. Use your indoor voice.

We understand that Language Exchanges are a lot of fun and you enjoy interacting with the native speakers, but keep in mind that we have some students who are hard of hearing or have a hard time speaking up.
Please keep the noise level as LOW as possible.

Rule 2. Leave grammatical explanations to the instructors.

You can leave grammatical explanations to the instructors.
Try to avoid asking your Japanese friends questions about Japanese grammar (that’s what your instructors are for) and focus more on pronunciation /listening /speaking practice because your Japanese friends are not trained Japanese instructor.
Speaking Japanese fluently doesn’t mean they can teach how Japanese grammar works in English.

Also , trying to explain English grammar in English to the Japanese native speakers will only waste time and not benefit anyone because they won’t understand it.
When explaining something to the Japanese native speakers, please use VERY SIMPLE English!

Rule 3. Show and Tell.

Bring your phone (or tablet) to class.
If you feel like saying something in English / Japanese is difficult, feel free to look up pictures or videos to try and help the others understand what you’re trying to say.

We recommend NOT use translating apps, as sometimes the translation comes out entirely wrong or doesn’t make sense.
Try using actual photos and SHOW them what you are trying to say.

Example: We had a student talk about the movie “Frozen” so they looked up the word “frozen” in Japanese.
The translator showed the word “kouru”, literally meaning “to freeze” and showed that to the native speaker.
They couldn’t understand AT ALL because the Japanese movie title is “Anna and the Snow Queen”.

So, a lot of times the literal translation to some words and expressions can be VERY different.

Rule 4. When in doubt, ASK!

You can usually tell by your partner’s facial expression if they can understand you or not…but if you are not sure, ASK!
Sometimes they’ll nod and say they understand but they actually don’t. lol

So ask again and if they say they understand, ask them to explain.

How to do Langage Exchange

You will choose one of the following steps to practice during Language Exchange.

Step 1: Pronunciation Practice

Read aloud or have your partner read aloud the Japanese vocabulary /phrases on the worksheets and repeat after them. Practice matching your pronunciation to theirs.

Step 2: Quiz

Have your partner call out random numbers on the Japanese script Worksheet.
Recite the corresponding Japanese word / phrase of the number your partner called out on the English script worksheet and see how many of them you can get right.

Please circle the numbers that your partner gets right on their worksheets.

Step 3: Q&A Making

Make your own questions and answers on the back of the worksheet with your partner.
Try to use vocabulary /phrases you’ve learned in the lesson (or in previous lessons).

Step 4: Q&A Check

Have your partner check your Japanese grammar on the questions you created on the back of the worksheet.

Step 5: Conversation using Make Your Own! Q&A

Look at your Make Your Own Questions Conversation Sheet and ask your partner your own questions. See if they can understand your Japanese and if you can understand your partner’s answers.

Step 6: Free Conversation

If your partners’ speaking level is on par with yours, you can have free conversation.

Feeling Nervous About Speaking Japanese?

It’s pretty common to see folks hesitating to jump into a Japanese conversation.
Maybe you’re not quite sure how to get a particular word or phrase out right.
We get it, and honestly, it’s a hurdle you can clear pretty quickly once you’re part of the Blue House Okinawa family.

Speaking Practice Tips

Here, you’ll get plenty of chances to flex your conversational muscles through our Language Exchanges with native speakers.
These sessions are goldmines because they teach you two crucial things:

Making mistakes is totally fine – actually, it’s part of the learning process!
You’ll learn how to fix those slip-ups on the fly.

Remember,
You might be surprised to discover you know way more than you give yourself credit for.
The key is to keep trying and putting what you’ve learned into practice.
The more you do it, the smoother it’ll get.

And hey, remember this: Japanese folks find English just as tricky as you find Japanese.
They totally get the effort you’re making and will appreciate your attempts to chat in their language.
So flash that smile and dive in – you’re going to do awesome!

Who We Are

Blue House Okinawa Japanese School

Take our online placement test to find the class that best fits you.

Come and visit our school for a trial lesson!

Japanese Classes

Curriculum

Tuition & Schedule

FAQs

Japanese Learning Tips

お買い物ツアーで集合写真。A group photo at the shopping tour.

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Tag: Japan

Table of Contents

Who We Are

Curriculum

Tuition & Schedule

FAQs

Japanese Learning Tips

Our Japanese Classes

Conversation Class

Japanese Language Classes

Beginners Japanese 1

Beginners Japanese 2

Beginners Japanese 3

Beginners Japanese 4

Japanese Pre-Intermediate 1

Japanese Pre-Intermediate 2

Japanese Pre-Intermediate 3

Curriculum

Tuition & Schedule

FAQs

Japanese Learning Tips

Who We Are

Table of Contents

Username & Password

Notifications

Profile Setup

Profile Picture Setup

Cover Picture Setup

Introduce Yourself to School!

Edit Your Post

Comment on a Post

Join Groups

Help Japanese Friends

Send a Message

Send a Friend Request

Japanese Classes

Curriculum

Tuition

FAQs

Japanese Learning Tips

Who We Are

Table of Contents

Who We Are

Japanese Classes

Curriculum

Tuition & Schedule

FAQs

Japanese Learning Tips

Language Exchange

Rules

How to do Langage Exchange

Who We Are

Japanese Classes

Curriculum

Tuition & Schedule

FAQs

Japanese Learning Tips