Introduce yourself, and your interest in Japanese!

Grindylow

こんにちは [Konnichiwa ]

So yeah.. since the forum is pretty dead, an introduction thread is necessary!

I'm Noel, I'm 18 (19 in February) and I'm not even sure why I've an interest in Japanese. :P I love the whole technological side of their country and how tech-forward they are! Hopefully next year I'll be doing a business and Japanese course and then maybe a year abroad in Japan during the course..

So yes, come one, come all, introduce yourselves!

Konata

My name is Sinéad, I'm 21 and I'm one of your friendly moderators

I'm currently studying Japanese as part of the Applied Languages & Intercultural Studies course in DCU. I'm only in 1st year but I've done some Japanese before and hoping to continue to build on that over the coming years.

My interest in Japan originally stems from my love of anime and manga. I'm absolutely fascinated by the country - the culture, the people, the language, everything!

Cravez

はじめまして. Michael here, 24 years old.

Been exposed to aspects of the culture growing up (Anime like Akira, Vampire Hunter D etc & also some Japanese films) but only had a true interest of the culture/language when I went back packing around Japan in 2009, with some boardsies actually like Johnny_Ultimate & Daddio. Was tons of fun and loads of great experiences.

Just started my second time in Trinity College learning Japanese, hopefully plan on studying International Business with Japanese next year in DCU.

よろしくお願いします!

Atavan-Halen

I'm shane, 19 years old and I'm the other (more good looking) mod

My love of all things Japanese probably comes from video games, cars and anime. Always been fascinated by Japan and Japanese culture and most definitely want to go there some day. Planning to go not next year but the year after! I'd love to take up a language course maybe next year as I can't really speak Japanese but I know I'll get there!

old hippy

I grew up in the 70s watching early (for Western telly) anime shows like Marine Boy and Battle of the Planets. My schoolmate was Japanese and I was fascinated by his books and toys. He frowned at the likes of Monkey and The Water Margin but I lapped them up, as did lots of kids in my era. When I was in my 20s, I met a Japanese lady and we finally got married in a Shinto ceremony in Japan last year. Neither of us are religious but I love the fact that Shinto & Buddhism can co-exist. There's no hipocrisy in having a Shinto wedding and a Buddhist funeral!

I've been to Japan 4 times and I love the place and the people. I have tried to learn the language but it's a bit difficult to take on board after a long days work - having said that, the plan is to one day retire there, so I will be taking it up at some stage.

johnny_ultimate

Hello, my name is Stephen (23), and I'm an alcoholic Japan obsessive.

Japanese cinema and anime are my particular loves, although Japanese video games tend to occupy a considerable part of my time. They also make the best food in the world (c), produced some wonderful writers (cannot wait for IQ84 in a week or two) and all in all a fascinating country. I've been twice, and still barely know a word of the language :pac:

I'm currently working on a script about the country, which will probably never get made, but is something I need to get out of my system

old hippy

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Hello, my name is Stephen (23), and I'm an alcoholic Japan obsessive.

Japanese cinema and anime are my particular loves, although Japanese video games tend to occupy a considerable part of my time. They also make the best food in the world (c), produced some wonderful writers (cannot wait for IQ84 in a week or two) and all in all a fascinating country. I've been twice, and still barely know a word of the language :pac:

I'm currently working on a script about the country, which will probably never get made, but is something I need to get out of my system

So am I :cool:

TheChrisD

I'm Chris, 22, and I blame the Pokémon anime and then Eirtakon for getting me into the culture :P

I'm also way more good-looking than Shane (dunno about Sinéad though!)

KnifeWRENCH

I'm Brendan, I'm 21 and am currently an unemployed drain on society.

My interest in Japanese came mainly from other friends having an interest in it. Up to a few years ago I knew very little about the country, even the stereotypical stuff you always associate with it; for example, I don't like sushi (or any seafood), never got into anime and while I used watch the Pokémon animated series I never had any of the games (never owned a Gameboy or a DS.)

I think the first time I ever sat back and thought "Woah! Japan looks cool" was from watching Kill Bill. Then I got to meet people who had a much broader interest in the country and that opened my mind a little bit. I've become a lot more interested in it now; one of my favourite things to do is read travel articles and I've been looking up various places in Japan to see what they're like, as well as investigating the JET program which I sounds fantastic and something I'd love to try some time. I'd love to learn Japanese at some point; I'm gonna try learning the hiragana and katakana myself as it's on my to-do list and there are a few good links in the forum stickies. (I even bought flashcards and everything! )

So yeah....I'm still very much clueless but hopefully this forum gets the revival it deserves and I won't be so clueless much longer.

Just Like Heaven

Hi i'm Kenny, i'm (very almost) 18.

TheChrisD wrote: »

I'm also way more good-looking than Shane (dunno about Sinéad though!)

and i'm gorgeous

I'v been self teaching Japanese for a few months and love it. I have never been to Japan I guess my interest in Japan stems from Nintedo, but have been watching an increasing amount of anime and reading Manga.

I hope to go homestay in Tokyo or Suwa next summer.

Would love to see this forum do well

Nice to meet you all!

Konata

Yay, lots of people! Welcome one and all!

Evade

I'm Dave, I'm 25 and am also a drain on society (I like that phrase).

My intrest in Japan started with anime and video games and then to a general interest in the culture from the old traditions to the new and awesomely bizarre. I love their cars too.

I applied to do Japanese in college but didn't get the points.

Butterscotch

Hi,

I am Amy 26 and loved Japan since I was 12 and my passion never left me. I became interested in Japan from anime and manga and then I got exposed to more of the culture. Everything about Japan really appeals to me like no other. I love their art, traditional theatre, films, fashion eg lolita, moe, pretty cute costumes, cosplay, history, food, pop culture, comics, cartoons, mannerisms ect. I really enjoy browzing DannyChoo's Japanese cultural blog.

I use to do Japanese in DCU in my first year of the BA in Contemporary Culture and Society degree but gave it up due to other comittments. I really want to get back into learning Japanese again so when I go to Japan I can communicate with people and I love the langauge. I am looking out for any Japanese langauge clubs or classes and will do that when I have the time so recemmendations are welcomed. I am glad this forum is active.

Jimoslimos

Hey James here

30yrs old. Been self-teaching on/off for a little while. Spoken as well as written hiragana/katakana with a few basic kanji.

Lucky enough to visit Japan about 2 years ago and absolutely LOVED it. Amazing country and I'd bite your hand off if offered the chance to return.

Rob2D

Hi everybody,

Robert is my name (or "ロバ-ト" if my Google search is to be believed) I'm 23 and better looking than all of you put together.

I have always had a great interest in Asia, the East and particularly Japan. Like most of you I've been exposed to the culture most of my life through games, TV and film. To me, the Japanese have a great style and flare to everything they do and it makes them fascinating. Plus, I doubt there's anyone that couldn't love their quirkiness. They're all a bit mental and I love that.

I've never been to the place myself but I'll definitely get there someday. To that end I started teaching myself some Japanese last year. I made a great start, but as with all such ventures, work and other things ate away my time and the learning stopped.

Hopefully this forum will be the kick up the arse I need to get involved again. May it go from strength to strength. (the forum that is, not my arse)

just-joe

Hey guys, my name is Joe (or 譲　in kanji). I am currently teaching English in Niigata Prefecture, in the Chubu Region (north but not quite Tohoku) of Honshu, Japan.

Before coming I think my interest in Japan stemmed from doing judo, and because my father worked with a Japanese bank in London for a long time, I heard a lot about Japanese culture and met Japanese people. I came because I thought it would be a fantastic adventure and an amazing experience. I didn't speak any Japanese before I came.

Now, the things I love about Japan are; the beautiful scenery, the 4 seasons, judo, the food, snowboarding and hopefully this season skiing too, onsens, the language and the people. I was not and still am not interested in manga, anime, or video games. Although, I did just get a TV, and I do want to start watching some Japanese films.

I am lazily keeping a blog at http://ramblinginjapan.wordpress.com/ hopefully I will update again soon!

I am learning Japanese and doing well so far. If anyone has any questions about the language, please ask! If its super difficult I won't be able to answer, but I will ask a friend and then we can both learn. Also, I could get a native grammar check for sentences or phrases.

cocoshovel

Hey, my name is Roger. My interest in Japan originally extends from my interest in infrastructure and emergency services. I began by reading up on Japans rail and emergency network in early 2010, then during summer I was bored one day and asked my friend to introduce me to some anime. He showed me Azumanga daioh, and ever since then I have been hooked. That was over 1 year ago, then I started learning japanese using nama-sensei, rosetta stone and remember the kanji. I also follow many otaku related things.




edit: I guess Ill also say Im 19 (20 in April) and studying Multimedia in Waterford

SandraManson

Konichiwa mina!

My name is Sandra, I'm 14, started liking Japan and Anime since I was 12. I remember watching Inuyasha at the age of 4 and other titles.

I'm currently learning Japanese at the moment, my mother knows Japanese very well (she learned it in school.) I love Japan and respect their culture because it's beautiful and "different." I love animes because they are sad and happy at the same time, in my opinion they teach you a lesson in life, and they are way better than normal cartoons. I mostly watch vampire/comedy/supernatural and yaoi and yuri. Recently, I have started reading mangas on my Iphone of various kinds. I also draw manga and anime. I'm doing Anime for my Junior Cert. I've also been told I look Japanese? I don't know. Either way, I would love to go to Japan as an exchange student, one of my mother's friends went there and said it's a big culture difference! But I would really love to visit Japan one day, as an exchange student perhaps. I also love their food, it tastes gorgeous! *o*

Conor108

My names Conor, I'm oh-so-nearly 20. I'm doing a science degree but learning Japanese in college. I don't know a whole lot but like I can read Hiragana, Katakana and some Kanji. I kinda just picked it on a whim last year but I do like it and find the language & country interesting! Tried getting into the whole anime thing but it's really not my thing!:D

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

Hi everyone,

I always found Japan to be a highly interesting country since I was a kid. I've always been very interested in history and medieval Japan was one of my favorite topics, I just found the idea of Samurai and all that to be really cool and the interest kept with me as I got older! Plus I've always loved the style of Japanese art and architecture (I've a poster of a wood print hanging over my bed as we speak). I came across anime throught the internet and really like some of it, and I love Kurosawa films. Oh and I take judo classes. So yeah, I love Japanese things! I'd love to learn the language but given my failure in every previous attempt to learn a language I think that's a pipe dream

TokyoImports

Hi,

I'm Steven and 24 years old. I lived in Japan for 5 years and will be heading back there agian next year. I did Japanese for the leaving cert when it first came out and then moved there after the leaving cert. Had a great time in Tokyo and looking forward to going back.

Just Like Heaven

TokyoImports wrote: »

Hi,

I'm Steven and 24 years old. I lived in Japan for 5 years and will be heading back there agian next year. I did Japanese for the leaving cert when it first came out and then moved there after the leaving cert. Had a great time in Tokyo and looking forward to going back.

Wow! Had you been there before? Have you now passed JLPT 1 or 2?

TokyoImports

fewtinsoffroth wrote: »

Wow! Had you been there before? Have you now passed JLPT 1 or 2?

No I just went there after the leaving cert, loved it and decided to live there. I haven't tried JLPT 1 or 2 but I could pass 2 from looking at the books. Kanji is the biggest problem with those tests.

Kana

こんばんは。
私は”かな”と言います。カタカナのカナと一緒です。笑
22歳の日本人です。生まれも育ちも東京です。だから都会っ子＼(´▽｀)/
ここには日本人の方は他にいますか？
きちんとした日本語で書くべきだと思いますが、堅苦しくない自己紹介にしたいので、
文法とか違ったらごめんなさい。笑

東京で生まれ育って、18歳の時に初めて海外へ…。
ロンドンに2週間留学して、そのあと調理の勉強も兼ねて、オーストラリアに3か月留学していました。
そして今はダブリンに住んでいますっ!初めてのアイルランドです!わーい☆笑

まだこっちにきて１ヶ月ですが、日本食が恋しいです。笑
フラットに引っ越したら毎日日本料理を作って食べるつもりです。
調理師としてずっと働いていたので、こっちの人にもいつか日本料理を作ってあげたいです!
ロンドンで”お好み焼き”と”天ぷら”を作ったら、すごくすごく喜んでくれました～♪

英語が趣味で勉強してても飽きません。
まだまだな英語力なので、英語の勉強頑張ります。

みなさんも日本語頑張っているので、負けずに頑張ろうと思います。^^



日本人として誇りを持って生きています!
みんなどの国も同じ人間ですが、言葉や文化、暮らしが違うことは事実です。
みんな違ってみんな良い。そう思います。
だから差別しないで、交換し合って仲良くなれば素晴らしいことなのにって思っています。

長くなりましたが、日本が大好きな日本人で、英語も、いろんな国の人と話すことも大好きな日本人です。
よろしくおねがいします。

眠くなってきたので、英語では書きません。笑
翻訳機にかけても、理解できないと思います。以上です。笑

Konata

Hi Kana and welcome to the forum!

While it's awesome to see all that Japanese, would you be able to provide an English translation for those people who may not be so good at Japanese? It'd be really good for learning too!

funky penguin

皆さん！始めました！ショーンです！

Pardon my beastly 日本語！

Currently living here on the JET programme, in beautiful Kanazawa since July 2011.

Love the people, the culture, the anime, the fashion, the schools.....

I was finishing a thesis up until the end of October, so only getting stuck into the language now. The kana are all down and learned, now to build on the kanji. 70 in the last two weeks and counting!

there's a major advantage in living here in that you are always passively learning. The language is everywhere and I just force myself to read it, even if it means me standing in the street, silently mouthing the syllables like the silly 外人 I am! :P

It's also such a shock to see how homogeneous the culture is, and how this effects their ability with English. I'm so used to European countries having amazing English. Here, it forces me to learn the language, and talk with the locals, who are usually amazing and delighted even if you only speak a mangled ありがとう！

I'm immersing myself completely, I need to learn this language! So I bought Japanese versions of the new Batman and Uncharted games, gonna get Japanese Skyrim too! I can't understand 90%, but it's all immersion! Also have Go!Go!7188 on repeat.....might look into AKB48 (Purely for immersive reasons, don't judge!!).

Going well so far, and if any boardsies find themselves in Kanazawa-shi over the next 2 years or so, please PM me, I have a spare futon.

triseke

I'm Lisa, I'm 24, and have been self learning for about 2/3 years on and off.

My level of comprehension isn't great, but I can watch most of my anime now without subtitles!

My interest actually started with japanese culture, and history and moved onto anime and music.

Am hoping to go to Japan the year after next, sort of as wedding gift to myself and my fiancé.

Kana

Konata wrote: »

Hi Kana and welcome to the forum!

While it's awesome to see all that Japanese, would you be able to provide an English translation for those people who may not be so good at Japanese? It'd be really good for learning too!

Yeah I know it.so I will try but not good at English at all..^^;
But studying English is my hobby anyway;3

Kana

Kana wrote: »

こんばんは。
私は”かな”と言います。カタカナのカナと一緒です。笑
22歳の日本人です。生まれも育ちも東京です。だから都会っ子＼(´▽｀)/
ここには日本人の方は他にいますか？
きちんとした日本語で書くべきだと思いますが、堅苦しくない自己紹介にしたいので、
文法とか違ったらごめんなさい。笑

東京で生まれ育って、18歳の時に初めて海外へ…。
ロンドンに2週間留学して、そのあと調理の勉強も兼ねて、オーストラリアに3か月留学していました。
そして今はダブリンに住んでいますっ!初めてのアイルランドです!わーい☆笑

まだこっちにきて１ヶ月ですが、日本食が恋しいです。笑
フラットに引っ越したら毎日日本料理を作って食べるつもりです。
調理師としてずっと働いていたので、こっちの人にもいつか日本料理を作ってあげたいです!
ロンドンで”お好み焼き”と”天ぷら”を作ったら、すごくすごく喜んでくれました～♪

英語が趣味で勉強してても飽きません。
まだまだな英語力なので、英語の勉強頑張ります。

みなさんも日本語頑張っているので、負けずに頑張ろうと思います。^^



日本人として誇りを持って生きています!
みんなどの国も同じ人間ですが、言葉や文化、暮らしが違うことは事実です。
みんな違ってみんな良い。そう思います。
だから差別しないで、交換し合って仲良くなれば素晴らしいことなのにって思っています。

長くなりましたが、日本が大好きな日本人で、英語も、いろんな国の人と話すことも大好きな日本人です。
よろしくおねがいします。

眠くなってきたので、英語では書きません。笑
翻訳機にかけても、理解できないと思います。以上です。笑

Translate :
Hi I'm Kana, a Japanese girl.Its a same as Kana of "katakana".haha
I'm 22yrs old.I　was born and raised in Tokyo.So I was urbanite.＼(´▽｀)/
Is there any Japanese users here?

I think I must use perfectly grammatical but be at ease.;P
I've been to London for 2 weeks when I was 18 it was a first time to go to abroad.
And next year was 19,Ive been to Australia for 3month to study English and Cooking.
Now I've lived in Dublin since the end of October.Ive never been to Ireland before.

It has passed only a month but,I've already missed Japanese foods so much.
So If I move to share house,I'm gonna make Japanese foods everyday.lol
I'm really glad if I can make Japanese foods to Irish people because I was working as a chef.
When I was in London,I made Okonomiyaki and Tempura for them,they really loved it!it was so happy thing!

I like to study English,just like a hobby.So never bored,never give up.
But be more great English speaker,I keep studying hard.
And you guys are studying Japanese hard(I can feel it),so I will study hard as well:D

I’m proud of being Japanese.And you must have proud either.
Actually we've got different languages,culture and life-style.
But people in any country are all the same.same blood.
So I just wanna share these with various people who lives in another country.
Hopefully every people who live in this world will be like that.

Finally, I'm Japanese who love Japan.And of course I like studying English,meet new people aswell.

---

Done!so tired to type in English though.
Hopefully you guys can understand what I say...:(

Konata

Thank so much Kana! Even that much is a great reference to practice my Japanese with Also, your English is really good, I understood perfectly!

I really really want some of your Japanese food now! Sounds like you'd make some delicious stuff.

How are you finding living in Ireland? Do you like it? May I ask why you chose to move here?

Kana

Konata wrote: »

Thank so much Kana! Even that much is a great reference to practice my Japanese with Also, your English is really good, I understood perfectly!

I really really want some of your Japanese food now! Sounds like you'd make some delicious stuff.

How are you finding living in Ireland? Do you like it? May I ask why you chose to move here?

Oh did you><?thanks too.

Yeah I like cooking for someone just because meals make them always happy.
I like to see that;3 so yeah hopefully...

hmm actually I didnt have a big reason..
I wanted to go to Europe and study English but I've been to U.K before.
So I was thinking which country are people speak English in Europe except the U.K...
Then found Ireland;Dhahaha

And also we can come here by working holiday visa.
So allowed studying,working,traveling..and staying for a year;D
Thats why i decided.

hopefully i dont let you down..haha
but yeah i've enjoyed a life in Dublin so far;3