“Hirogaru, get more of Japan and Japanese” is a site for learning different things about Japan and the Japanese language through your own interests.
Target
for persons studying Japanese for a hobby
for persons interested in Japan or the Japanese language but without a specific learning objective such as for business or to study abroad.
for Japanese learners who like Japan and the Japanese language
Site features
You can personally experience understanding and using Japanese even with a proficiency level of A1 or A2 in the JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education.
You can engage with various aspects about Japan and the Japanese language through reading or listening to information related to 12 topics about Japan.
Through the various contents and user comments, you can learn more about not only Japan but also your own culture and the culture of places where other learners live.
About Contents
Top videos
This contains video content where you can watch videos of people and places related to the topic. You can share what you think is good with other site users by pressing the Good button on the parts you liked during the video (mobile phones not supported). Since the spoken Japanese may be difficult, select “Subtitle on” when you want to check what was said in the video.
Articles
This contains content for engaging with the Japanese language by reading articles and listening to the some included videos on your topics of interest. Expose yourself to new vocabulary words and expressions by getting into the habit of reading and listening to Japanese through the various articles. A list is available for difficult words (on the English page only). You can also check your comprehension of the article using the quiz at the end of the article. Through the articles, engage with the Japan you’ve never known before.
TOPIC & WATASHI
This contains video content where you can watch Japanese people relating to the topic. You can learn the various ways the Japanese people think and talk. Since some of the spoken words may be a little difficult, the video transcript and its English translation (on the English page only) is available for viewing.
Kanji
This contains content for increasing your topic-related kanji vocabulary and kanji knowledge while enjoying the world view on the topic. You can also practice how to correctly type kanji in Japanese.
Foods
This contains photo content of food related to the topic together with a brief Japanese write-up. Comments and recollections after eating the food in the photo are given. A list of words and phrases is available when there are difficult food-related words (on the English page only). Enjoy the photos with the brief Japanese write-up.
Comments
This contains content for connecting with people around the world through the 12 topics. You can read what other people wrote in Japanese and write about yourself in Japanese. You can learn more about the culture and ways of thinking not only of Japan but also of various countries and regions.
Searching
In HIROGARU, because the system is designed to turn Ruby on and off, there is a limit to words that can be searched. If your search isn‘t going well, please try by using only the kanji. (For example, you will get search results if you use just 山登 instead of 山登り or 坊 rather than お坊さん.)