Tobira I: Beginning Japanese (Japanese Edition)

I tried Genki. I gave up in a couple of weeks. I tried Japanese From Zero. I made it a month before losing focus. I tried Genki again; same result. Then I tried Tobira and now after 2 months (~1.5-2 hrs a day), I'm not only continuing, but going STRONG. I'm halfway through book 1 and my motivation hasn't waned. In my opinion, Genki and JFZ both have problems that this book addresses, at least for me personally.Genki is an older book. I heard that there is a 3rd edition (which I admittedly have never tried), but when I went through 2nd edition, it felt like it was designed for classroom instruction. As a self-study learner, it was a bit unclear or awkward at times. Learning on my own felt a bit clunky with Genki. It was that clunky feeling that made me give up after a few weeks. On the other hand, JFZ simply felt too slow for me. It seemed much better for self-study in that it spelled out everything... but the problem is that it SPELLED OUT EVERYTHING. I believe that this system would be perfect for someone with 0 knowledge of Japanese, as the title clearly suggests; but that isn't me. I'd learned hiragana & katakana, had my mom teach me what little broken Japanese she remembers from HER mom, and even spent a good chunk of time with the KKLC. I'd also watched anime and subsequently listened to the language for years (even though I couldn't understand it). This starting-point disconnect led me to boredom/laziness and I eventually gave up on JFZ too. All of that lead me to Tobira 1.This book isn't magic. It doesn't do or teach anything special that the other systems don't. It simply explains concepts extremely well. Each chapter provides vocab (kanji too, after the first 100 or so pages), that vocab is used to explain grammar concepts, practice, practice, a paragraph or so on Japanese culture, practice, practice, chapter end. Repeat in new chapter. There is nothing new here, but the execution seems perfect for self-study. It feels like the explanation depth of JFZ with the information density of Genki. The audio examples on the website (which you can download all at once) are great aides for when I'm unclear on pronunciation, or when I want to hear the answers to a grammar section. There are some minor oddities, like text passages that contain words/grammar points that haven't been explained yet (but ARE covered in the following few pages), but those are almost nonexistent.The book makes full use of colored text (for teaching grammar), underlining important parts of sentences, downloadable audio files, etc. to provide a course on Japanese that masterfully simulates the quality of classroom learning. It's fantastic. I've learned WAY more in the last few months than I have in years, yes YEARS, of learning vocab, learning kanji, trying Genki, trying JFZ, playing with anki decks, etc., etc., etc. There are other books/systems that I haven't tried, such as Minna No Nihongo (which I've heard is great), but among the ones I have tried, this book is legit. I've already bought book 2 and the intermediate Tobira book as well. I think I'm really going to make it through this time. And who knows? Maybe moving to Japan for a few years (or more...) might not just be a dream after all.

very happy with this book. It has cute pictures and printed situations with neatly outlined vacab pages. In see it as one of the best books on Japanese along with the Ginki books.

Great book to learn japanese better than the genki book

I highly recommend this to beginner level Japanese language learners (N5-N4)

Helpful

I bought this book in August and I wanted to try it all out before I rated. I really recommend this book! I have tried several different self-study ways in languages.The chapters are basically just parts that can be done at different speeds. I LOVE the videos that are included through the website. It is easy to follow, understand and work through on my own in short bursts. I have gone through it VERY slowly but feel like I am really understanding and getting the pronunciations perfect before moving in. Plus, it has many cultural tips when it comes to bowing, food and other things that should be known so it's not just language. I love it and can't wait to practice my Japanese and mannerisms with a Japan club I am in.

I am self-studying Japanese for the first time. I am halfway through this book now, and could not recommend it more.Each chapter is DENSE. There are a lot of vocabulary and grammar points introduced per chapter. Definitely not something to be sped through. Can sometimes feel overwhelming. The key is to review grammar concepts/sentence structures (i use flashcards).Some practices are group work, I tend to just skip those and focus on the ones with accompaniment audio files. You don’t miss out on anything this way, except the verbal practice.I don’t think the stories are thaaaat interesting. Typical beginner language stuff.I also purchased the e-book version, and actually prefer that since the font is quite small.Can’t wait to start the second beginning book!!

Super happy to have received this book for my Japanese studies. It is of great quality and I'm enjoying the material so far. Big plus was it arrived a couple of days earlier than expected, so that was wonderful :)