Free course · Absolute beginners

Learn Japanese
in 30 minutes
a day

Level 0 = you know nothing. Level 36 = you speak, read and understand basic Japanese. Videos with Rin & Tadashi, flashcards, games — and five guardians who won’t let you cheat.

Start at Level 0 The metro map

Already read some kana? Take the Gate 1 test

  • 100% free
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ERANK
RinFirst stop: E-00. Last stop: the Dragon Gate. Mind the gap.

Word of the day

How it works

Thirty minutes. Every day.

Fifteen minutes with the video, fifteen doing the homework here. That’s the whole trick.

1

Watch the level

15 minutes. A real situation, three short blocks, a sketch you hear first without subtitles, and the trap everyone falls into.

15 min
2

Do the homework here

Flashcards that come back right before you forget them, a 5-question mini test and three sentences in the comments. Games for when your brain needs a break.

15 min
3

Cross the gates

Every few stations a guardian runs the transfer gate. 14 out of 20 and you change lines. Your rank goes up.

5 gates + 1 dragon
The course map · 路線図

Six lines. Five transfers.
One terminal: the Dragon Gate.

Every level is a station, and every line ends at a guardian’s gate. Tap a station to see what you’ll learn there.

    Open the metro map
    Play

    Games that actually teach

    Arcade · 3 lives

    Oni wa Soto!

    The ogres are falling. Type the reading of each kana, hit Enter, throw a bean. On Setsubun, people in Japan really do this.

    Play →
    Tadashi 2:47 Rin 0:58 Fudemaru 0:31
    Time trial

    Kana Speedrun

    All 46 hiragana against the clock. Beat Tadashi first. Then Rin. Then the 10-year-old calligraphy genius.

    Race →
    Rewards

    Finish your 30 minutes.
    Spin the gachapon.

    Every day you finish, a capsule drops. Inside: a karuta card with a character from the Rin & Tadashi universe and a word you’ll actually use. Common, rare, epic… or legendary.

    Get the same card three times and it turns kira: holographic.

    The gachapon The album

    …and a stamp book with 56 stamps, like the ones collectors get at Japanese train stations. Some are secret. Tap one.

    Your guides

    Meet the gang

    Poke them. They talk.

    Rin

    Teaches like she’s winning a game show. Will make fun of you. Will also make sure you pass.

    Tadashi

    Knows every grammar rule — and every exception to the exception. Makes the classic mistakes on purpose, so you don’t have to.

    Mikan

    The cat. The king (look at his forehead: ). He follows you around this website. Try petting him.

    On YouTube

    Latest from the channel

    Anime, food and the real Japan, explained with stories (and a cat). New episodes every week.

    Subscribe on YouTube All videos

    Your train is waiting.

    Start with Level 0: the map, the gates and your first mini test. The video lands on YouTube very soon.

    Start at Level 0 →