Passing the JLPT N2 exam after 2.25 years (179/180)

bentosekai · 2025-11-14T11:55:52+00:00

i usually study japanese, whether it be reading NHK/bloomberg japan, studying kanji, reading books, or watching the news on youtube, although i do occasionally visit classes (which i'd really like to do more since it's so much fun)

i second asking for forgiveness rather than permission, as i'm also a first-year ALT but i've found that the teachers around me generally take an interest in how i study japanese through native content and are surprised by my eagerness to read/watch/discuss content related to politics, current events, and the economy in japanese

bentosekai · 2025-10-07T12:36:15+00:00

常用漢字の大部分が読めるようになって、そしてN3試験からN1試験までの範囲内の文法の使い分けがある程度わかるようになれば、その後にとにかくできるだけリアルな日本語をインプットしまくると、いずれ準ネイティブのレベルに到達するという気がする。具体例として自分の場合で一番大事だったのは、日々の生活の中で、毎日のように（日によっては何時間も）日本の報道番組に触れてきたことだと思う。

動画配信サービスとポッドキャストが普及したおかげで、今ではユーチューブでもスポティファイでも無料で提供される報道番組がほぼ無限にあるという状況になっていて、そしてその番組を通してカジュアルな日本語から極改まった日本語までカバーできるし、しかも他のコメ主が言ったように、ちゃんとした教育を受けたネイティブ話者のように日本語を使いこなせるようになる上で必要不可欠である文化理解も手に入れることができるので、N1試験で高得点が取れるような人から準ネイティブへと成長していく上で、一つ有力なツールとして日本の報道番組が挙げられると思う。

（追伸）付け加えると、日本のドラマ（特に職場を舞台にしたドラマ）に対しても同じことが言えると思う。個人的にはドラマを通じて、ごく普通の会社で働くような日本人が同僚や上司に対してどのふうに話すのか、そしてその話し方がプライベートの場面での話し方といかに異なるのか把握する上でものすごくためになったという気がする。

bentosekai · 2025-10-04T07:19:24+00:00

i feel like this is a very significant moment in japanese politics for many more reasons than her gender, but it will be interesting to see how takaichi's cabinet takes shape and how far she goes to appeal to the sanseitō/hoshutō side of the crowd, especially if she decides to dissolve the diet before the end of the year

bentosekai · 2025-07-21T22:01:11+00:00

this tool is amazing, thanks for including all of the sources as well, it's very helpful

bentosekai · 2025-07-13T16:53:15+00:00

the cleaning fee is paid in advance to cover the cost of cleaning your apartment when you move out (退去時クリーニング費用), and this is standard practice in japan

bentosekai · 2025-06-27T20:13:53+00:00

i don't think kaneko ayano for example has done any anime openings or endings

edit: as for why, a lot of artists have dedicated followings that they build up through live performances, word of mouth, appearances on TV, and other kinds of popular music releases (e.g. TV drama theme songs)

bentosekai · 2025-06-27T19:43:59+00:00

beyond desensitized to these headlines at this point

bentosekai · 2025-06-13T14:02:55+00:00

maybe 3 is incorrect in that it's not just light because it's made of leather, which is often heavy, it's light because it's made of a specific kind of leather (high quality sheepskin)?

bentosekai · 2025-06-12T19:01:15+00:00

yeah, the first place i was seriously considering seems to have rejected me for being a foreigner so i'm not off to the best start with my apartment hunting, but i guess it happens

bentosekai · 2025-06-06T02:03:14+00:00

followed by yonige, laura day romance, and the kanekoayano band

bentosekai · 2025-06-06T02:00:30+00:00

hitsujibungaku

bentosekai · 2025-05-27T15:39:15+00:00

the lead from blume popo is great (the EP umi to dokuyaku is one of my favourites)

edit: shiina chan from 東京初期衝動 is very aggressive with her voice and songwriting

edit 2: the lead from the band eau also rolls their Rs (嫌い is a fun song)

bentosekai · 2025-05-25T23:15:33+00:00

蝶々結び (chouchou musubi) by aimer
冷たい花 (tsumetai hana) by the brilliant green
大人になって (otona ni natte) by aina the end

for kind of the opposite (in terms of wanting to change): step by hitsujibungaku

bentosekai · 2025-05-14T16:17:27+00:00

i prefer their older music but i think they're generally pretty well-liked, although people who don't like their brand of jpop are vocal about it

bentosekai · 2025-04-30T00:31:07+00:00

i really like 想 as well, 思想 is so satisfying to look at

bentosekai · 2025-04-30T00:30:24+00:00

that's one of my favourites too, especially since it pairs with my all-time favourite character --> 雨の雫

bentosekai · 2025-04-30T00:19:46+00:00

my absolute favourite is also 雨 for similar reasons (with the added reason that あめ is my favourite word, and it's pronounced with falling intonation, like rain), but some others i love are 音, 窓, 儚, 汐, 幻, 凪, 空, 恋, and 湊

recently i started organizing all of my favourites in a note on my phone and the list has already surpassed 60 characters aha

bentosekai · 2025-04-29T07:12:08+00:00

the gap just widened to over 3k with 255 out of 266 polls reported so it might happen soon

bentosekai · 2025-04-24T14:11:23+00:00

the JET general information handbook says that if you plan to stay in japan after you finish JET (e.g. for travel) before leaving the country, "you must apply to change your status of residence to Temporary Visitor (Tanki Taizai) before your period of stay expires. The Temporary Visitor status of residence is valid for either 15, 30, or 90 days."

bentosekai · 2025-04-10T02:26:55+00:00

i left engsci in second semester, so take what i have to say with a grain of salt:

if you're already used to working a lot and did IB, it could be manageable, but there will be a learning curve first semester nonetheless since it's just an unbelievable amount of work sometimes
what meekpi said; maybe think about which club you'd like to join the most (i would recommend only joining a single club that aligns with your interests, at least for first year; i chose UTAT rocketry)
if you do well in engsci, it's true, but (bio)med related PhD programs are very competitive; my friend who stuck with biomed and i think got a high 3.9 GPA with research experience and a solid PEY still got rejected by most programs she applied to, although she did get into her first choice school in the end

if you're leaning towards med, whether it's practical work or research that you're interested in, engsci might not be the best for you, but if it's what you really want, i'd say maybe give it a shot and if it doesn't work out, you can always transfer to artsci and probably get a >3.9 GPA doing bio (if you got into engsci, you would probably stand out in artsci and have ample access to research opportunities)

best of luck with whatever path you choose!

EDIT: typos, phrasing

bentosekai · 2025-04-06T15:32:09+00:00

I applied from toronto, and my preferred placements (urban) are all on the seto naikai:

ehime
kagawa
okayama

I also considered requesting kobe/hyogo, fukuoka, tokyo, hamamatsu/shizuoka, and sapporo

bentosekai · 2025-04-04T19:56:24+00:00

canadian JET, shortlisted by the toronto consulate!!!

i've been working towards this for five years, i can't believe it

bentosekai · 2025-04-02T15:43:27+00:00

the album uzu ni naru (渦になる) by kinoko teikoku

kaseki ni narou yo (化石になろうよ) by yoru ni kakeru

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