Whether you want to learn conversational Japanese for travel or just for fun, you'll find this course makes it easy and enjoyable for beginners to master the essentials of the Japanese language. Guided by a native Japanese instructor, you'll also gain cultural knowledge only an insider has.

In each lesson, you'll learn useful conversational phrases and vocabulary words particular to a specific area of travel. You'll practice these in drills, interactive exercises, and dialogues. Throughout the course, you'll find helpful audio aids and Japanese words written in the English alphabet. With this, you'll be bypassing one of the biggest obstacles for most beginners of Japanese: the letter system.

Along the way, we'll follow the story of two Americans traveling in Japan. Together, we'll be on our way to many adventures in exciting Tokyo and the scenic Japanese countryside. By the end of this course, you'll have acquired basic conversational skills that enable you to travel around the country easily, and you'll have discovered the heart of Japan!

A new section of each course starts monthly. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when lessons are released. You will have access to all lessons until the course ends. However, the interactive discussion area that accompanies each lesson will automatically close two weeks after the lesson is released. As such, we strongly recommend that you complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

The final exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the final exam has been released, you will have two weeks to complete all of your course work, including the final exam.

Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins (two free and simple downloads you obtain at http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and Get Adobe Reader).

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Ririko Hayashi.

Ririko Hayashi has successfully taught people of all ages for over 30 years. Born in Tokyo, Japan, Ririko received her Bachelor's degree in Japan and then moved to the United States, where she obtained her Master's degree. Her professional experience includes working as a Japanese-English interpreter in several fields, including business, law, and education. She teaches Japanese to private students and is a longtime music teacher at the college level.

“ “The course was outstanding!! The approach and method of teaching was completely appropriate ...The instructor's pleasing personality was very evident in each lesson... In addition, her pride in being a guide to her native language and customs embellished the lessons with an exceptionally pleasant atmosphere and authenticity... I look forward to enrolling in her future courses.” ”

“ “I absolutely loved this instructor. She was the best I've had in a very long time. She obviously went above and beyond when preparing this course. She had a great way of incorporating stories into the lesson to keep it fun and interesting. This instructor fascinated me with the subject matter and I am eager to learn more. I will continue my studies on my own but hope she will offer an advanced course in the future! She is an asset to your school!” ”

“ “Ririko has done an outstanding job of putting this course together. It offered a real life experience of learning the Japanese language and visiting Japan. I was first concerned this wouldn't be face-to-face learning, but after going through the course, I felt it exceeded my expectations beyond what I could have imagined.” ”

“ "I really enjoyed this course and the way the lessons were designed. I thought the instructor was very helpful and I found her approach made the material easy to learn. I would be interested in taking another course like this from this instructor." ”

“ “This course was so much fun! I hope to travel to Japan in a few years. What I have learned makes me feel confident in interacting with Japanese people and understanding their culture. Thank you!” ”

“ “Ririko-sensei was a excellent teacher:). I learned very very much in what I believe to be in a very short time. The way in which Ririko-sensei spoke Japanese to teach how to pronounce the words and letters was very clear and understandable, and I would highly recommend her to other who are looking for online Japanese classes. The extra information given really helped in me getting a better understanding of Japanese language and culture.” ”

“ “Excellent course! It was an optimal mix of useful language, basic sentence structure, understanding of Japanese culture, people, and country. The course made me want to return to Japan as soon as possible. The instructor's style was very amicable, rendering learning enjoyable, and making me regret not having met her. I wish there was a follow-on course. Wonderful -- and thank you.” ”

“ “This course was more than I had hoped. I entered the course desiring to learn a few words and phrases of Japanese and came away wanting to really learn the language and actually visit Japan! The "Quick Reviews" were extremely useful to me. I don't know if more could be added, but that would be great. Also, it would be nice and helpful to "hear", as well as see written, the proper answers when the student is asked to translate sentences from English to Japanese. Overall, this was a very enjoyable course and I am very glad I took it. The instructor, Ririko Hayashi, was very accessible and knowledgeable. Arigatou gozaimasu, Ririko-sama.” ”

“ “The instructor was extremely helpful and knowledgeable and I enjoyed this class immensely. In order to continue in our Japanese studies, please have a part 2 of Japanese available for instruction. Thank you!” ”

“ “This course was an excellent resource for anyone wishing to visit Japan. I would love to see a series of follow on courses to further develop reading, writing, and listening skills.” ”