Learn Japanese Pod

Learn Japanese Pod has been a fixture in the Japanese learning community since 2005, hosted by Alex Brooke alongside Japanese co-hosts Ami and Asuka. The show runs in a bilingual format where the primary discussion happens in English, with Japanese phrases introduced, repeated, and explained in context. This makes it particularly approachable for beginners who are not yet ready for full immersion content. With close to 190 episodes and an impressive 4.8-star rating from nearly 770 reviews, the show has clearly found a format that resonates. Each episode picks a topic -- sometimes practical like travel phrases or restaurant ordering, sometimes cultural like seasonal festivals or workplace etiquette -- and builds a conversation around key vocabulary and grammar. The hosts have an easy rapport that keeps episodes feeling like a chat between friends rather than a classroom lecture. What listeners frequently highlight is the attention to grammatical nuance. Rather than just teaching you a phrase and moving on, the hosts dig into why a particular particle is used or how politeness levels change the sentence structure. Fun Friday episodes bring in interviews with people doing interesting work in Japan, adding variety to the regular lesson format. Premium members get access to show notes, full dialogues, and audio drills through Patreon. For beginners who want thorough English explanations alongside their Japanese, this podcast delivers.