The coastal city of El Segundo is an unlikely location for a massive, new artificial surf park.
Other California surf parks with machine-powered wave pools are inland, far from natural waves in places like Palm Springs and Lemoore in the San Joaquin Valley.
This summer, an owner of one of those parks, Palm Springs Surf Club, bought 10 acres of land on a former aerospace campus in El Segundo. The location is near a bonanza of sports enterprises that have sprung up in recent years, including a Topgolf entertainment complex and the training facility and headquarters of the Los Angeles Chargers football team.
A company tied to billionaire Vinny Smith’s Toba Capital paid $54 million for the site, said Colin O’Byrne, president of Inland Pacific Cos., the development partner of Toba Capital.
Smith, a tech mogul and surfer, and a major investor in the Palm Springs Surf Club, reportedly got involved after testing a wave prototype.
Surfers wait their turn at The Palm Springs Surf Club.
(David Fouts/For The Times)
The El Segundo surf park, which has yet to be named, will hold about 5 million gallons of water in a 2.2-acre lagoon, O’Byrne said. He hopes to secure city approval to start work on the project, valued at $175 million, in about six months.
El Segundo is already a legit surfing town, known for its custom surfboard shapers and waves at El Segundo Beach Jetty.
“El Segundo has been a mecca for surf culture since the 1950s,” City Councilman and surfer Drew Boyles said. “But frankly, the surf out front is consistently poor-to-fair and it’s, like, absolutely crowded. So, this wave pool is going to be incredible.”
Boyles likened the potential appeal of the surf park to Topgolf, which makes a point in its advertising of putting beginners at ease with swinging a club for fun while also appealing to experienced golfers.
“Topgolf basically lowered the barriers to entry for people to get into the game of golf,” Boyles said. “Wave pools are doing the same thing, lowering the barrier to entry for people to get into surfing in a controlled, safe environment that’s not as intimidating as the ocean, that’s predictable and consistent.”
Boyles, a real estate developer, is working on developing a surf park of his own in Phoenix.
O’Byrne, who has been learning to surf in Palm Springs, said the vibe in a man-made lagoon can be more pleasant than competing with other surfers at sea.
“You have the ability to have your own wave, and everybody’s rooting for you to make your wave as opposed to getting yelled at in the lineup as a beginner or intermediate level surfer.”
The wave pool at The Palm Springs Surf Club.
(David Fouts/For The Times)
In Newport Beach, the city is considering approval of the Snug Harbor Surf Park Project, which would redevelop the center portion of the Newport Beach Golf Course with approximately five acres of surf lagoons. It would replace the driving range and downsize the course to 15 holes.
The centerpiece of a typical surf park is a large pool holding millions of gallons of water and a machine that can generate as many as 1,000 waves per hour. Developers also typically add restaurants, shops and other attractions to broaden the park’s appeal.
DSRT Surf, expected to open in summer 2026 at the Desert Willow Golf Resort in the Coachella Valley, is set to offer pickleball courts, a swimming pool, yoga classes, a restaurant and a skate bowl. Future plans call for a 139-room hotel and 57 luxury villas.
Inland Pacific and Smith are also working on a 45-acre mixed-use development around a surf park in Oceanside valued at $275 million, O’Byrne said. It is to include shops and restaurants along with a hotel adjacent to a 2.5-acre lagoon.
In Las Vegas, the company acquired 66 acres of land on Las Vegas Boulevard just south of the airport for a surf-centric development.
Now that engineers have figured out how to create consistent waves in a controlled environment, there is potential demand for many more surf parks in the world, O’Byrne said.
“This has been attempted since the 1980s,” OByrne said. “We’re really at a point where the technology has advanced to be able to do these more economically and allow for more consistency and longer waves.”
Vistors watch surfers from dry land at The Palm Springs Surf Club.
(David Fouts/For The Times)
Inland Pacific acquired the El Segundo site from Continental Corp., a California landlord with millions of square feet of commercial properties along the South Bay coast, real estate data provider CoStar said.
Continental bought the 30-acre corporate campus from Raytheon in 2021 and launched plans to redevelop it into a 600,000-square-foot mixed-use complex with office, retail and media production space.
Los Angeles and Orange counties have the largest concentration of surfers in the world at more than 2 million, according to an estimate by Surf Lakes Socal, which is looking for investors to fund the development of more wave pools.
1.Surf instructors help Candace Chestnut, of Los Angeles, ride a wave for her first time as she takes lessons.2.Nicole Mitchell, of Charlotte, N.C., celebrates with fellow beginners after riding a wave.3.Surf instructors Mike Bennett, left, and Shanden Brutsch, right, cheer on Cassandra Winston as she rides her first wave.
There’s a lot about Enshrouded that’s just part of the survival crafting genre of games — crafting and workbenches and cooking, for example — that makes it feel familiar. But there’s also enough different and unique about it that the mere act of diving in can be really intimidating and confusing.
Our Enshrouded beginner’s guide will give you tips from our 50 (or so) hours with the game to help you get started exploring Embervale.
Enshrouded is a survival crafting game through and through
If you’re familiar with the genre, you already know nearly all of the beats to Enshrouded. That’s not meant to be disparaging — it’s not the old derivative vs. homage distinction. Enshrouded just hews to the genre in ways that make it familiar.
You pick up materials to make workbenches to make new items to make new workbenches to make better items, lather, rinse, and repeat. Enshrouded has its own takes on the genre and mixes in some elements from other genres as well, but the basics are there. Basics like…
Pick up one of everything to unlock new recipes
You’ll start your journey as the (a?) Flameborn with a few recipes for things like torches and a simple axe. The first way you’ll unlock new recipes is to just find new resources. Pick up (at least) one of everything you find — the first time you place these new items in your inventory, you’ll unlock new recipes.
The other way you learn new recipes (and progress the game) is by finding other survivors.
Progression in Enshrouded is tied to survivors and their quests
You’re not alone in your journey through Embervale. There are other survivors — five of them — who will aid you. In the story, these are other Flameborn (like you) who you have to journey around and wake from their magical slumber. Waking them up means traveling to their Ancient Vault, doing some light dungeoneering, and then summoning them to your base.
Functionally, these other survivors are a lot like quest-giving workbenches. Finding the Blacksmith, for example, allows you to start working with metal. The Hunter unlocks furs. The same goes for the Farmer, Alchemist, and Carpenter.
Image: Keen Games
As you add survivors to your base, they’ll all come up with new quests for you. The Blacksmith needs a crucible. The Hunter needs her hand spindle. The Alchemist needs his mortar. The Farmer needs her kettle.
Their quests aren’t just busywork, though. They’re how you progress through the game. They’ll unlock new technologies and materials for you, add new workbenches, and send you out into the world to explore new locations and new biomes.
Getting to those places means walking across Enshrouded’s giant map, and that means…
You’re going to walk a lot in Enshrouded
Yes, Enshrouded has some very cool traversal tools like the wing suit-like glider and a grappling hook. Your opportunities to use those, though, are going to be fairly limited. Instead, you’ll be doing most of your exploration on foot.
When you’re on one of these hikes, stick to the roads as much as you can. First, it’s just easier to see where you’re going and it’s less likely you’ll run straight off a cliff. But, more importantly, being on a road makes your stamina drain more slowly — the “on the road” condition means your stamina drains 90% as fast.
The other reason you’ll be walking so much is…
There aren’t many fast travel points
For as vast as the world of Embervale is, there aren’t many fast travel options. There are only five permanent ones, in fact. There’s the Cinder Vault where you begin the game, and then an Ancient Spire in each of the four biomes — the Springlands, the Low Meadows, the Revelwood, and the Nomad Highlands.
You can also fast travel to any Flame Altar — basically the starting point for a base — you’ve built. You start off able to build two of them, but can increase that number eventually with upgrades to the Flame Altar, but early on it means that you can have a base and an outpost and that’s it. You can always destroy a Flame Altar and build a new one elsewhere after hiking there (see above).
Flame Altars are cheap to build — they only require 5 stones that you can find just lying around on the ground. And that means you can make your own (temporary) fast travel network.
The only place you can’t build a Flame Altar is in the eponymous Shroud. Speaking of which…
Treat the Shroud like another biome
The Shroud is, as the game says, a “ruinous fog.” You’ll usually find it in the low-lying areas of the map, but it pops up in random locations as well. Entering the Shroud means you become Enshrouded (hey!) and a timer starts counting down. When the timer runs out, you die.
Image: Keen Games
And that all makes the Shroud seem worse than it actually is. Sure, there are (slightly) nastier enemies there and your time there has a limit, but it’s not an instant death sentence. In fact, there’s a lot of useful stuff that you’ll only find inside the Shroud — like Shroud wood and torn cloth.
With a little time and not too much work, you’ll increase the timer up to nearly 10 minutes. And that means you can treat the Shroud like just another biome. Respect the timer, but don’t avoid going there out of fear.
When you’re not traipsing through the Shroud or marching off on a quest for one of the other survivors, you’ll need a home base. Which brings us to Enshrouded’s best feature…
Spend some time on your base
There’s just something super satisfying about Enshrouded’s building mechanics. There are a ton of pieces to assemble in a variety of sizes. Play around with the shapes and how they fit together. Building up (and out) your base is just as satisfying as the exploration and combat.
For those of us studying Japanese, listening can be one of the hardest skills to improve. Like with most things, the only way to improve is through practice; however it’s easy to try and jump into some native material and then get discouraged or overwhelmed when you can’t understand it. Luckily, there’s a lot of Japanese language podcasts out there for learners hoping to improve their listening skills. In fact, maybe too many! How can you know what podcasts are worth your time, or best suited for your needs?
In this article, I’ve rounded-up 10 of what I think are the best beginner-level podcasts for Japanese learners. I’m sorting the list roughly from the easiest at the top to the most difficult at the bottom, based purely on my experience and impressions. I’m also including a table with helpful information about the podcasts, like what they talk about and how long episodes usually are, as well as if they have one host or multiple, for example. Hopefully this all helps you find just the right podcast for you: one that’s interesting enough to keep you listening, while still being well-suited to your current Japanese abilities.
Ready to take your listening skills to the next level? Let’s dive in!
What Makes a Good Podcast?
First, some ground rules. What makes a podcast worth listening to in the first place? For this article, I wanted to focus on listening practice, which I feel is best improved through immersion. That means sticking as closely as possible to only Japanese, though since these podcasts are meant for beginners, many of them will pepper in a translation of a word or phrase in English now and then. Additionally, I did my best to pick podcasts that are either currently active, have a large back-catalog of episodes, or ideally both; nothing worse than finally getting into a podcast only to have it abruptly end.
One of the best ways to stay motivated and diligent with your practice is to find something that interests you, while not being too difficult to turn you away.
While I did have those criteria in mind while I was searching for podcasts, I wanted to be sure to cast a wide net. After all, one of the best ways to stay motivated and diligent with your practice is to find something that interests you, while not being too difficult to turn you away. Some of these podcasts have specific topics they tend to cover, while others are more scattershot, focusing more on making the Japanese easily-comprehensible rather than covering anything particular in depth. Additionally, there are a ton of different types of podcasts: from shorter ones and longer ones, to monologues and group conversations — and the lengths they go to help Japanese learners varies, too. Some offer transcripts, vocabulary lists, or just try to break down difficult words when they use them, while others are more casual.
If you find a host or a series that clicks with you, stick with it! It’s best to dive deeply into something than to bounce around and only scratch the surface.
What Makes a Podcast Beginner-Friendly?
Next, how can we define what it means to be a beginner? This is tricky, of course. In general, these are podcasts that are intended to be accessible to the widest number of people. Thinking in JLPT terms, I think beginners usually range from the N5 into the start of the N3 level. These learners are probably working through a beginner textbook like the ever-popular Genki series, maybe taking an intro class, and are just starting to get a feel for what the Japanese language has to offer.
Since podcasts focus on listening, you technically don’t need to be able to read hiragana, katakana, or any kanji to engage with these items. However, I think learning the kana syllabaries and starting to learn kanji should be the start of anyone’s Japanese language learning journey, so don’t skip that step! Even more, it’ll help a ton with deciphering what the hosts are saying, checking a transcript or vocabulary list, or even just being able to look up words you don’t know and read the episode titles.
Additionally, listening practice is just inherently a bit more advanced than something like cracking open the first page of Genki, doing the first three levels of WaniKani, or otherwise getting your feet wet in Japanese. For listening practice in general, I think using the audio included with a textbook like the Genki series and the dialogues the lessons focus on should be your first step. Or, absolute beginners can get started with something that uses visual cues to help convey information, like the excellent Comprehensible Japanese videos.
That said, I think the first few entries on this list are even easier than the audio from Genki, so even for absolute beginners, it shouldn’t be long before you’re able to get started with these as well.
Absolute Beginners: Slowed Speech and Ample Pauses
As I mentioned, these podcasts are suited for beginners, but there are a number of different ways to accomplish that. This first section includes podcasts that take probably the simplest approach: slowing down the speaking speed. Japanese is among the fastest spoken languages in the world, and for beginners just starting to do listening practice, it can be daunting to jump into something they’re unable to understand.
With these podcasts, that’s not an issue. Whether they pause between words or after particles, or even just slow the pace of each syllable down, even beginners should quickly begin to realize they’re able to comprehend, and with that, improve.
Slow Japanese by Mochifika
Slow Japanese by Mochifika is a Japanese podcast aimed at providing even beginners with comprehensible listening practice material. The way it does this is as the name implies — it’s very slow! The host, Akari, breaks sentences down into pieces, and pronounces words at a near syllable by syllable pace at times. After starting in September 2021, Mochifika has released episodes at a weekly pace, building a comprehensive library. Additionally, transcripts are offered through the series’ website, allowing students an even more comprehensive look at the language.
Episodes tend to be very short, mostly around 5 minutes. This, coupled with the relatively slow release schedule makes it easy to get caught up quickly, but also easy to run out of episodes to listen to. Thankfully, the consistent schedule means you probably won’t be waiting for too long. Like many Japanese language podcasts, the topics covered vary, but there’s a little something for everyone.
Slow Japanese is a great first step into adding some listening practice to your Japanese study routine, and it’s nice that even beginners can listen and comprehend. However, the pace really is slow, and most students will outgrow the content pretty quickly. Additionally, because the pace is so unnatural, it’s really only a stepping stone rather than something more evergreen. Still, it’s hard to find a better place for Japanese beginners to get their feet wet in listening comprehension.
I think it’s great that Slow Japanese is so accessible. Because of the pace, the short episodes, and clear pronunciation from host Akari, I think Slow Japanese is probably the most accessible podcast to even very beginner Japanese learners, without the use of visual cues to aid comprehension. That said, I’m not sure it has much longevity. The pace is so slow and unnatural, I think learners will both get tired of it and move beyond it quickly. Still, this is probably the easiest entry point into listening practice I’ve found, and isn’t a bad way for learners to get their feet wet.
Thinking Out Loud in Japanese
Thinking Out Loud in Japanese is a podcast for Japanese language learners that started in 2021. This podcast is focused on beginners, offering something that almost every student will be able to listen to and enjoy, while also getting some practice in. Episodes are really short, most clocking in under 5 minutes, and uses almost exclusively grammar from the Genki textbook series, which makes it an excellent companion to students studying using them. In addition to the restrained grammar, Mel, the host, also speaks using a clear voice, and slowly, often pausing between words. This makes Thinking Out Loud in Japanese one of the most accessible podcasts for students. Mel is a tutor on iTalki, so they’re pretty good about catering to students’ needs.
Finally, through Patreon, Mel offers full transcripts, as well as some bonus episodes, if you just can’t get enough. If you’ve wanted to add listening practice to your Japanese study routine, but have found it too intimidating when you try, Thinking Out Loud in Japanese might be just what you’re looking for.
Like Slow Japanese, メルのThinking out loud in Japanese helps beginners by slowing down the speech, but does so by pausing between words and after particles. Additionally, the vocabulary and grammar is a bit more advanced, while still sticking primarily to items corresponding to Genki 1+2. To me, this is a much more natural and beneficial approach for learners, as pausing after particles almost teaches you how to break down a Japanese sentence, understanding it clause by clause. Where メルのThinking out loud in Japanese lacks a bit for me is the topics, length, and slow release schedule. There’s just not a ton here. Still, I think it’s a great stepping stone for Japanese learners.
Sakura Tips
Sakura Tips is a short, daily podcast for beginner level Japanese language learners looking for some level-appropriate listening practice. The host, Mari, speaks in a very clear voice, and slows down her speech, while not overdoing it so much to make it odd. Instead, the speed strikes a nice balance between comprehensibility and naturalness.
Additionally, the podcast is scripted, which avoids any meandering or time-filler phrases, and the script is available to view on her website, in both Japanese and English. This is great for Japanese learners who want to follow along while they listen, or to simply check that they properly heard or understood something spoken.
The topics vary, but with the short episodes, the focus is constrained and easy to understand. Additionally, because of the daily release schedule, there’s a huge back-catalog of episodes; both so you won’t easily run out, and that you’re sure to find topics that interest you. Really, for beginners looking to get started with Japanese listening practice, there might be no better place than Sakura Tips.
Sakura Tips is great. With the huge number of episodes, clear, well articulated pronunciation, and just-slow-enough speech, Mari’s podcast is really something special. With the added benefit of the transcripts, for beginner level Japanese learners, you can’t go wrong. Personally, I wish the episodes were a little bit longer, so you could settle into the practice a bit more, but with how many episodes are now available, that’s less of an issue. Additionally, it really is a beginner podcast, so it won’t be long before you’re ready to move on. But to my mind, Sakura Tips is about as good as it gets.
Japanese with Shun
Japanese with Shun is a Japanese podcast series focused on providing listening practice that’s accessible to beginners. It accomplishes this in a few ways. For one, Shun speaks slowly and clearly, often pausing after particles to give learners a chance to think and parse what they’ve just heard. Secondly, he’s very thoughtful about constraining his speech to use mostly grammar points from the Genki 1 & 2 beginner textbook series, meaning almost any Japanese learner can enjoy.
Shun, like many other Japanese language learning podcasters, is also a Japanese teacher, offering lessons via iTalki, as well as a series of YouTube videos and other related content. For Japanese learners, this lets you know how accustomed he is to teaching.
Episodes are released once-weekly, and most clock in between 5-10 minutes. While this is fairly short, the large back-catalog means you won’t soon run out of episodes to listen to. For beginners looking for a fun, interesting, and level-suited podcast, Japanese with Shun is a great choice.
It’s hard to go wrong with Japanese with Shun. While there are a ton of beginner-focused Japanese language learning podcasts under 10 minutes, you can tell how much Shun cares about making sure his podcast is well-suited to learners. Additionally, Japanese with Shun strikes a rare balance, where he manages to restrict the grammar and vocabulary, while still covering interesting and nuanced topics and not devolving into childish themes like other similar podcasts.
Beginners: Take the Next Step With These Teacher-Hosted Podcasts
This next section covers roughly the first jump in difficulty. While these podcasts are still very beginner friendly, they don’t tend to pause between words or syllables. They might speak a bit slower than usual, or repeat key phrases, but they all feel a bit different from the first group. Of course, they still tend to constrain their vocabulary, grammar, and topics to ones that are more on the beginner side of things.
One way to think about doing listening practice is like practicing a musical instrument. In the beginning, you’ll probably start slow, just trying to make sure you make as few mistakes as possible. As you get more comfortable, you might click the metronome up a few steps, until gradually you arrive at the speed the piece was meant to be played at. The same could be said for Japanese. While everyone has different natural speaking speeds, you can practice at different tempos, and work your way up to a generally natural speed. This group represents that first click up on the metronome!
Japanese Podcast for Beginners (Nihongo Con Teppei)
Most Japanese learners who have looked for listening practice are probably familiar with Teppei by now. A Japanese teacher on the platform iTalki, Teppei has long championed listening practice through podcasts, and come out with hours and hours of material through a number of different series, including solo podcasts for beginners, intermediate, and advanced learners, and a collaborative podcast with fellow online Japanese teacher Noriko.
This podcast, the aptly named Japanese Podcast for Beginners (Nihongo Con Teppei), is exactly as it says. Similar to his main podcast series aimed at lower-intermediate learners, Japanese Podcast for Beginners takes everything that’s great about that main series and makes it even more accessible. Episodes tend to be about 4 minutes long, covering a wide range of topics like many other Japanese podcasts.
Unlike many other Japanese podcasts aimed at beginners however, Teppei doesn’t really slow his speech much. Instead, he simply speaks clearly, only really pausing around the title or any other key phrases. Of course, it’s not quite a native speed conversation, but for beginners hoping to work their way up to more natural speed Japanese, Japanese Podcast for Beginners might be just the stepping stone you need.
Japanese Podcast for Beginners (Nihongo Con Teppei) is an excellent first step for Japanese learners looking for some listening practice. While Teppei doesn’t slow himself down too much, he still manages to make a podcast that’s really accessible. But really, Teppei himself is the star of the show. He’s a character, and if you find him funny, I think you’ll be energized by his antics to listen intently, and listen more.
日本語 with あこ
Like so many Japanese language learning podcasts, 日本語 with あこ is a short monologue series hosted by the well-known online Japanese teacher, Ako. Ako has built up a reputation for her thoughtful classes online, particularly a course for Japanese learners hoping to work in Japan in the tech or game development fields.
Luckily for us, Ako’s podcast offers just the same level of consideration and care. Episodes are marked with emoji to indicate difficulty, with a bicycle signifying easier episodes, a rail car denoting N3 or intermediate level episodes, and a rocket indicating advanced episodes. She also does interviews, indicated by an emoji of two silhouettes.
Ako’s speech is clear and easily comprehensible, and episodes are interesting, often going a bit more in-depth than the standard survey you’ll find in most beginner-level Japanese podcasts. While she does her speech, particularly in the bicycle or rail car level episodes, the more thoughtful look at topics makes this a bit more thorough than some other Japanese podcasts. Finally, Ako makes transcripts available on Patreon for a $5 subscription fee for those that want it.
Ako sensei has built up a reputation for her thoughtful Japanese instruction, and luckily her podcast is no exception. While I wish episodes were a bit longer, the backlog and clearly indicated difficulty levels make this a podcast that you can grow with as your Japanese improves.
日本語の聴解のためのpodcast
Another weekly Japanese podcast series aimed at beginners, 日本語の聴解のためのpodcast offers what the title promises: listening comprehension practice. Started in the middle of 2020, the host Akane has now built up a catalog of over a hundred episodes. Each episode’s script is available for free on her blog, as well.
Akane will introduce pauses both in and after sentences, but in general her speech is smooth and flows well. Podcasts cover a range of topics like most beginner podcasts, but it’s more than just your standard simplistic fare. Instead, Akane talks about things more naturally, rather than introducing a simple topic like “cherry blossoms” and listing facts or asking questions.
With Akane’s clear speech, the free transcripts, and interesting topics, 日本語の聴解のためのpodcast manages to stand out in a crowded podcast field. Beginners looking for listening practice would be wise to heed the title — don’t pass this up!
Akane’s 日本語の聴解のためのpodcast is a excellent choice for beginners looking for listening practice, or for those looking for a step up in difficulty from the podcast they’re already listening to. While the topics are a bit more advanced than other podcasts at this level, I find that to be a positive, as Akane keeps things fresh. Additionally, with the free transcripts, learners can check their comprehension later, or look up any new words they want to study more.
Upper-Beginners: Moving Closer to Natural-Speed Speech!
Finally, this group of podcasts tends to be one step closer to native speech. That said, they still cater to beginners in a variety of different ways. Additionally, these podcasts tend to be longer, too. This changes things in two main ways. For one, with a longer episode, it’s more practice of course. Personally, I think listening practice, like reading practice, becomes more difficult in longer sessions; just like going for a longer jog is more difficult than going for a shorter run. Secondly, since these series’ episodes run longer, they tend to cover a topic more in-depth, too. Because of this, it inherently introduces new grammar, vocabulary, and just adds complexity.
But don’t get discouraged! These are all still well within the realm of “beginner level”; you got this. Just like all Japanese study, be diligent, stick with it, and enjoy the journey.
Momoko to Nihongo
Momoko to Nihongo is another podcast series started in the middle of 2020, that’s since grown to over a hundred episodes. The eponymous host, Momoko, also has a popular YouTube channel for Japanese language learners, where she makes vlog videos about her daily life.
Similarly, Momoko to Nihongo covers a wide range of topics from Momoko’s life, such as earthquakes she’s experienced, or moments like losing her wallet. She also covers broader topics, such as studying abroad in Japan.
With the script available for free on her website, you can probably tell Momoko is very thoughtful about her word choice and grammar usage. That said, she’s not locked into this, as she offers interesting asides during her monologues. Additionally, she tends to offer more English support than other similarly-leveled Japanese language podcasts, explaining words or phrases she uses in English. Luckily, this isn’t that intrusive, but if you want to avoid any English at all, it’s something to be aware of.
Momoko to Nihongo is a fun listen, and a podcast that manages to stand out in a crowd. Given the personal aspect of this podcast, I think most people’s interest in this podcast will stem from how much they are interested in or relate to the host, Momoko. I like hearing her take on different topics, and her thoughts on aspects of Japanese culture. I do wish the podcast was entirely in Japanese, but she does a good job of offering support while not distracting from the goal. For Japanese learners looking to take the next step in their listening practice, look no further than Momoko to Nihongo.
Sayuri Saying Everyday-Japanese Podcast
Sayuri Saying Everyday-Japanese Podcast, hosted by, you guessed it, Sayuri, is a Japanese language learning podcast aimed at upper-beginner or lower-intermediate level Japanese learners. Sayuri additionally runs a YouTube channel that’s also popular among Japanese language learners, and actually, the podcast is largely an extension of that. Episodes are also posted to YouTube, and it’s on YouTube that learners will find the transcription should they want to check their comprehension.
Sayuri’s strength is in the naturalness of her speech. Rather than feeling stiff, her podcasts flow very naturally, striking a good balance of feeling unstilted while remaining easily comprehensible.
The topics continue this trend. Sayuri tends to discuss things from her life or from her interests like meditation or food, or aspects of Japanese culture such as the continued use of fax in Japan.
For Japanese language learners itching for more natural Japanese, while still being slow, Sayuri Saying Everyday-Japanese Podcast might be just what you need.
Similar to other podcasters with a vlog, Sayuri Saying Everyday-Japanese Podcast takes a more naturalistic approach to Japanese language learning podcasts. That said, Sayuri keeps things comprehensible for beginners with inserted pauses and slightly slowed speech. For me, I think she strikes a great balance between natural and accessible, and should be near the top of the list for Japanese beginners looking to take a step forward with their listening skills.
Let’s Talk in Japanese
One of the first podcasts you might be recommended if you’re looking for Japanese podcasts for language learners is Let’s Talk in Japanese. Hosted by Tomo, this weekly podcast series has accumulated over 200 episodes over the years. Episodes cover a variety of topics, and are tagged by the JLPT level Tomo intends them to correspond to, meaning there are podcasts for every level here, though the focus seems to be beginners.
Tomo’s speech is clear, though the audio quality could be a bit higher. Really, the incredible thing is the difference between the levels Let’s Talk in Japanese offers. Episodes tagged for N5 or N4 listeners are slow, with carefully selected grammar and words. But after working your way up to the N2 episodes, no punches are pulled. Tomo speaks at a completely normal speed, which can be disorienting if you’re not used to it. Luckily, there’s plenty of other episodes for Japanese learners who aren’t ready for it yet.
As he mentions on his website, the Japanese Tomo uses is conversational at all levels. It’s not perfect, scripted, error-free Japanese; instead, he keeps things natural, regardless of his speaking speed. While this might dissuade some, it’s perhaps the closest look to natural Japanese you’ll find in a podcast that’s suited to beginners.
Transcripts are available on Tomo’s website, though their release lags behind the episode releases quite a bit. That, coupled with the sub-par audio quality hold Let’s Talk in Japanese back from being a true homerun, but it’s still a great listen.
Transcripts (Free), though they’re not updated regularly
What’s the average length of an episode?
~10 minutes
Ian’s Review7/10
Let’s Talk in Japanese is a really strong podcast for Japanese language learners. I love the conversational tone, as it can be difficult to find something natural sounding that’s suited for beginners. In a field of resources with no errors and all the edges sanded off, Tomo’s podcast allows even beginners to practice with the real deal.
The Last Word
Regardless of your current Japanese abilities, podcasts are a great way to practice listening comprehension, and they’re a lot of fun too. With so many podcasts out there, there’s something for everyone. Hopefully this list helped you find a new favorite.
Podcasts can be an awesome active listening practice, allowing you to check your understanding without the pressure of a conversation.
Remember, the best podcast for you is going to be one you can comprehend most of, and find interesting enough to hold your attention and want to keep listening. Don’t think you’re going to be able to throw something on in the background like white noise and suddenly get good at Japanese while you sleep. However, podcasts can be an awesome active listening practice, allowing you to check your understanding without the pressure of a conversation.
Now get out there and get listening! I’ll be back soon with an intermediate edition of this list as well, so if you found all these podcasts a bit too easy, or just want something else in the queue for when you get there, stay tuned!
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