Nihongo Benkyou: The Nintendo DS

Being a more-than-full-time student here in Japan, it's hard to find regular, dedicated time for studying Japanese. Nonetheless, it's a very important part of my time here, so any tools that make the process easier are quite welcome.

Enter the Genius Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten, a Nintendo-developed electronic dictionary for the Nintendo DS. Since it takes advantage of the DS stylus for written kanji recognition, the student of Japanese can look up words whose readings they don't yet know.

This has been my primary method of deciphering Japanese text "in the field" while living in Osaka. There are some drawbacks, but if you already own a DS the roughly 4000 yen price tag makes it an obvious choice. I've linked to The Japan Times' review, but if you want to buy it, here's a direct link to Play Asia's product page.

Travelogue: The Move To Osaka

Weird, many people think I'm already in Japan. Anyway, It's T-Minus 7 hours before my first plane takes off, so here's a liveblog of my departure from Adelaide, Australia to Osaka, Japan. Check back often, I'll keep updating.

Friday, 28.12.2007
23:16 - I'm alone at the ETC, so iTunes is cranked up. I'm ripping Clone High for Rob, and trying to fit all my crap into my two large suitcases and two carry-on bags. I have about 50kg of stuff. This will not end well.

Saturday, 29.12.2007
4:21 - Well, it didn't end too poorly. My luggage is quite heavy, but acceptable. I'm all packed up, ready to call a cab and leave the ETC. Man, I really hope I don't lock myself out this time.

6:35 - Sitting in the Adelaide airport, waiting to board the plane. Beautiful sunrise as I sit here. Also, holy crap that was an expensive charge for overweight baggage: over A$300! Oh well, it had to be done, and wasn't much more expensive than the Australia Post would have been. Here's hoping the wine makes it through the trip!

22:27 - Well, that was a boring travelogue; no Internet access anywhere. *sigh* I'm in Japan now! Woo!