🇯🇵 Japanese conversation practice
Speak Japanese out loud — with Haruka from Kyoto
Spoken Japanese practice with a Kyoto ceramicist who loves city pop records, onsen trips and seasonal sweets. Calm, observant and quietly hilarious.
Free to start · Works in your browser · Captions in 日本語 and English
What you’ll talk about
- Kyoto, temples and seasons
- Food, tea and wagashi
- Pottery and crafts
- Music, anime and films
- Travel tips for Japan
The Japanese you’ll hear
Natural spoken Japanese — polite です/ます mixed with friendly casual forms as rapport grows — with rōmaji and English captions.
Pick your level
Beginner — Haruka says one or two short sentences at a time, slowly. Intermediate — natural everyday Japanese at a moderate pace. Expert — full native speed, idioms and humor.
Japanese phrases to try with Haruka
| はじめまして。よろしくお願いします。 | Hajimemashite. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. — Nice to meet you. |
| もう少しゆっくり話してもらえますか？ | Mō sukoshi yukkuri hanashite moraemasu ka? — Could you speak a little more slowly? |
| これは日本語で何と言いますか？ | Kore wa Nihongo de nan to iimasu ka? — How do you say this in Japanese? |
| おすすめは何ですか？ | Osusume wa nan desu ka? — What do you recommend? |
| すごい！ | Sugoi! — Amazing! |
Say any of these out loud at the table — Haruka will take it from there.
How a conversation works
Turn to Haruka
The table rotates and Haruka greets you in Japanese.
Speak Japanese — or English
Answer out loud. Stuck? Switch to English for a moment; Haruka keeps replying in Japanese.
Read along
Two captions: Haruka’s exact words with Hepburn romaji, and the English translation.
Japanese practice — questions
Do I need to read kana or kanji?
No. Captions include rōmaji and English for every sentence, so you can follow along while your reading catches up.
Casual or polite Japanese?
Haruka starts polite and relaxes as the conversation goes on — exactly how it works when you meet someone in Japan.
Do I need to type?
No. Chit-Chat is hands-free: just talk. It hears when you finish speaking, and you can interrupt whoever you’re talking to, just like a real conversation. A text box is there if you prefer to type.
How much does it cost?
Your first 5 minutes of conversation are free, with no card needed. After that, Pro is $25/month to talk as much as you like with everyone at the table, within a daily fair-use limit. Cancel any time.