Travel Japanese - "Snap! Stick Self-Study Japanese First Steps" (Revised Edition), JLPT N4

Posted Sep 1, 2024 Updated Jul 8, 2026

By cornpip

4 min read

This post was migrated from Tistory. You can find the original here.

2024.08.25 - [My Life/Travel] - How to get from Fukuoka to Nagasaki, tram pass

Following up on my last post, I came back from a trip to Japan in August with a few thoughts.

What I realized

No matter where I am or what situation I’m in, I don’t want to worry about eating or sleeping

On this trip my phone battery died and I struggled because of it (I didn’t have a portable charger…)
I’d like to be able to find my way around, eat, and sleep even without my phone.
And if I ever lost my bag with everything in it, or had it stolen, shouldn’t I at least be able to communicate well enough to eat and get by, instead of becoming a stranded foreigner with no way to cope? Hahaha\

I want to have small talk in the little moments during a trip.

Learning even a bit of the local language lets you interact more and makes for a more meaningful trip.

Rather than aiming for everyday conversation with locals,

I’d like to casually ask about whatever catches my curiosity in the moments of a trip, and maybe even have a bit of small talk.

Just a few examples:
Calling the hotel to request something
Making a phone reservation at a yakitori or yakiniku place
Asking about something unfamiliar on a restaurant menu and having a light chat about it
Chatting a bit with the hostel owner
Asking a guide about a tourist spot
and so on

Let’s study some travel Japanese!

Compared to other countries, Japan is easy to visit from Korea in terms of procedures, travel time, and cost.
I’ve been to Japan twice so far, and both trips left me with positive experiences and impressions. (Next I’d like to travel to the US.)
So, since Japan is a place I can visit whenever I have the chance, and somewhere I still want to go, I’ve decided to study some travel Japanese.

The trip where I read things using Google Lens

On this trip I mostly relied on finding English or Korean on restaurant menus or signs… but next time, I’d like to be able to read at least a little without Google Lens.

“Snap! Stick Self-Study Japanese First Steps” (Revised Edition)

“Snap! Stick Self-Study Japanese First Steps” (Revised Edition)

I usually search for and buy books on yes24,
and since I barely remember hiragana or katakana, pretty much anything I read would teach me something, so the content itself wasn’t a huge factor — I picked something reasonable. (Titles with “Hackers” or “JLPT” in them looked boring, so I skipped those.)

A short review after some study

A one-month curriculum

I’ve made it through Unit 2 so far. The book is structured as a one-month course, but on weekdays I’m focused on work and development, so I mostly go through it once a weekend.
There’s no rush, and going through it quickly wouldn’t help it actually sink in anyway, so I’m taking it slow.

Here’s my short review after studying through Unit 2:

The one-month schedule isn’t too tight, so I think it’s fine to follow it at a relaxed pace.
I started out barely knowing hiragana and katakana, and the book eases you in accordingly.
Besides the book itself, there’s a YouTube lecture, mp3s, a writing notebook, double-sided cards, and more — you can use whichever resources suit you.

Writing notebook

It comes with a writing notebook, which is great for someone like me who keeps forgetting hiragana and katakana. Haha. There’s also kanji writing practice in the back.

Handy double-sided cards

There are double-sided cards too. I haven’t had to reference the part-of-speech conjugation tables yet, but I check the hiragana/katakana card often.
It’s much more convenient to glance at the card than to flip all the way back to the front of the book to check.

Unit 1, audio track (mobile)

Each unit teaches grammar alongside conversational sentences and vocabulary.
If you want to hear the sentences, you just scan the QR code and pick a track to listen to. There’s a YouTube lecture as well.

Keeping the motivation going!

2024 JLPT

I’m planning to sign up for the JLPT N4 this time. The JLPT is held twice a year; registration opens in September, and the exam is on 12/1.
I’m not studying with the exam as my main goal, but there’s a JLPT mock test included as a supplement, and taking it should help me stay motivated and actually finish the book!

Also, I’d like to keep studying Japanese as a relaxed way to refresh from all the complicated thoughts in my head.\

Log, Book

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