Hiragana Times Information
About Hiragana Times
The magazine that introduces the real Japan to the world
Hiragana Times introduces the real Japan to non-Japanese by looking at Japan as an attractive, unique town in the global village. The magazine includes information about living in Japan as well as information about mastering communication with Japanese. Inside Hiragana Times, the world of Japan becomes reality, and one can experience the cultural frontier between Japan and the rest of the world. Hiragana Times has been published since 1986 and has readers in more than 100 countries. Readers are mainly in their 20s and 30s, but the number of middle-aged and elderly readers has been rapidly increasing in recent years.
The articles are used in universities and dictionary
Hiragana Times articles are used every year in some Japanese university English exams, and used as a Japanese text in overseas universities. All the translated sentences from every issue are converted into Braille and also included in the well-known online dictionary “eijiro.” At the NTT All Japan Town Magazine Festival, Hiragana Times has twice been awarded the Grand Prize.
Many fascinating articles for readers
Hiragana Times features articles that introduce Japan such as those in the “Insight into Japan” section, including "Close up Japan," "My Embarrassing Language Mistakes,“ “Japan Watching," “Japan in the World” and "Japanese History Makers." In addition, there are interview articles such as "Business Spotlight" and "People in Japan." Hiragana Times also features pages of practical information such as "Visa Q&A" and "Topics and Events " in which a wide variety of interesting information about the latest trends, events, books and new products is available. The magazine also runs special features that cover a range of Japan-related topics, as well as a monthly “Cover Story” about travel.
[ Latest Issue page ]
Revolutionary multi-level Japanese texts with audio!
Hiragana Times is a truly unique magazine in which you can study a language while learning about Japan. Each Japanese paragraph is followed by its English translation, and furigana are placed above each kanji to make Japanese study even easier. Among the articles, the 13-page “Insight into Japan (text sample)” section features hiragana texts and also standard Japanese texts. Furthermore, appropriate English words and phrases are positioned on each hiragana and standard Japanese word or phrase below the hiragana and standard Japanese texts. With this you will be able to understand the meaning of the texts on the spot without having to use a dictionary. The audio for the section is available for subscribers. From July issue 2010, romaji (phonetic wtiting) is added.
[ Multi-level Japanese texts information ]
A Digital version of Hiragana Times is also available
The digital version of Hiragana Times contains exactly the same contents and layout as the printed magazine and can be viewed page by page on the Web and enlarged or reduced simply by clicking on the screen. By printing every page on your printer, you will be able to create your own Hiragana Times magazine. The audio of the “Insight into Japan” (11 pages) is accompanied by this Digital version. English and Japanese sentences are recorded alternatively, sentence by sentence. Since recordings are created in MP3 format, you will be able to download them onto an iPod or other mobile devices.
[ Digital version Sample ] How to use
How to purchase the Hiragana Times
- On sale on the 20th of every month in Japan
- Available in Japan at middle-sized bookstores. We recommend the foreign book section of a larger book store.
- Available outside Japan at Japanese bookstores or Japanese centers in major cities of the world.
- The price in Japan is 450 yen. Outside Japan the price varies.
- To obtain a subscription, please fill in the subscription page on the site. Subscribers are registered as premium subscribers and special benefits are provided.
Readers' Services, the Hiragana Times
TVB Akebonobashi Bldg. 4F, 1-18, Sumiyoshi-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0065
Phone:03-3341-8989 FAX:03-3341-8987
info@hiraganatimes.com
