Learning Japanese can be a difficult process if you aren’t able to travel to Japan and immerse yourself in the language for months at a time. With three writing systems to learn — katakana, hiragana, and kanji — and phonetic sounds that don’t appear in the English language, you may be wondering where to turn to for help.

Fortunately, YouTube has a variety of resources to help tune your ear to the Japanese language, from beginner grammar and vocabulary lessons to deep dives into cultural differences and regional dialects. As you become more confident in your abilities, you can even listen to channels intended for native Japanese speakers.

Use these channels as a supplement to podcasts and language-learning apps, or as standalone lessons. Wherever you are in the process, you’ll find a channel that’s just right for your current comprehension skills and learning level.
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People often assume that to study a language, you need to be working with a tutor, sitting in a classroom, or locked away in your room.

And while there are lots of good resources for studying Japanese, podcasts can serve a vital role in your studies. They can be an extremely effective way to improve your listening comprehension, along with other aspects of the language.

Better yet, they’re often more fun, free (or cheap), and more convenient than a lot of other resources. Though you may want to look for some more structure elsewhere.

This list will highlight some of the best podcasts for learning Japanese whether you’re at a beginner, intermediate, or advanced level.
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