Pop Culture
Anime, manga, idols, games, otaku culture and cosplay.
70 entriesTap a title to open the full entry: three lengths of English explanation, the questions people actually ask, ready-made phrases and audio.
Essential（13）
- Martial ArtsEssential puro yakyuプロ野球Japanese professional baseball
- ConceptsEssential kansai-ben関西弁the dialect spoken around Osaka and Kyoto
- PlacesEssential Harajuku and Omotesando原宿と表参道the youth fashion street and the tree-lined avenue beside it
- PlacesEssential Akihabara秋葉原the Tokyo district that went from radio parts to anime
- Pop CultureEssential bui chubaVチューバーa performer who streams and posts videos as an animated character instead of showing their real face
- Pop CultureEssential animeアニメJapanese animation
- Pop CultureEssential karaokeカラオケsinging to a backing track
- Pop CultureEssential kawaiiかわいいthe aesthetic of cuteness
- Pop CultureEssential terebi gemuテレビゲームhome video games
- Pop CultureEssential Doraemonドラえもんa cat-shaped robot from the future, star of a long-running children's manga and anime
- Pop CultureEssential pokemonポケモンa Japanese game series about catching and raising creatures, later an anime and card game
- Pop CultureEssential emoji絵文字picture characters
- Pop CultureEssential manga漫画Japanese comics
Standard（46）
- ArtsStandard shogi将棋Japanese chess
- ArtsStandard Hyakunin Isshu百人一首a hundred poems and the card game
- Annual EventsStandard nihon no harowin日本のハロウィンHalloween as a street costume event
- FolkloreStandard kaidan怪談Japanese ghost stories
- FolkloreStandard kuchisake-onna口裂け女the slit-mouthed woman, Japan's most famous modern urban legend
- Food & DrinkStandard dagashi駄菓子the cheap sweets children buy with their own money
- Modern JapanStandard netto kafeネットカフェinternet cafe with private booths
- Modern JapanStandard hassha merodi発車メロディーstation departure jingles
- Modern JapanStandard majan麻雀the four-player tile game, and where it sits legally
- Seasons & NatureStandard kingyo金魚goldfish, and the summer festival game of scooping them
- Pop CultureStandard i supotsueスポーツcompetitive gaming in Japan
- Pop CultureStandard otakuオタクsomeone obsessively into a hobby
- Pop CultureStandard gachagachaガチャガチャcapsule toy vending machine
- Pop CultureStandard karutaかるたthe card game where you race to grab the right card
- Pop CultureStandard ganpuraガンプラplastic model kits of robots from the Gundam anime
- Pop CultureStandard kyarakuta bunkaキャラクター文化characters attached to everything
- Pop CultureStandard gemu sentaゲームセンターvideo game arcade
- Pop CultureStandard kosupureコスプレdressing as a character
- Pop CultureStandard Janpu to shukan mangashiジャンプと週刊漫画誌the manga magazine where reader postcards ranking each week's chapters can decide a series' fate
- Pop CultureStandard tamagotchiたまごっちa handheld digital pet
- Pop CultureStandard baraeti bangumiバラエティ番組Japanese TV variety programs
- Pop CultureStandard famikonファミコンNintendo's first home video game console, sold abroad as the NES
- Pop CultureStandard purikuraプリクラphoto sticker booths
- Pop CultureStandard yuru-kyaraゆるキャラlocal mascot characters
- Pop CultureStandard raito noberuライトノベルan easy-to-read novel for young readers, with anime-style illustrations
- Pop CultureStandard rorita fasshonロリータファッションa modest, Victorian-inspired street fashion born in Harajuku, built around long skirts and frills
- Pop CultureStandard otoge音ゲーrhythm games
- Pop CultureStandard hanafuda花札the flower card game
- Pop CultureStandard kissaten to moningu喫茶店とモーニングthe free breakfast set old-style coffee shops add to the price of a single coffee
- Pop CultureStandard Koshien no oen甲子園の応援the organized brass-band and stand cheering that fills the stadium during the national high school baseball tournament
- Pop CultureStandard Kohaku Uta Gassen紅白歌合戦the New Year's Eve song contest on public television
- Pop CultureStandard yonkoma manga四コマ漫画a four-panel comic strip
- Pop CultureStandard kamishibai紙芝居the paper theater a storyteller carried on a bicycle
- Pop CultureStandard jidaigeki時代劇the period drama set before the Meiji era
- Pop CultureStandard Showa retoro昭和レトロa nostalgia trend for the look and feel of Japan's postwar Showa decades
- Pop CultureStandard oshikatsu推し活supporting your favorite
- Pop CultureStandard seiyu声優voice actors
- Pop CultureStandard mukashi no asobi昔の遊びthe pre-electronic children's games still taught in schools
- Pop CultureStandard kigurumi着ぐるみa full-body character costume worn by a performer
- Pop CultureStandard asadora朝ドラNHK's 15-minute morning drama series
- Pop CultureStandard itasha痛車a car wrapped in large anime or game character graphics
- Pop CultureStandard tetsudo fan鉄道ファンJapan's railway enthusiasts, a hobby broad enough to include photographers, sound recorders and model builders
- Pop CultureStandard dojin ongaku同人音楽self-released music made and sold by independent circles, often at fan conventions
- Pop CultureStandard nihon eiga日本映画Japanese cinema, then and now
- Pop CultureStandard manga kissa漫画喫茶manga and internet cafes
- Pop CultureStandard manzai漫才two-person stand-up comedy
Advanced（11）
- ArtsAdvanced kodan講談storytelling of battles and heroes, told from behind a small desk
- FolkloreAdvanced ittan momen一反木綿a flying strip of cotton cloth from Japanese ghost stories
- Pop CultureAdvanced aidoruアイドルthe Japanese idol system
- Pop CultureAdvanced bokaroidoボーカロイドsinging voice synthesizer
- Pop CultureAdvanced meido kissaメイド喫茶maid cafe
- Pop CultureAdvanced enka演歌sentimental Japanese ballads
- Pop CultureAdvanced shinya anime深夜アニメlate-night anime
- Pop CultureAdvanced seichi junrei聖地巡礼visiting places from anime
- Pop CultureAdvanced dojinshi to komike同人誌とコミケself-published fan comics and Comiket
- Pop CultureAdvanced tokusatsu特撮live-action special effects shows
- Pop CultureAdvanced Takarazuka kagekidan宝塚歌劇団the all-female musical theater company