I’m just this guy, you know?
In University I ran out of Japanese classes to take, so I somehow convinced one of the teachers to let me set up an independent study where I wrote a blog in Japanese (about American culture). Sometimes I would write in English about Japanese culture/language, and those articles did way better. Noticing this, I branched off into making Tofugu and after many ups and downs it became what it is today.
I was mainly in school. I also spent a year working for a startup called EduFire which was kind of like the Ebay for live online classes.
When I graduated from university, I thought it would be cool to make a living blogging. That was short lived when I found out how little money one can make blogging full time (unless you’re one of the big guys), so I found a job. After being let go, I had to do something. This time I made a product to sell along with Tofugu (TextFugu, our Japanese textbook). That did a lot better than advertising did so we’ve stuck with that since.
Full time staff is myself, Viet (Engineer), and Aya (Artist). We have a couple of other contractors who do a ton for us as well, like John (writer) and Mami (research). Then there’s the ex-interns Sarah and Rachel, and soon several more writers. It’s a motley crew.
So far it’s just been me coming up with them, I think.
I like all the baseball ones. They also happen to be the least successful articles that we write. But, it’s not like I write my articles for everyone, you know?
I just do things that I want to see, learn about, hear, or do. It’s a terribly selfish company where I do things for myself and hope other people like it too.
I have to admit that Tofugu is one of the blogs that truly inspires me to be better.
I don’t know if I have too many heroes. Douglas Adams comes to mind. Also anyone who does teaching for a living. Those people are amazing.
Japan Guy Side Note: If you’re not familiar with Douglas Adams, he’s the writer/humorist who wrote “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”
Tofugu is so much more than a blog that’s chock-full of interesting articles and great art (your pictures kick a$$, Aya!). I know that Tofugu is also big on educating anyone who wants to learn more about Japanese. I’ve seen some great posts of yours recommending different Japanese learning applications, useful supplementary apps, etc.
Wani-kani: a creative, web-based app designed to teach you kanji and Japanese vocab. It’s so simple, you’ll be able to learn Japanese in a “snap.” Get it? A crab has pincers that “sna…ahh, never mind. Just be sure to check it out, LOL.
I’m biased, but WaniKani is one of the most important things out there for Japanese learning right now. At the speed the internet goes at, it will surely be overtaken by something soon, though, so publish this article quickly.
*Japan Guy Side note: I actually had a chance to check out the beta version of Wani Kani for myself, and it’s truly useful! I enjoyed how it breaks a rather complex topic (freakin’ Kanji) into something that much simpler to understand. Sorry, Koichi, back to the questions.
Half-crab, half-alligator. Some say crabigator. Others say allicrab.
In terms of what Wanikani does, it’s a way to learn kanji and vocabulary as quickly and efficiently as possible. We have people who finish the program (~1700 kanji, ~5000 vocabulary words) in around a year, which is unheard of when you’re talking about these things normally. It’s all thanks to a combination of fancy sounding things like mnemonics, SRS, radicals, and gamification.
It’s the textbook I wish I had back in the day. It basically teaches Japanese to a younger version of myself. I’m hoping that other people think the same way as I do. For the people who do, it works really well.
I think all resources should be used with other resources. That’s how I learn, usually, no matter what I’m studying. I’ll go through one resource, understand the concept half-way. Then, I’ll go through a completely new resource that covers the same thing and learn it the rest of the way. The more resources you have access to the more explanations you’ll receive. No one resource explains things perfectly for every individual, so grab a few that you like and power through them, TextFugu included. I like the idea of TextFugu, WaniKani, Tae Kim, and Genki mixed together. I think they’re complimentary for the most part.
Not knowing how to learn. That’s something kids don’t learn, pretty much anywhere. They learn what they should learn, but they never learn the best ways to learn. We’d have a lot more “geniuses” if school systems did this. That’s one thing I try to tackle in TextFugu as well. While you learn Japanese, you also learnhow to learn Japanese, and that helps bundles.
Like I mentioned before. I make these things for myself. Then, I see if anyone else wants to try it.
1. Enjoy yourself. 2. Find a resource that really jives with how you learn. 3. Make sure you know how you learn.
Sorry, not today.
We have to keep getting better and better. I think we have, but there’s still so far to go in terms of writing better, more useful content for people out there. I like to think we’re just scratching the surface, though how much better we can get will depend on my (currently) very poor managerial skills.
Japan Guy Thought moment: Poor managerial skills? Donald has a crazy suspicion that Koichi has a Wanikani chained to a desk at the Tofugu office to “encourage” the team.
Thank you!
**THE RANDOM, “I’M SORRY, I COULDN’T RESIST ASKING A WEIRD QUESTION” QUESTION**
I think the claws and teeth answer that question.
Thank you soooo much for talking with us, Koichi.
To all of you reading out there, I don’t know if Koichi will have time to answer questions (he’s a pretty busy dude). If you have comments or questions for Koichi or the Tofugu team, please leave them in the comments section below and maybe they’ll at least have the chance to see them (fingers crossed).
If you haven’t already be sure to check out the Tofugu blog and if you’re learning kanji, check out WaniKani.
Thanks for reading everybody!
Donald
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Woah! I think that’s the first interview with Koichi I’ve ever seen.
Quite interesting and funny. Thanks a lot! ^__^
Yeah, I was glad he had the time to do it! Thanks so much for checking it out, zoomingjapan!
People don’t usually ask, but I like it that way. I need to keep up my J. D. Salinger-esque image.
Really? I could have sworn people ask you all the time. *g*
I think interviewing the Mighty Koichi is a genius move from TJG in order to attract more visitor to his blog 😉
Thanks, Musouka 😀
For that it was a really smart idea! 😉
Thanks for the interview! Now that I look, sorry some of my answers were so quick and to the point! :p
Yeah, it felt like you were a killjoy in some of these 😛
My pleasure, Koichi. Thanks for doing it, bro!
No worries about the short answers, it keeps you mysterious in a Bruce Wayne, garbled-voice Batman kinda way.
Besides, I know people will have more questions for you here in the comments section, soon (cough, cough, elbow jab to anyone reading 😀 ).
That was an good interview. Tofugu has grown to be one of the biggest resources for people interested in Japan, and I’ve always wondered about the people behind it. Thanks for shedding some light on the mysterious Koichi.
Also, thanks for your comment over on my site! Keep up the good writing.
Yeah, Tofugu is a pretty awesome blog, right?!? Wani Kani is bad ass, too. I remember coming across Koichi’s blog when I was just getting started blogging. I would look at his blog then look at mine and just hang my head at my keyboard, hahaha. I wanted to know more about him myself.
いいえ、こちらこそ。 That post of yours was a classic. I’ll definitely have to stop by yours again, soon.
Likewise, Ken!
I learned a lot from this interview cool..I wasn’t aware of what exactly textfugu or wanikani were about although I have read several articles on tofugu since discovering them a few weeks ago. I think this was insightful and makes me intrigued to actually try using it or at least learn more about what it’s about. True things about learning how to learn, I think you have to learn your own personal style and what motivates you, to learn better. It’s also interesting to know more about how tofugu got started. Thanks for the interview!
This is my first day on this site as well, I got here from the comments on a tofugu article. I’m really enjoying it so far. thank you 🙂
Very interesting interview. I’m always curious to hear other bloggers’ stories. It’s also interesting that Ken and Jasmine are commenting here 🙂