Let's show you three online contents where you can learn about the language and culture related to Japanese houses.
You don't need to have VR goggles to enjoy these. You can access them on your smartphone or tablet, too.
①JF Japanese e-Learning Minato 「Home Visit A1 Self-Study Course」
This course can be found on the JF Japanese e-Learning Minato platform (see article).
In this online course, you will learn conversations for when visiting a Japanese house, as well as the cultural points that you see inside the Japanese home.
You can use it in English, so you can start from the beginner level.
In STEP 2, Visit Mori-san's House, you will learn key phrases and parts of the culture that come up in the storyline.
Let's look at the scene where they're entering the house.
This video shows a conversation. The top and bottom are the same scene, but the bottom is a 360°video.
You can move the screen freely and enlarge it as you wish.
This is useful because you can see the parts that are hard to see on the top screen and check the body movements, too.
You can also study the culture and the language used, in detail.
You can see 360°images of all sorts of items. Look carefully to see where everything is.
It feels like we're really at Mori-san's house, learning about the language and culture.
This is fun!
②Irodori Japanese Online Course Starter level (A1) Tips for life in Japan VR immersion
This is the content for the Irodori Japanese Online Course Starter level (A1) (see article).
You can find these at the end of each lesson.
Let's take a look at the Japanese House in lesson 7.
This is a tatami room (washitsu). You can get a 360°view of a traditional Japanese room. Don't forget to read the description in the speech bubble, too.
In addition to tatami rooms (washitsu), in this course you can learn words for the Western-style living room (yōshitsu), the entrance hall (genkan), the kitchen (daidokoro), the bath (ofuro), and the toilet, as you learn about the Japanese lifestyle.
Indonesian
Vietnamese
The Irodori Japanese Online Course is offered in many languages.
First, try reading in Japanese. Then, read it in the language of your choice, to see if you have completely understood.
They also have sections introducing Japan's coastal areas and mountains, revolving kaitenzushi restaurants, and manga kissa cafes!
Which VR destination would you choose?
③NHK Archives - Old-Fashioned Homes
This site gives you a 360°view of the inside of old-fashioned homes, which have become rare these days.
The words and kanji are difficult, but if you want to know about what life in Japan was like in the past, this is for you.
You can learn about the things you see in movies and anime scenes.
①Showa is what the era from 1926 to 1989 was called. Choose whether you'd like to see a house from early Showa or mid-Showa.
②When you select summer, winter, morning, evening, or night, the inside of the house changes.
③This is the living room (ima). You can also choose to see the kitchen or the town outside.
This photo shows the living room on a winter morning in the early Showa period.
Click on a magnifying glass to learn names and usages along with photos and videos.
Keep the speaker at the upper left corner of the screen ON to hear the narrations and sounds.
I saw this in an old movie!
So this is called irori in Japanese. What else is there...?