Irodori
Irodori is a free beginner course from the Japan Foundation. It focuses on living and communicating in Japan, with substantial audio.
Good fit if
- Beginners who want a free structured course
- Learners who need daily-life language
- People who want official audio with lessons
Look elsewhere if
- You want a US-classroom Genki sequence
- You need advanced academic Japanese
- You want an app-first interface
Irodori: Japanese for Life in Japan is a free Japan Foundation course. donkuri/japanese-resources highlights its listening-heavy curriculum and downloadable audio.
What job it does
It gives beginners a sequenced path through everyday situations without buying Genki. Lessons include listening input, which many free grammar sites skip.
Starter kana is explicit. The official how-to PDF says Starter studies hiragana in Lesson 1 and katakana in Lesson 2. Use those lessons if you are starting from zero. Do not add a second kana course on the same days. The two-week kana guide can sit beside those two lessons if you need extra recall.
Limits
The course is built around life in Japan, not JLPT cramming or literary reading. The interface is a textbook site, not a gamified app. You still need a review system if you want vocabulary to stick.
How to test it
Complete one starter lesson with audio. If the situations match how you will use Japanese, continue. If you need classroom homework and a workbook answer key, compare Genki.
Sources checked
Product details can change. Evidence pages and their individual check dates appear below. Profile reviewed Sep 1, 2026.
- Irodori official site official product · checked Sep 1, 2026 · Official product page used for the public description, platform, and current offering.
- Irodori Starter how-to PDF official docs · checked Sep 1, 2026 · Official Starter guidance that hiragana is studied in Lesson 1 and katakana in Lesson 2.