Oku-Nikkou
What secrets await deep in the beautiful and mysterious mountains of Inner Nikkou?
Yuuta spends his summers at a hot spring hotel run by his grandparents in an idyllic mountain setting. But an emergency early one summer reveals a truth that Yuuta could have never imagined. A story with elements of fantasy about family, life and death, and growing up. (62 episodes)
Episode 1
The narrator remembers a moment with his grandparents.
Notes: This episode contains a few challenging words, such as one that means "the basin of a waterfall," and several place names that will likely be unfamiliar. But hang in there! The first few pages of a new story are always the most challenging and this one is worth it.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers |  |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 19167 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 5193 |
Episode 2
Serene Lake Yunoko provides a beautiful place for a walk -- but is a change in the air?
Notes: This episode contains a note on the pattern ka to omottara and as well as a review of the phrase maru de.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 7869 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 1945 |
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Episode 3
The narrator explains an annual routine.
Notes: This episode demonstrates how to use made ni after a verb, as well as a special use of the word sae.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 4505 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 1070 |
Pro
Episode 4
The narrator gives more details about his living situation.
Notes: This episode contains a reminder about the tari pattern, as well as a note regarding an interesting aspect of this story's narration style.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 2776 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 640 |
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Episode 5
Yuuta describes his daily life in Tokyo.
Notes: This episode contains interesting notes, such as one on the pattern for invoking a higher power.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 2438 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 532 |
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Episode 6
Yuuta reflects on the differences between his life in Tokyo and his summers in Oku-Nikkou.
Notes: This episode contains fun vocabulary, such as a word that means "a treat" or "a reward," plus a pattern for saying that someone does something "secretly" or "covertly," and more.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 2083 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 492 |
Pro
Episode 7
Yuuta describes a particularly exciting part of his routine at the hot springs hotel.
Notes: This episode showcases fun vocabulary like words that mean "to cast aside," and "thrill," plus a note on a special use of to to emphasize the trifling quality of an amount.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1918 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 453 |
Pro
Episode 8
Yuuta's attention is arrested by a scene outside the hotel.
Notes: This episode is packed with interesting vocabulary, such as an expression that means "to have one's eyes glued to something," as well as several interesting notes.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1803 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 432 |
Pro
Episode 9
The courtyard becomes the scene for a memorable moment.
Notes: This exciting episode also contains great vocabulary and notes, such as a pattern that means "as if / as though," and a note on the difference between two readings of 中.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1766 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 420 |
Pro
Episode 10
What starts as an unfamiliar sound comes to have a special meaning for Yuuta.
Notes: This episode contains great cultural elements as well as a breakdown of a sentence that stops and starts several times from different angles.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1850 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 438 |
Pro
Episode 11
The grandparents share their experience with Yuuta.
Notes: This episode contains lots of good grandparent dialog.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1650 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 384 |
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Episode 12
Yuuta's grandmother shares her wisdom as Yuuta reflects on the value of conversation.
Notes: This episode contains a long and potentially tricky sentence, but our careful breakdown will help you make sense of it.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1581 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 373 |
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Episode 13
Yuuta makes friends as he lends a hand with the hotel chores.
Notes: This episode has several extended notes that explain a transitive/intransitive verb pair, a suffix for making the names of children's games, and more.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1511 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 362 |
Pro
Episode 14
Yuuta's grandmother relates an episode from her youth.
Notes: This episode contains some challenging dialog, which includes contractions and inversions, but our detailed notes will help you make sense of it.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1519 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 353 |
Pro
Episode 15
Yuuta's grandfather reminisces about a favorite food.
Notes: This episode contains a few vocabulary words that might be new to you, such as one that means "a childish (simple and innocent) mind."
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1436 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 343 |
Pro
Episode 16
As the years go by, Yuuta grows both in his relationship with his grandparents and his maturity.
Notes: This episode contains excellent expressions and a fun contraction.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1407 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 330 |
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Episode 17
As the summer of his third year of school starts, Yuuta thinks about his future.
Notes: This episode contains great vocabulary and notes, as always.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1404 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 329 |
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Episode 18
The hot springs hotel is a flurry of activity as the family arrives.
Notes: This episode contains useful words like "rucksack/backpack" and a suffix that means "hunting (for the named thing)," plus helpful notes, as always.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1353 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 318 |
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Episode 19
Questions swirl as Yuuta wonders what will happen next.
Notes: This episode contains a note that explains why different kanji characters are sometimes used for the same word.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1352 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 310 |
Pro
Episode 20
As night turns to day, the family waits for news.
Notes: This episode contains notes that compare and contrast two words that both mean "sleep," plus a discussion of why the word for "neck" is sometimes used when "head" is meant.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1332 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 313 |
Pro
Episode 21
Yuuta weighs in on a discussion that will impact his life in a big way.
Notes: This episode contains notes on a speech contraction common to dialects throughout Japan, as well as a review of a pattern that we met earlier.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1337 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 301 |
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Episode 22
The search for Yuuta's grandmother continues.
Notes: This episode contains notes on a word that means "somehow or another" and one that means "warmth."
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1333 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 295 |
Pro
Episode 23
As the days go by, people invent all manner of explanations for the grandmother's disappearance.
Notes: This episode contains a note on the difference between two words that both mean "to spread out."
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1314 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 292 |
Pro
Episode 24
Yuuta and his grandfather enjoy a moment in the open-air bath.
Notes: This episode contains a note on several equivalent ways to create the present progressive.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1417 | |
| Standard | Unread | 320 |
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Episode 25
Yuuta's grandfather recalls a favorite food of Yuuta's grandmother.
Notes: This episode contains helpful breakdowns of two short sentences containing easy words that might nonetheless trip you up.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1323 | |
| Standard | Unread | 299 |
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Episode 26
Yuuta's grandfather elaborates on what happened that night.
Notes: This episode contains three great examples of creating progressive verb forms using the technique described two episodes earlier.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1449 | |
| Standard | Unread | 294 |
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Episode 27
A wide-eyed Yuuta listens as his grandfather recalls a critical moment.
Notes: This episode contains exciting descriptive vocabulary, as well as an example of three inversions in a row!
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1422 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 291 |
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Episode 28
Yuuta's grandfather makes a shocking claim.
Notes: This episode contains a tricky sentence that is worth pushing through to learn several interesting patterns. Our notes will help you break it down.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1398 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 289 |
Pro
Episode 29
Yuuta considers his grandfather's story.
Notes: This episode contains an excellent vocabulary word that often turns up in Japanese language tests, as well a reminder about how the word moshikashite works.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1389 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 290 |
Pro
Episode 30
Could Yuuta's grandfather be telling the truth?
Notes: This episode contains a note clarifying the word misukasu, "to see through," as well as a reminder about the use of mo to emphasize a surprising amount.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1368 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 284 |
Pro
Episode 31
Yuuta and his grandfather continue their conversation inside.
Notes: This episode contains a note on two related words that mean "to give" and "to receive from on high," as well as notes on an important word for naming caveats.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1383 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 281 |
Pro
Episode 32
Yuuta's grandfather explains the benefits of the strange system.
Notes: This episode contains a note on the expression sore ga, plus a note on a sentence that uses the -tari, -tari pattern in a way that might be new to you.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1371 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 285 |
Pro
Episode 33
Yuuta learns more about how the system works.
Notes: This episode illustrates a special sense of the word ichi-do, plus a special form of the negative -eba conditional.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1307 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 274 |
Pro
Episode 34
To everything, there is a season.
Notes: This episode demonstrates the word somosomo, which can help you get back to the basics when considering something.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1317 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 268 |
Pro
Episode 35
Yuuta's grandfather relates a story from his youth.
Notes: This fun episode contains a tricky sentence with both an inversion and a dropped final verb, but our notes will help you make sense of it.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1295 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 268 |
Pro
Episode 36
Yuuta's grandfather reveals what he thinks happened that fateful night.
Notes: This episode contains great vocabulary such as "a lightning strike" and "a drop; a bead."
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1267 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 263 |
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Episode 37
Unable to sleep, Yuuta ponders how differently from his expectations the summer is turning out.
Notes: This beautiful episode contains an expression that means "just when I thought..." and a note on the difference between two similar ways to compare things.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1280 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 267 |
Pro
Episode 38
A special moment is shared.
Notes: This episode contains great expressions like "unmistakably" and "to dive down into (covers, etc)."
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1253 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 265 |
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Episode 39
Yuuta's grandfather marvels at the passage of time.
Notes: This episode contains a special use of the particle mo, plus an excellent example of contrastive wa.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1227 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 261 |
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Episode 40
An older and stronger Yuuta decides to make good on an old promise.
Notes: This episode contains a note on a common contraction, plus a breakdown of an expression that means "one can't help but (verb)."
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1271 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 266 |
Pro
Episode 41
As Yuuta returns, he overhears part of a tense conversation.
Notes: This episode contains a long note on the word mou.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1213 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 258 |
Pro
Episode 42
Yuuta uses his quick footwork to attempt to convince his grandfather of something.
Notes: This episode contains a note on the words for different parts of the eyes, plus two others that break down tricky phrases.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1219 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 250 |
Pro
Episode 43
Yuuta observes a change in his grandfather.
Notes: This episode contains an excellent vocabulary word related to the title, as well as a discussion of using the word naisho, "secret," in sentences.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1206 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 249 |
Pro
Episode 44
An intrepid Yuuta tails his grandfather.
Notes: This episode contains two uses of the word goro-goro, along with notes that explain them, plus a note explaining a pattern that means "it's not the time to be doing such-and-such."
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1196 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 251 |
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Episode 45
The situation on the mountain takes a sudden turn.
Notes: This episode contains several interesting expressions.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1165 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 255 |
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Episode 46
Yuuta and his grandfather take stock of things.
Notes: This episode contains a long note about the differences between three words for hugging.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1157 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 266 |
Pro
Episode 47
An unexpected encounter happens when Yuuta and his grandfather press on.
Notes: This episode contains notes on three special words for kinds of rain.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1177 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 263 |
Pro
Episode 48
Yuuta recovers from the adventures of the previous day.
Notes: This episode contains a great pattern for speaking of familiar sights and sounds.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1155 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 248 |
Pro
Episode 49
Yuuta's father explains what he and his father talked about the other day.
Notes: This episode contains notes on an expression that means that circumstances come together in such a way that something is possible, and another on a word for being dumbfounded.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1115 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 246 |
Pro
Episode 50
Yuuta's father continues to provide context.
Notes: This episode contains a note on a way of naming the source of your information.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1157 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 243 |
Pro
Episode 51
Yuuta remembers an important tradition.
Notes: The episode contains another instance of a pattern we learned earlier that means "having only (done something)."
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1179 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 247 |
Pro
Episode 52
Yuuta and his father plan for the future.
Notes: This episode contains two special uses of wa, and notes that break them down.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1147 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 235 |
Pro
Episode 53
Yuuta opens up about something that has been on his mind.
Notes: This episode contains a note on how to use the suffix -buri to talk about doing something for the first time in a while.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1138 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 243 |
Pro
Episode 54
Yuuta describes how he felt during the summers with his grandparents.
Notes: This episode contains a note on a pattern that means "if only..." or "I wish..." as well as a word that means the speaker is searching for the right way to put something.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1092 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 234 |
Pro
Episode 55
Yuuta's father responds.
Notes: This episode contains an interesting word that means "disqualification" and a note on how to use it.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1150 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 235 |
Pro
Episode 56
Yuuta considers the scale of what he is experiencing.
Notes: This episode contains a note about the difference between two verbs that are both written using the kanji for "finger."
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1300 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 245 |
Pro
Episode 57
As Yuuta and his father look on, visitors appear.
Notes: This episode contains a special use of the particle ya to indicate mild exclamation or dismissiveness.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1158 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 261 |
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Episode 58
The visitors share a moment with Yuuta and his father.
Notes: This episode contains great vocabulary, such as a word that means "hearty; lively."
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1122 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 259 |
Pro
Episode 59
The cave gets a new visitor.
Notes: This episode contains a note on the interesting word tekkiri, which signals that the speaker now realizes an expectation was incorrect.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1142 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 234 |
Pro
Episode 60
The visitor explores the cave.
Notes: This episode contains a note about the verb kazaru, a breakdown of a tricky sentence, and more.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1079 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 254 |
Pro
Episode 61
Something the visitor notices causes him to take stock of his life.
Notes: This episode contains notes on an expression that means "that thing itself; the very thing," one on a special use of the passive of omou, and more.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1080 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 249 |
Pro
Episode 62
The conclusion to Oku-Nikkou.
Notes: This episode contains a note on a salutation you sometimes see in letters and when to use it.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1055 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 247 |