Do you want to improve your Japanese?
Reading is one of the best ways to improve your language skills.
You are reading: Japanese children books online
It’s especially important to read a lot when you’re learning a language with a different writing system, like Japanese.
hiragana, katakana, and kanji can be overwhelming at first. but with enough reading practice, reading these characters will become second nature!
Reading consolidates all the vocabulary and grammar you’ve spent so much time learning. when you find new words in a story or article, it’s much easier to remember.
And best of all, it’s free!
So, if you’re wondering how to learn Japanese effectively, I really recommend making a regular time to read.
Here is a selection of excellent websites to practice reading Japanese completely for free online, whatever your level:
Japanese reading practice for beginners
if you’re a beginner, you’ll probably want to stick to hiragana-only resources.
(Not sure what hiragana is? First check out my post on how to read Japanese for a quick introduction to Japanese writing systems!)
tadoku
tadoku literally means “to read a lot”, and the idea behind this site is that reading a lot is the best way to learn Japanese. tadoku offers dozens of free and simple picture books for learners of Japanese.
The site is all in Japanese, but don’t panic! not difficult to navigate. For Japanese reading material for beginners, look for those marked with the blue ‘l0’ at the top of the page. Click on the cover of a book that catches your eye. On the next page, click the gray box labeled “read for free.” enjoy!
hukumusume
hukumusume is a site full of traditional Japanese stories for children.
It’s an absolutely huge site and it’s written for Japanese kids (not language learners), so it can be a bit confusing to navigate. I recommend that beginners start with this page which has four stories written in hiragana with English translations.
Once you’ve read them, you can explore the rest of the stories here. most of them don’t have English translation, but they are written in very simple Japanese, so you can try to translate them yourself!
This page lists the stories by Japanese school year. start with １ねんせい (first grade, which only uses hiragana) and work your way up to sixth grade as you learn more kanji.
many of the stories also have audio or video tracks.
crunchy nihongo hiragana stories
Here is a very simple site to practice reading Japanese only in hiragana. Scroll to the bottom of the linked page and you’ll find links to various Japanese fairy tales, written in very simple Japanese. there is the option to show or hide the romaji and english translation line by line.
ehonnavi
ehonnavi is an amazing site that allows you to read hundreds of different Japanese children’s picture books, all for free! unlike the previous sites, there are many modern books (not just traditional tales). You can search for books by age, from 0 to 12 years old. yes, there are even baby books with only a word or two per page, making it a great resource even for beginners!
The only drawback is that you have to register. The entire site is in Japanese, so it’s a bit difficult for beginners. here you can find great instructions with screenshots to help you set it up.
coscom news
It’s unusual to find beginner reading materials other than children’s books, but I did it! this site publishes very short news articles in simple Japanese. you can click the buttons at the top to switch between romaji, hiragana, and full Japanese (with kanji).
You can also download a pdf of the article if you want to write notes. key vocabulary is listed in English below.
The “tenki yohoo” (weather forecast) and “short news” sections contain very short articles for beginners. the ‘japan news and world news’ section has slightly longer articles. only the most recent article in each section is available for free. you can also pay membership to read the files.
easy Japanese stories
The author of this site is a high school Japanese teacher who writes simple stories as Japanese reading practice for his students. there are some made up stories and also some traditional Japanese children’s stories, rewritten in simple Japanese. the stories contain some kanji with furigana (hiragana pronunciation guide). Each story comes with a vocabulary list, a sound recording, and a downloadable PDF. thank you matthew for sharing!
e-hon
another source for Japanese children’s picture books online. this site isn’t that user friendly, but I’ve included it as an additional resource in case you run into problems with the above sites.
Simply click on an image to go to the book. then click the yellow ‘next’ button at the top to turn the pages.
One problem with this site is that the script is an image file, so you can’t just copy and paste words to look up in a dictionary. you can increase the text size from the home page.
intermediate Japanese reading practice
At the intermediate level, you will be able to understand longer sentences and more difficult works. you can also read some kanji. you need some reading resources that introduce these language features, but you still need a little help understanding new words.
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We have just what you need! Here are some Japanese reading practice sites for intermediate learners:
hirogaru
hirogaru is a nice site for learners of Japanese. has short texts and videos on many different topics. in particular, it has many articles on traditional Japanese culture, such as calligraphy, the tea ceremony, and martial arts. there are vocabulary lists (with English translations) of keywords for each topic.
matcha
matcha is a great Japanese travel and culture magazine. is available in 10 different languages, including a simple Japanese version! (my link will take you directly to the ‘easy japanese’ site). it does use kanji but always with furigana (pronunciation guides) above.
Most articles are also available in Spanish. you can read the English version afterwards to check your understanding (use the dropdown bar at the bottom of the page to change the language). however, be careful, because the translations are not always the same word for word.
watanoc
watanoc is a “free simple Japanese web magazine”. the name comes from ‘wa’ (Japanese) ‘tanoshii’ (fun). It has many items of different lengths and different levels, making it suitable from beginner to intermediate. Topics include food, culture, events, and fun news. after each title, it tells you the approximate jlpt reading level (n5 is the easiest). plus, if you hover your mouse over a word, it will appear with an explanation in English! highly recommended for upper beginners and lower intermediates.
easy nhk news website
nhk is japan’s national news service. On this site, you can read top NHK news daily in simple Japanese. It is aimed at Japanese elementary school children, as well as foreigners who are learning Japanese.
The site has furigana in the kanji and Japanese dictionary definitions that appear when you hover over a word. many of the stories also have videos.
you can toggle furigana on and off using the blue button at the top of each article labeled 感じの読み方を消す. and, if you’re feeling up for a challenge, you can view the original nhk version of the article by clicking the blue button at the bottom labeled 普通のニュウスを読む.
the site has several new stories every day. if you like to read about current affairs, this is a good site for you.
children of yahoo
Short news, school lessons, games and bulletin boards in simple Japanese, aimed at primary school children. there is no furigana in the kanji, so this might be a bit advanced for some users.
hiragana schedules
hiragana times is a magazine that publishes articles about Japan in simple Japanese with furigana, along with an English translation. you have to subscribe for full access, but you can read selected sample articles on the main website here. you can turn furigana, romaji and english on and off using the ‘あ’ button on the left side. You can also download a free sample magazine here.
Japanese talk
this is a blog about many aspects of daily life in japan. each paragraph is written in Japanese, with an English translation below. a small number of publications also have French translations. you can choose to turn the furigana on or off. unfortunately the blog is no longer updated, but there are several years worth of posts to read.
wasabi (fairy tales)
a small collection of Japanese fairy tales with furigana, audio, vocabulary lists and English translations. you can play the audio at different speeds, so this is also a useful site to practice reading aloud and work on your pronunciation. the Japanese texts contain kanji and are a bit more advanced than the children’s stories in the beginner section above.
wasabi (manga)
This is from the same site as the above, but I wanted to list it separately because it’s so useful. If you dream of reading Japanese manga in the original, but need some extra help, this is a great place to start. On this page you can read Greetings to Black Jack, a best-selling Japanese manga about a young doctor. Along with the original manga, there is the Japanese script with English translation and language notes.
bunsuke newsletter
bunsuke publishes short excerpts from famous Japanese writers, along with a vocabulary list and translation. this is a great way for intermediate students to immerse themselves in reading Japanese literature in the original version, without becoming overwhelmed. you might even discover some favorite works to explore further!
Previously, bunsuke sent out his snippets every day in an email newsletter. daily emails are paused for now, but you can read all previous newsletters in your substack. also hosts occasional interactive reading challenges.
advanced reading practice in Japanese
If you are an advanced student of Japanese, I recommend using real Japanese materials as much as possible. by this I mean books and articles written for native Japanese speakers, not language learners.
The ultimate goal is to speak Japanese fluently, like native speakers do. you will learn the most natural language using real life sources.
The good news is that it’s incredibly easy to find real-life Japanese language resources online. you can also find resources on literally any topic.
I recommend thinking about what you read in your native language for fun. what do you read in your free time, just because you love it? find the Japanese version of that! this means that you will be more likely to stay with him. Plus, you’ll learn new words specific to your hobbies and interests.
This is also a good time to change your phone, computer and facebook settings to Japanese and create an immersive environment.
here are some websites to get you started. I tried to choose a selection of websites from different genres. remember, this list is just to give you some ideas! when you know advanced Japanese, you can read whatever you want 🙂
news
nhk – the Japanese national broadcaster. In addition to reading the news online, you can stream the radio and watch some TV shows (may be blocked based on location)
yomiuri shimbun – national newspaper (conservative)
mainichi shimbun – national newspaper (moderate/left)
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asahi shimbun – national newspaper (tilt left)
books
aozora bunko – free digital copies of books whose copyrights have expired
project gutenberg (Japanese): another site for free copyright-free books
shousetsuka ni narou – a site where budding authors post their work online for free for reviews
university of virginia japanese text initiative: a large library of japanese texts online, and you can even choose to read with furigana
bookwalker – bookwalker is a Japanese ebook app and store. they specialize in manga and light novels. Although you have to pay for most of the content, they do have a large selection of volumes (mainly manga) that you can download for free. just look for the section marked 無料.
Also, you can usually read several pages of other (paid) books on the site for free. this is good if you want to try some Japanese reading materials in different styles or by different authors. just look for the 試し読み button on the product page.
Please note that there is an English version of the website, but this will only show you books in English. you need to browse the Japanese website to download Japanese books (tutorial on how to register).
bauddha: This website publishes bilingual stories and excerpts from famous writings, political speeches, and other sources. you can read the Japanese version along with the English version. this website is actually for Japanese learners of English, not the other way around! the level of the language here is quite advanced because the writings are mostly literary classics.
sleeves
comicwalker – free manga from the publisher kadokawa. you can read the comics online, or there is also an app. look for the ones with the red triangle 無料マンガ (free manga). from the same people as bookwalker, but has different content.
shonen jump: the best selling manga magazine in japan. on his website you can read his latest manga installments and also news articles about new releases etc.
sai zen sen – you can read japanese manga online for free
comico: another site with free Japanese manga to read online
social
yahoo questions: people ask and answer questions on all kinds of topics.
ameblo – a Japanese personal blogging platform similar to blogspot or livejournal. you can search blogs and articles by topic.
girls channel: a bulletin board, similar to reddit but only for girls. good for learning internet slang and girl talk.
mixi – a Japanese social network. you can read news articles and some public threads without registering. there are communities on different topics similar to reddit. It’s not as popular as it used to be, but there’s still a lot of free Japanese reading practice.
magazines, lifestyle and more
Japanese Magazine Lists: This site and this one have huge lists of popular Japanese magazines with links to their websites. they are mostly fashion magazines, but there are a few in other categories such as business, technology, and travel. Please note that the amount of free content varies by site; some have lots of free articles online, while others just want you to buy the print magazine.
rocket news: short and funny news on topics like pop culture, viral content, new releases, etc.
hatena bookmarking – a social bookmarking site. users share interesting articles from all over the web.
1000moji: short stories submitted by users in 1000 characters
kinarino – lifestyle blog for women covering food, fashion, travel, interiors and more
cancam: a popular Japanese women’s fashion magazine
lifehacker: interesting tips and tricks and technical news
toyo keizai – a popular business and finance magazine
buzzfeed japan: you probably know this one! fun and interesting things on the internet
the growing wasabi – satirical news site
nippon.com: news about and from japan. Many articles are also available in Spanish (and other languages) so you can switch to check your understanding.
note: a japanese magazine style site recommended by our reader erik. covers lifestyle, education, culture, work and more. the content is generated by the user and is very varied.
orange page – one of the largest Japanese cooking sites. do you love japanese food? why not kill two birds with one stone and learn how to cook some Japanese dishes while practicing reading Japanese? In addition to recipes, they also publish some lifestyle articles.
vns – vns or visual novels are text-heavy interactive games. they are like a cross between novels and games. I’ve personally never played one, but I’ve heard some people rely on them to improve their Japanese reading, so I thought I’d give them a shout out here! freem and novel game have many free japanese vns. here is a blog about learning japanese with vns.
browser extensions to read Japanese online
Without a doubt, learning to read Japanese is slower than most other languages simply because of the Japanese writing system! I just wanted to finish by sharing some useful browser extensions that can help you read Japanese websites.
- rikaikun (for chrome): hover over any Japanese word and a dictionary box will appear.
- yomichan (for firefox): same as above.
- furigana extension (for chrome) – adds furigana (pronunciation guide) to the kanji.
- furigana (for firefox) – same as above.
There are dozens of similar extensions, but here are some of the most recommended!
more free resources to learn Japanese
And finally, if you liked this list, check out my other roundups of free native Japanese practice materials:
- the best Japanese podcasts to practice listening
- the best YouTube channels to learn Japanese
Do you know of any other good sources for free online Japanese reading practice? please share in the comments!
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