TheJapanShop.comThe Japan Shop (TheJapanShop.com) has been helping people learn Japanese since 2002. Founded and still run by Clay and Yumi Boutwell — an American-Japanese husband-and-wife team based in Florida — we create beginner-friendly Japanese learning materials: ebooks and paperbacks, audio courses, graded readers, Anki flashcard decks, and JLPT N5 and N4, plus the monthly Makoto e-zine and the Makoto+ membership with its companion app.Our specialty is making real Japanese readable for beginners. Every story and dialogue comes with furigana, line-by-line vocabulary, grammar notes, and native-speaker audio recorded by Yumi, so learners go from hiragana to reading actual Japanese stories faster than apps alone can take them.Popular titles include our Hiragana and Katakana workbooks, the Japanese Reader Collection, Kanji 100, and the Complete Beginner Bundle — a step-by-step path from zero to JLPT N5. Learners will also find free lessons, podcasts, and articles at TheJapanesePage.com, our free-study sister site.Clay has taught Japanese online for more than 25 years, beginning with the free lessons at TheJapanesePage.com, and our store reviews average 4.9 out of 5 across 700+ verified customer reviews. Every digital purchase includes free lifetime updates, and support emails are answered by real humans — usually Clay himself.
TheJapanShop.com (thejapanshop.com) has 76 customer reviews on Five Star Index, with an average rating of 5.0 out of 5.
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Language Learning · Saint Petersburg, Florida
Excellent
Language Learning · Miami, Florida
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Language Learning · Tampa, Florida
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Language Learning · Fort Lauderdale, Florida
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76 approved reviews, newest moderated first
Volt M.
Offers a unique, interesting way to improve your Japanese through materials that are fun and meaningful to read. I started with them maybe 10 years ago and still find the Makoto zine still very useful. Volt (Brett), Tokyo
Response from TheJapanShop.comJul 24, 2026
Thank you, Brett! We really appreciate you.
RosanaE
I have bought almost everything from The Japan Shop (their ebook collections that include mp3s and also anki decks for most of them) and more recently I got a lifetime membership that includes their monthly magazine and a lot of other content. Clay and Yumi are constantly creating new content and now there is even an app with most of the content, which makes thing easy to learn on the go. Clay has always been very responsive to any questions I had, so customer service is excellent and fast. I really cannot recommend this site enough.
Response from TheJapanShop.comJul 24, 2026
ありがとうございます, Rosana! "Constantly creating" is a generous way of saying we don't quite know how to sit still. So glad the new content and the app are making it easier for you. Thank you again! Clay & Yumi
Sandra H.
Really great learning resources, break down of grammar and vocabulary helped me a lot. Thanks to the Japanshop team!
Response from TheJapanShop.comJul 24, 2026
Thank you, Sandra! Breaking things down clearly is half the battle in Japanese, so we're really glad it clicked for you. Thanks for the kind words. — Clay & Yumi
Emila K.
Plenty of material to dive in and immerse into the Japanese culture
Response from TheJapanShop.comJul 24, 2026
Thank you, Emila! So glad you're diving in. Thanks for being here. — Clay & Yumi