Free Japanese learning for real life in Japan. Yokoso adapts around what you know, teaches signs, prices and grammar in context, imports WaniKani progress, works offline, and has no ads, streaks or locked lessons.
Hi Product Hunt, I’m James, the person behind Yokoso.
I started building it after moving to northern Japan and realizing that most beginner apps were teaching Japanese in an order that had very little to do with the life happening around me. I needed to read signs, understand prices, recognize counters, and make sense of the grammar inside useful phrases. I also did not want to start over every time I tried a new tool.
Yokoso opens directly into learning and adapts around what you already know. New material arrives as a lightweight probe. When you know it, the app skips the lesson. When you do not, it teaches the answer and explains why. It can also import WaniKani and Bunpro progress so those learners keep the work they have already done.
The app is free forever, with no ads, streaks, lives, paywalls, or locked lessons. Optional supporter contributions unlock nothing.
I would especially value feedback on two things:
1. Does the first five minutes make it clear why Yokoso is different?
2. Which real-life Japanese situation should the app teach better next?
The web app works offline and without an account, and the iOS app is live. Thanks for taking a look.
Excited to try this! Integrating real life situations with language learning is really creative and probably what holds me back from trying to learn difficult languages.
the "no streaks, no lives, no locked lessons" line is what got me, most language apps are optimized to keep you opening the app rather than to make you actually capable in the country. one situation I'd add to the pharmacy/city hall/garbage list already here: phone calls for redelivery when you miss a parcel. it comes up constantly, it's pure listening under pressure with no visual context, and almost every learner I know just avoids answering the phone entirely instead of dealing with it.
Congratulations on the launch!
I've been learning Japanese for 6 years so far, and I've been satisfied with how my sensei teaches, but I must admit I'm still afraid to use the language in everyday situations. And I think it's mostly because I try to speak it the European way; I'm still not good at aizuchi, so all my conversations feel a bit stiff, like taken straight from a workbook. Watching anime doesn't help at all, maybe because seiyuu are doing a great job articulating... Reading the launch desc, I feel like Yokoso may be the help I need, so I'll definitely give it a try ;)
Congratulations on the launch, James! 🎉
I'm Japanese, born and raised, and I just want to say — seeing someone move to northern Japan and build something this thoughtful for learners made me really happy. The name made me smile too (ようこそ!).
What resonated most with me is the philosophy: no streaks, no lives, no paywalls, and respecting what learners already know. That's rare. And as a native speaker, I can confirm that counters, prices, and signs are exactly the things textbooks skip but real life throws at you on day one.
For your second question — a few situations I'd love to see Yokoso teach, because they trip up every foreign friend I've helped:
The pharmacy / clinic: describing symptoms and understanding dosage instructions (食後, 1日3回, etc.)
City hall paperwork: 住民票, 保険, 年金 — the vocabulary is brutal but unavoidable
Garbage separation rules: 燃えるゴミ vs 資源ゴミ, and the collection-day signage
Train delay announcements: 遅延, 運転見合わせ, 振替輸送 — these are stressful even to half-understand
Rooting for you from Japan. 応援しています!
About Yokoso on Product Hunt
“Japanese for the life you're actually living in Japan”
Yokoso launched on Product Hunt on August 4th, 2026 and earned 84 upvotes and 6 comments, placing #18 on the daily leaderboard. Free Japanese learning for real life in Japan. Yokoso adapts around what you know, teaches signs, prices and grammar in context, imports WaniKani progress, works offline, and has no ads, streaks or locked lessons.
Yokoso was featured in iOS (110.7k followers), Education (79.1k followers) and Languages (14.4k followers) on Product Hunt. Together, these topics include over 76.5k products, making this a competitive space to launch in.
Who hunted Yokoso?
Yokoso was hunted by James Ketola. A “hunter” on Product Hunt is the community member who submits a product to the platform — uploading the images, the link, and tagging the makers behind it. Hunters typically write the first comment explaining why a product is worth attention, and their followers are notified the moment they post. Around 79% of featured launches on Product Hunt are self-hunted by their makers, but a well-known hunter still acts as a signal of quality to the rest of the community. See the full all-time top hunters leaderboard to discover who is shaping the Product Hunt ecosystem.
Want to see how Yokoso stacked up against nearby launches in real time? Check out the live launch dashboard for upvote speed charts, proximity comparisons, and more analytics.
James Ketola