A great way to practice your Japanese speaking skills and to get to know people in Japan is to talk about free time and hobbies. In a casual setting you may be asked what you do in your free time by Japanese people. So this lesson will teach you the basics of how to ask and answer questions about hobbies. But first of all, listen to the audio podcast which goes through all the points in this lesson. You can also listen to the audio drills which include just the Japanese dialogs without English to practice your listening and speaking skills. Podcast Dialogs for talking about hobbies Here are four example dialogs from the podcast that give you various examples on how to hold a conversation in natural Japanese about hobbies and free time. Hobbies Dialog 1 A: 趣味は何？ Shumi wa nani? What’s your hobby? B: そうだね、ギターかな。 Sō da ne. Gitaa kana. Well…guitar I guess. A: そっか。最初のきっかけは？ Sokka. Saisho no kikkake wa? Really? How did you get in to it? B: ロックを聴くことが好きだからやってみようかなと思って。 Rokku wo kiku koto ga suki dakara yatte miyō kana to omotte. I like listening to rock so I thought I would give it a go. A: どのぐらいやってる？ Dono gurai yatteru? How long have you been doing it? B: ２０年。 Ni jū nen. 20 years. A: すごいね。しょっちゅうやってるの？ Sugoi ne. Shocchū yatteru no? Wow, do you do it often? B: 毎日。 Mai nichi. Every day. A: へえ～。 Heh. Really? Hobbies Dialog 2 A: 趣味は何？ Shumi wa nani? What’s your hobby? B: そうだね、ジョギングかな。 Sō da ne. Jogingu kana. Well…jogging I guess. A: そっか。最初のきっかけは？ Sokka. Saisho no kikkake wa? Really? How did you get in to it? B: 運動することが好きだからやってみようかなと思って。 Undō suru koto ga suki da kara yatte miyō kana to omotte. I like exercising so I thought I would give it a go. A: どのぐらいやってる？ Dono gurai yatteru? How long have you been doing it? B: 1年。 Ichi nen. 1 year. A: すごいね。しょっちゅうやってるの？ Sugoi ne. Shocchū yatteru no? Wow, do you do it often? B: 週に２回。 Shū ni ni kai. Two times a week. A: へえ～。 Heh. Really?   Hobbies Dialog 3 A: 趣味は何？ Shumi wa nani? What’s your hobby? B: そうだね、読書かな。 Sō da ne. Dokusho kana. Well…reading I guess. A: そっか。最初のきっかけは？ Sokka. Saisho no kikkake wa? Really? How did you get in to it? B: 本を読むことが好きだからやってみようかなと思って。 Hon o yomu koto ga suki da kara yatte miyō kana to omotte. I like reading books so I thought I would give it a go. A: どのぐらいやってる？ Dono gurai yatteru? How long have you been doing it? B: ６ヶ月。 Rokka getsu. 6 months. A: すごいね。しょっちゅうやってるの？ Sugoi ne. Shocchū yatteru no? Wow, do you do it often? B: 時間がある時に。 Jikan ga aru toki ni.   When I have time. A: へえ～。 Heh. Really?   Hobbies Dialog 4 A: 趣味は何？ Shumi wa nani? What’s your hobby? B: そうだね、カメラかな。 Sō da ne. Kamera kana. Well…photography I guess. A: そっか。最初のきっかけは？ Sokka. Saisho no kikkake wa? Really? How did you get in to it?