Welcome to a Japanese Cake Shop!

The cover welcomes learners to a charming Japanese cake shop, with a building shaped like a giant cake, inviting them to step inside and explore.

Learners begin with simple sentences such as 「これは マンゴーの ケーキです。」 and 「これは プリンです。」 As they continue reading, they discover many creative Japanese cakes and desserts, including flower decoration cakes, teddy bear cakes, frog cakes, and playful desserts that are unique to Japan.

As the reader progresses, learners move beyond identifying cakes and begin reading additional information about the cake shop and its owner. They discover that the cakes are handmade by pastry chef Mr Endo, who opened Sweets Takaya in 2014, while continuing to build confidence through familiar です・ます sentence patterns.

Authentic photographs help learners connect Japanese words with real Japanese culture, while many cake names provide meaningful practice reading katakana. Every katakana word includes hiragana support (furigana), making it easier for learners to read with confidence.

The final pages introduce the cake shop before inviting learners to choose their favourite dessert, encouraging them to engage with authentic Japanese language and culture.

This reader helps learners build reading confidence through authentic Japanese language, visual support, and the discovery of Japan’s creative cake culture.

Language Features

Students will practise:

• Reading です・ます sentences with additional descriptive information
• Reading hiragana
• Recognising katakana with hiragana support (furigana)
• Building katakana vocabulary
• Using visual clues to predict meaning
• Developing reading confidence through repeated sentence patterns
• Discovering authentic Japanese cake culture

Details

Japanese Reader Level: 4
Recommended for: Developing Learners
Language Focus: です・ます sentences with additional descriptive information
Vocabulary Theme: Cakes, desserts, decorations, and katakana vocabulary
Cultural Theme: Japan’s creative cake culture and Japanese cake shops

Character Count: 402
Pages: 21
Product Type: A5 saddle-stitched booklet
ISBN: 978-1-925808-05-6

Perfect For

• Learners ready to read です・ます sentences with additional information
• Primary school Japanese programs
• Beginning secondary school students
• Adult learners
• Home learning
• Japanese language classrooms
• Developing katakana reading skills through authentic vocabulary
• Discovering Japanese cake culture through authentic photographs

📚 Teaching & Learning Resources

Every reader includes free access to our Resource Library.

Included with every reader:

• 🎧 Audio recordings narrated by Mariko Sensei
• 📖 English translation
• 💻 Quizlet vocabulary activities

Also available for schools and teachers:

• 🖥️ Class Sets with Online Flipbooks

💜 A Note from Mariko Sensei

Many of the cakes featured in this book come from Sweets Takayoshi, a wonderful cake shop near my parents’ home in Japan. Even the shop itself is memorable, with a building shaped like a giant cake that always catches people’s attention.

Whenever I visit my parents, I enjoy stopping by the shop to admire the beautiful cakes before choosing one to take home. Japanese cake shops are full of creativity. You might find flower decoration cakes, teddy bear cakes, frog cakes, or even a dessert that looks like a glass of beer but is actually lemon jelly!

I created this reader to introduce learners to Japan’s unique cake culture while helping them become more confident reading katakana. Because many cake names are written in katakana, every katakana word includes hiragana support (furigana), so learners can enjoy reading with confidence.

I hope this book helps you discover both the Japanese language and the creativity found in Japanese cake shops.

Happy reading!

— Mariko Sensei

📖 Your Next Japanese Reader

Now that you’ve practised reading です・ます sentences with additional information, continue your Japanese reading journey with more authentic language and culture.

Try these readers next:

• つるしびな — Continue reading simple descriptive sentences while discovering a beautiful Japanese tradition.
• ぼくの にほん — Continue developing your reading skills through descriptive texts about life in Japan.
• こどものひ — Learn about a traditional Japanese celebration while reading richer descriptive sentences.

These Japanese readers are intended for individual use and extensive reading (tadoku).

© Mariko Earle. All rights reserved.