Hiragana & Katakana Workbook: Fun, Easy, Beautiful

Hiragana & Katakana Workbook is a dedicated workbook for learning to read and write hiragana and katakana. Each of the 92 characters gets its own page with stroke guidance, notes on proportion and balance, bad example comparisons, and writing practice squares. The source kanji is a nice bonus. A QR code on each page links to a video of the character being handwritten with a pen. Quizzes appear every 10 to 15 characters, with short sentence practice at the end. Pronunciation audio and flashcard videos are accessible free online.

The book opens with an introduction to the Japanese writing system, vowel pronunciation, and the 50-sound syllabary chart. Instructions and explanations are in English, Chinese, and French.

If you want to tick kana off a list and move on, this is not for you. But if you have the time, or if you have been reading kana for a while but never quite nailed the handwriting, this is the one for you. It's old-school, but in a more enjoyable way.