KotobaSensei 2025-09-28T17:45:16Z

Rain lashed against the paper lanterns outside Nakamura-ya ryokan as I stood frozen, clutching a damp towel. The elderly owner tilted her head, waiting for words that wouldn't come. "O-furo... mizu?" I stammered, miming water levels. Her patient smile deepened my shame - three years of textbook Japanese evaporated when needing to ask about bath temperature. That humid evening, I smashed the install button on KotobaSensei with trembling fingers, my last yen spent on what colleagues called "anothe