How to Register for Nico Nico Douga

Today I had a particular Japanese internet meme to research. The last I had heard, Nico Nico Douga was the place where Japan was sharing their videos. The absense of an English version of the site as always made me avoid it, but today I figured that I might as well clumsily fumble my way through the site. And I managed to register successfully.

(click the thumbnails to enlarge)

Step 1. Go to http://www.nicovideo.jp

Step 2. Click the ORANGE BUTTON.

Step 3. You are now at the Login/Register screen. Click the DARK ORANGE button to get to the account selection page.

4. Account selection. The bright orange boxon the left leads you through the process of signing up for a paid premium account. You probably do not want this unless you can read Japanese, in which case, you have no need for this tutorial. Instead, go with the gray box on the right for a free "common" account.

5.Register your account. I have included translations for each field on the screen shot.

6. You will see a screen that basically tells you have been sent a confirmation email. You must read the email and click the confirmation link in order to activate your account.

7. Once you've read your email and clicked the link (can't find it? check your spam folder) then you will be taken to a page similar to this:

And that's it. You are now able to see what kind of videos people are making in Japan. You might want to keep Google Translator open in another tab, as you'll be doing a lot of copying and pasting just to get around.

To be continued in Part II: Navigating Nico Nico Douga.