Step 1
Hiragana
46 sounds, not an alphabet. Each mark is a mora: one beat. English syllables are a different count.
An alphabet builds words from letters. C, A, and T are not words until you stack them. Hiragana does not work that way. か is already the whole sound ka. You do not spell it from smaller pieces.
English speakers hear syllables. Japanese counts morae. A mora is a beat you can clap. Long vowels, the small っ, and ん each take their own beat.
とうきょう
to · u · kyo · u
Tokyo. Four beats, not two.
と = to · う = u · きょ = kyo · う = u
English “Tokyo” feels like two syllables. The hiragana is four morae. きょ is one beat, because the ょ is small. That is the whole difference you need before the chart.
ほん
ho · n
Book. Two beats.
ほ = ho · ん = n, its own mora