This game is completely in Japanese, but after you play around with it for a while you get a hang of the basic controls.

There is a primary menu where you can select the top option to start a game, it comes up with a select screen with three color options. I do not know Japanese, but from what I saw on the game, and from the other mermaid melody games I have played, the first time the three options come up it is to select the character and the second time is to select difficulty.

The game plays similarly to Mario party in that it is a turn based digital board game. The first option in the menu after you start a game will allow you to "roll" for a number, the amount of music notes is how much you move, the squiggle is a 0.
The second option on the menu allows you to use items, I made the mistake of using bad items on myself causing my speed and luck to decrease quite a lot.
The second to last option allows you to look at the board to plan your moves.
You are shown a goal you have to reach, then after you reach the goal you must head to the center of the map. The first to reach the center typically wins and starts a small fight like sequence where all three character roll numbers to defeat three lines of text I can't read.

The game is rather fun to play even if don't know Japanese as long as you are willing to figure out the controls. I hope this helps anyone else who wants to play the game.