Otto's blog

Yuta Cafe, Ichinomiya

Jun

30

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This cafe is next to a big, old textile-weaving factory, which you can walk into* and look around. There are lots of interesting things in there to look at. If you`re into** antiques, local history, etc, I recommend it.

http://www.yutacafe.jp/

Vocabulary:
* walk/go/jump/drive into... = 入る
** be into... = 好き、興味がある

Thai Restaurant in Kanayama

Jul

11

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I found out* about a Christian bookstore called CLC in Kanayama, Nagoya, so this week I visited it for the first time and bought a couple of books. I was surprised to find* this Thai restaurant, called 東桜パクチー just around the corner, so I had lunch there. I ordered Basil Chicken with rice, which was tasty. However the thing I enjoyed most about this restaurant was that inside it looked like a real Thai roadside restaurant - cool!

Vocabulary:
* find out = 聞込む
** find = 見つける

Lodekka Bus Restaurant

Jan

23

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This place is in Ichinomiya. I`ve blogged about it before: https://en.bloguru.com/otto/295431/lodekka-curry-noodle-restaurant

It`s a restaurant inside a London double-decker bus. Beside the bus there is a small building that looks like an English pub, but it`s just a foyer (玄関) ...unfortunately. Besides ramen or curry & rice, there aren`t many dishes on the menu, but it`s a fun place to eat, especially if you have small kids (or if you`re a big kid!).

Vocabulary:
- beside = 隣
- besides = 他に

Dong Khoi Vietnamese Restaurant

Jun

20

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Yesterday I went to a nice Vietnamese restaurant in Iwakura, Aichi for lunch. It`s a bit far from Gifu, but not too far from where I live in Ichinomiya. My wife & I sat outside on the terrace, which was warm, but not so bad. The food was delicious, & not that expensive. I recommend it!

https://tabelog.com/en/aichi/A2302/A230201/23043474/

Grammar:
- not + too/so/that + 形容詞 = そんなに [形容詞] ...ない

Lodekka Curry & Noodle Restaurant

Mar

26

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At this restaurant in Ichinomiya, you can eat your meal inside this London double-decker bus. You can choose upstairs or downstairs. It`s interesting, isn`t it? Of course my kids loved it. Geeky dad enjoyed it too.

This is their website: http://www.lodekka501bta39.com/

Pronunciation:
- In English, 'London' is usually pronounced ランダン or ランデン (not ロンドン )

Yanagase Okinawan Restaurant

Sep

16

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While looking at dinosaurs in Yanagase in Gifu (http://jp.bloguru.com/otto/249138/yanagase-dinosaur-display), I noticed (見かける) a new Okinawan-theme restaurant. We decided to have lunch there. I ordered Okinawan-style `souki soba` noodles. It was delicious. I decided not to drink Orion beer. I noticed they had root beer, so I ordered that instead (代わりに).

Sorry, I don`t remember the name of the restaurant, but if you look for it in Yanagase, or ask somebody there, I`m sure you can find it.

Grammar:
- decide [not] to 動詞 = 動詞[ない]ことにしました

Pele`s Up Diner, Ginan

May

26

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Upstairs from our Teragoya Ginan school is a restaurant called `Pele`s Up Diner`. I went there for the first time on Monday & tried one of their American-style hamburgers. It was really tasty. Yum!

The decor is great too. There`s even a `bobber`-style bike inside. If you have a chance, I recommend checking it out.

http://www.pelesup-diner.com/

Vocabulary:
- In Japanese, `bike` = バイク = motorbike
- In English, `bike` = motorbike OR bicycle, so:
I ride my bike to school = 自転車で学校に行きます
Do you have a bike license? = バイクの免許はありますか？

Kura Restaurant

Mar

2

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Today I went to Inuyama Castle. After looking at the castle, I had lunch in this restaurant nearby. It`s interesting - it`s a converted* `kura`, which is a traditional, thick-walled storehouse. I like this kind of (こんな) building.

Grammar:
*convert = change, so:
オーペンカー (Japanese English) = a convertible (English) because you can change it from `roof on` to `roof off`

Scones With Gerunds (どうめいし)

Feb

26

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A student of mine had trouble making scones.
I recommended trying my recipe ( http://jp.bloguru.com/otto/160064/scones-recipe )
After trying my recipe, she was happy.
She gave me two of the scones which she made.
I enjoyed eating them.

It was a win-win outcome (outcome = result = こうけっか).

Thank you for making scones, Chikage!

Gerunds:
- have trouble ___ing
- recommend ___ing
- After ___ing
- enjoy ___ing
- thank you for ___ing

Hot, Groovy & Embarrassing

Feb

10

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When McDonald`s have a new kind of burger on sale, I like to try it. Today I tried their new `Hot & Groovy Beef Burger`. It`s a silly name & kind of embarrassing to order:

"Hi. Can I have one hot & groovy beef burger, please?"

Anyway, it tasted pretty good - a bit hot but not too much. I guess it tasted groovy too. I don`t know - what does 'groovy' taste like? Like gravy maybe?