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On Sunday I went to Ogaki festival. I`d never been to it before. It was bigger than I expected, with more stalls (やたい) & people than I expected. As expected, the stalls were selling the usual things - shaved ice (かきごおり), fried noodles (やきそば), corndogs (アメリカンドッグ) etc. My kids especially (とくに) like chocolate-coated bananas (チョコバナナ). In addition to other food, they ate two chocolate-coated bananas each. I was surprised - they ate much more than I expected at the festival. I hope this means they had a good time.
Have you ever been to Ogaki festival? What did you think of it?
Grammar:
- expect = 積もり
- as expected = 予想通り
- [adjective形容詞]er than (I) expected = (私) 予想より[形容詞]
- more [adjective形容詞] than (I) expected = (私) 予想より[形容詞]
- more [noun名詞] than (I) expected = (私) 予想より[名詞] たくさん
Iwato`s annual (= every year) festival was on Sunday. It was overcast (= cloudy) but fortunately it didn`t rain until the end of the festival.
My sons wanted to catch goldfish. It cost 300yen for a normal paper scooper (ポイ) or 500yen for a metal mesh spatula. Paper ones are hard to use, so I chose spatulas, which are easier for kids to use. The 3 of us manages to catch 7 goldfish. My sons were thrilled (= very happy) but my wife wasn`t thrilled; "1500yen for 7 goldfish?! Expensive!"
Grammar:
- easy (for 人) to + [verb動詞] = ____やすい
- hard/difficult (for 人) to + [verb動詞] = ____にくい
During my kids class, a fire engine suddenly pulled up (=stopped) outside, & firefighters ran across the road to a nearby building. I didn`t see or smell any smoke, & the fire engine left (出た) soon after, so I don`t think it was anything serious. The kids in my class really wanted to look. While they were watching, I took this photo.
Grammar:
- during + [noun名詞] e.g. during the night, during Golden Week etc.
- while + [verb動詞] e.g. while waiting, while I was living in NZ etc.
This is one of the 3 floats (だし) that will feature in this (April 20) Sunday`s Iwato Shrine festival in Ichinomiya. Last year there were heaps (= lots) of people, but the weather forecast (よほう) for this Sunday is rain, so I think there will be fewer people than last year. Anyway, whatever the weather, I`m gonna go. If you wanna go, Iwato Shrine is near Meitetsu Iwato Station, between Gifu & Ichinomiya. Come on!
Grammar:
- fewer/more + [countable noun 加算名刺] e.g. fewer people/cars, more kids/shops
- less/more + [uncountable noun 不加算名刺] e.g. less noise/time, more beer/smoke
Besides (以外) beachwood, I also like to look on the beach for fishing floats like these. They`re colorful, right? I found two when I went to the beach last Saturday. I found the other ones on previous trips. My collection is growing...
Which one do you like best? I think the pink & brown one is nice. I also like the small orange one.
Grammar:
- Which one(s)...?
- the (adjective形容詞) one(s)
Yesterday I went to the beach to collect beachwood. As you can see, I found some interesting pieces. I will use them to make things like toys, containers, furniture, picture frames etc.
After collecting wood on the beach all morning, I went to an Italian Restaurant* for lunch. I chose a table by the big front window to enjoy the great sea view.
Soon the weather will warm up & lots of people will start going to the beach, so the beaches will be cleaned up. Then it will be hard to find good beach wood.
Grammar:
- Go/went to (place) to (verb動詞 ) = ...動詞しに場所に行く/行った
- Go/went to (place) for (noun名詞) = ...名詞に場所へ行く/行った
* Palazzo Italian Restaurant: http://d-atom.tv/para.html
Recently I was telling my son about flying fish. I think he didn`t believe me that fish could fly. However, near our house there is a business with this sign, so I took him to see it.
"Look - that`s a flying fish," I told him.
I don`t know if he believes me now or not but it`s a good excuse to post this sign on my blog. I like it. It`s cool retro-Japanese.
Have you ever seen a flying fish? Or, like my son, do you think I`m lying that fish can fly?
A week ago Teragoya held its annual kids speech contest. There were two sessions - one in the morning & one in the afternoon. Altogether there were about 50 kids. They each read a story from a book, then were asked some questions by a teacher
The standard was really high. I was impressed, especially by the kids` confidence, even though they were standing on a stage alone, in front of a big audience. Well done guys!
Today I went to the dentist for my once-a-year check-up. She said my teeth are okay, but I should floss more.
"Do you floss everyday?" she asked me.
"Er... well, not EVERY day..." I answered.
"You should floss everyday. Do you have dental floss? You should keep it in your pocket," she recommended.
I don`t know anyone who keeps dental floss in their pocket. Do you keep dental floss in your pocket? Is it a Japanese custom? I don`t want to keep dental floss in my pocket - my pockets are full of other stuff already.
I can`t decide how to deal with this difficult dental floss dilemma.
On the weekend there was an election (せんきょ) in Australia. As a result there is now a new Prime Minister (そうりだいじん ). His name is Tony Abbott. I hope he does a good job.
Good luck, Prime Minister!
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yukio 
KUMA 
mokomoko 
birdy 
内倉憲一 
PSPINC JP 
田仲なお美 
エメラルド 
bokushi