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  • Hashtag "#旅行" returned 80 results.

Zoo Trip

May
23
thread
Zoo Trip
On Sunday, school staff & students visited Higashiyama zoo in Nagoya. It was a nice day - a little cloudy so not hot. The 6 girls in my group were well-behaved & enjoyed looking at the animals & hearing my interesting animal facts e.g. that hippos are the most dangerous African animal (did you know that?). The most popular animals seemed to be the koalas - it was a little crowded there.

Vocabulary:
Be careful: cloudy = 曇り crowded = 込んでいる
#動物 #旅行

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Magical Miyako Island

May
8
thread
Magical Miyako Island
Last week I visited Miyako Island with my family. We spent a lot of time in the water; my kids enjoyed playing in their swim rings (浮き輪) & I enjoyed snorkeling. I saw a lot of colorful small fish, but not many big fish. We also collected a lot of shells. I`m thinking of making (作るうと思う) something with them for our school`s craft event in September.

The weather was good - a lot of sunshine & not much rain. As for food, I ate a lot of Okinawa-style noodles, & of course drank a lot of Orion beer. I had a lot of fun.

Natural English:
- In spoken English, it`s usual to use 'many' (with 可算名詞) & 'much' (with 不可算名詞 ) in negative ('not') sentences & questions. BUT! in positive sentences - 可算名詞 OR 不可算名詞 - it`s usual to use 'a lot of', or 'lots of' (casual style) in spoken English.
#動物 #旅行 #虫

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Onwards & Upwards from Otsu

Nov
29
thread
Onwards & Upwards fro...
The final leg of my cycling trip around Biwa Lake was up the left side, from Otsu to Makino. It`s quite a long way, but fortunately there were good bike paths & wide footpaths most of the way. There was also a lot of nice scenery. I enjoyed myself.

My destination was a scenic tree-lined road called Metasequoia Namiki (メタセコイヤ並木), which my wife recommended seeing. Have you ever been there? I reached it just before sunset. After that I caught a train to Tsuruga, on the Japan Sea coast, camped there one night, & returned to Ichinomiya by train the next day.

Vocabulary:
- footpath* (イギリス英語) = sidewalk** (アメリカ英語)
- *foot 足 + path 道/林道 **side 側 + walk 歩く
#旅行

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Biwa Lake Sunrise

Nov
28
thread
Biwa Lake Sunrise
I camped by Biwa Lake again. Although it was cold, I hardly noticed because I was so tired after riding all day. However, I got up before dawn the next morning. I hardly ever get up so early, so I hardly ever see the sun rise. I took this photo with my phone. Actually, I took a bunch of photos - when I`d finished, I had hardly any power left in my phone battery - oops!

Vocabulary:
- 'hardly' = almost zero, so 'hardly ever' = almost never, 'hardly noticed' = only noticed a little, 'hardly any __' = almost no ___, 'hardly anybody' = almost nobody
#旅行

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Kiyomizu Temple

Nov
25
thread
Kiyomizu Temple
I rode my bicycle across Lake Biwa & over the hills to Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto. It was raining, & I wasn`t wearing* weather-proof clothes, so I bought a cheap raincoat at a convenience store (my old raincoat was worn out**).

When I arrived at Kiyomizu Temple, I saw a lot of people wearing* kimonos. Actually, most of them were Chinese, not Japanese, but they looked nice. I took some photos then went to Kyoto Station to catch a train back to Lake Biwa. I didn`t want to ride my bicycle back over the mountains. After riding all day I was pretty worn out***.

Vocabulary:
*wear = 着る
**wear out = 使い古す, worn out = 使い古した
*** wear out = 疲らす, worn out = 疲れ
#旅行

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Chat with Cat & Kayak Chap

Nov
21
thread
Chat with Cat & Kayak Chap
After leaving Hikone, I cycled south for a couple of hours, then stopped at a convenience store to buy food. I hadn`t talked to many people that day, but I talked to a cat outside the convenience store:

"Hello, cat! What`s up? Are you hungry? Nice cat, can I take a photo? Oh, thank you... Say Mee-ow...!" [I took a photo] "Okay, get lost (=失せろ)."

I don`t like cats.

Next I rode a couple of kilometres to a campsite, set up my tent, made a fire, & cooked my dinner. After dinner I went down to the lake to fish & drink beer. About 11pm, a car approached (近寄る).

I thought, "Maybe it`s security."

A man got out & asked, "What are you doing?"

Yes - must be security. I said, "I`m fishing."

He asked, "Where are you staying?"

Yep - definitely security. I said, "I`m camping over there."

He asked me a few more questions, & we chatted a little. Finally he said, "I`m here to go night kayaking."

Haha - he wasn`t security after all (結局). Indeed, he then went back to his car, got a kayak from his car, & went kayaking on the lake ...at 11pm ...in late autumn. What a strange chap (=man)!

Soon after that, I gave up trying to catch a giant Lake Biwa catfish (ビワコオオナマズ) and went back to my tent in the empty campsite to sleep.

I slept well.

Vocabulary:
- go fishing = 釣りに行く, fish (動詞) = 釣りする
- go camping = キャンプに行く, camp (動詞) = キャンプする
- go shopping = 買い物に行く, shop (動詞) = 買い物する
etc.
#旅行

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Hikone Castle

Nov
20
thread
Hikone Castle
After arriving in Hikone from Nagahama, I had lunch and fixed my loose bicycle seat, then went to look at Hikone Castle. It was larger than I expected. The autumn leaves hadn`t reached their peak yet, but the grounds & views were nice. I was impressed. After I looked around & took photos, I returned to my bicycle. Before leaving, I checked my bike seat one more time. It was okay, so I left Hikone & continued cycling down the east side of Lake Biwa. I wanted to find a campsite before dark.

Grammar:
- After/Before + 名詞: OK
- After/Before + 動詞ing: OK
- After/Before + 主語 + 動詞 (NOT 動詞ing): OK
- After/Before + 主語 + 動詞ing: WRONG
#旅行

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Loose Seat Leads to Neat Sight

Nov
16
thread
Loose Seat Leads to Neat Sight
While riding From Nagahama to Hikone, my bicycle seat became loose. While I was trying to fix it, I looked across the road & noticed this field with several old-fashioned water pumps in it. Cool! I like this kind of pump, especially the curved handle. I popped across the road & took this photo.

Every cloud has a silver lining! [イディオム: すべての雲は銀の裏地を持っています = 不幸中にも幸いあり]

Vocabulary:
Be careful!
- A bicycle has a SEAT, not a saddle (In English, saddle = 鞍)
- A car has a STEERING WHEEL, not a handle (In English, handle = 取っ手)
#旅行

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Nagahama

Nov
16
thread
Nagahama
Last week I went on a cycling trip around Biwa Lake. I started in Nagahama, on the north-east side of the lake. It`s a picturesque town with a castle & lots of traditional buildings. It`s famous for glassware (vases, drinking glasses, jewelry and things like that), but I didn`t buy any glassware. Instead (代わりに) I bought a lunchbox wrapping cloth (風呂敷) as a souvenir of my visit. After about an hour, a big group of students on a school excursion (遠足) arrived, so I decided to get back on my bike & head for Hikone Castle.

Grammar:
- go/be cycling, go/be traveling, go/be camping
- go to/be in Nagahama, go to/be in the bathroom
- go/be ON a trip, go/be ON an excursion, go/be ON a tour
#旅行

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Shiraito Falls

Aug
1
thread
Shiraito Falls
Shiraito Falls is a waterfall (滝) near Mount Fuji. Although the weather was hot, near the waterfall it felt cool. Later we went to a cave (洞窟) called The Fuji Fugaku Wind Cave. That felt REALLY cool; even in summer the temperature falls to 3 degrees inside. After just 5 minutes I felt it was time to leave.

Vocabulary:
- Falls [名詞] = waterfall
- Be careful: fall (落ちる, 落下) の過去形 = fell, BUT feel (感じる) の過去形 = felt
#旅行

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