Otto's blog

Roundabout

8月

1日

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This trial roundabout is near Shiraito Falls in Fujinomiya. It used to be a normal intersection (交差点). Roundabouts are common in Australia, so I`m used to driving through them, but there aren`t many roundabouts in Japan, so Japanese drivers aren`t used to them. That`s why there are many warning signs for this one. For me, it`s funny - like seeing signs saying,"Warning! Trial Traffic Lights ahead! Drive Carefully!"

Grammar:
- 名詞 + used to + 動詞 = よく～したものだ、昔は～していた、以前は～したものだった
- (be) + used to + 名詞 / 動名詞 = 慣れている

Could Be a Crown...

7月

14日

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I spotted this car going past my school. It might be an old Nissan Cedric. Or it may be a Gloria. Or it could be a Toyota Crown. Or something else...? Could be!

Vocabulary:
- "Might/May/Could + be + ___" means we are not sure if something is true or not.

Purple Lamborghini

4月

14日

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Right next to our school is an expensive boutique. Right outside it was this fancy Lamborghini. Right away, I got my camera & took a photo.

What do you think of it? Actually, this is not my kind of car. I prefer older, classic cars. Also, the driver`s seat is right down near the ground. It must be difficult to get in & out of this kind of car.

Vocabulary:
- 'Right' has various meanings e.g. 右, 正しい, 権利 but 'right + 前置詞' usually means 'ちょうど___' or　'すぐ___'

Star Wars Car Decals

4月

7日

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I got a new car. It`s longer, higher, & roomier (roomy = 手広い) than my previous one. Now, with these Star Wars decals on it, it`s way geekier too.

I bought them on ebay ( http://www.ebay.com/ )
Vocabulary:
- 'way ___er' = much ___er e.g. Australia is much bigger than Japan, but Japan`s population (人口) is way higher than Australia`s.

Ichinomiya Airstreams

3月

29日

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I`ve blogged about this place before - http://en.bloguru.com/otto/98775/cool-caravans-in-ichinomiya - but I thought I would give you an update on their inventory. Nice, aren`t they? I think this is their website: http://www.onyx.dti.ne.jp/~american-trailer/

Trailers aren`t popular in Japan, but they are in Australia, especially with 'grey nomads' - retirees (退職者) who like to travel.

Vocabulary:
- A 'trailer' is called a 'caravan' in the UK, Australia & New Zealand, and a trailer park is called a caravan park

Lodekka Curry & Noodle Restaurant

3月

27日

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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 )

Datsun 510 Bluebird

10月

28日

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While walking around my neighbourhood, I noticed this car parked in someone`s carport. It`s a Datsun Bluebird from around 1970. It`s nice, isn`t it? I especially like the colour. What`s your favourite car? favourite colour? favourite ice-cream flavour?

Spelling:
Some words spelt 'our' in British English are spelt 'or' in American English:
- UK: neighbour, colour, favourite, flavour
- US: neighbor, color, favorite, flavor

Chevrolet Nova

9月

23日

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On Sunday I went to Itadori. On the way, we passed a caryard full of cool old cars. As we went past, I quickly took this photo of one of the cars (my wife was driving). It looks like a Chevrolet Nova from about 1970.

Later I looked online & found the place: http://carcass.jp/

Vocabulary:
Be careful: `through` & `pass/past` are different:
(車で) 店の前を通る = go/drive past a shop OR pass a shop
(車で) トンネルを通る = go/drive through a tunnel

Landrover Defender

8月

15日

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I saw this cool Landrover in Fukui. I`ve never owned a Landrover, but I`ve always wanted one. I`ve just been looking at Landrovers like this one online & they are all manuals (ミッション). Unfortunately I`ve only got an automatic license. I`ve never needed a manual license in Japan - I`ve only driven automatic cars here.

Grammar:
- I have + never/always/only/just + 過去分詞

Gulf Oil Nostalgic Car Festival, Nagoya

6月

14日

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On Sunday I went with my two sons to a car show at Nagoya Port. They were really impressed:
"Wow! Cool!"
"Great! Look at that!"
"Look at this one - I like this one!"
"Daddy, buy this one, please!"

Actually, this was when they saw the food stalls outside.

Finally, after eating, we went inside the exhibition hall & looked at the cars. There were a lot of impressive cars. This was one of my favourites - a Ford Mustang.

Vocabulary:
- Be careful: impressed = 感じ入る impressive = 印象的