On the weekend I visited Hamamatsu Air Park. It`s a kind of museum, with lots of planes (including two F-86 Sabres, a kind of jet that I blogged about recently: http://en.bloguru.com/otto/295189/f86-sabre ) and other displays related to JASDF. It`s kind of far from my home, and the park entrance is kind of difficult to find, but my family & I really enjoyed it. Oh, and entry is free (入場無料) - my kind of place!
Hamamatsu Air Park website: http://www.mod.go.jp/asdf/airpark/
Grammar:
- 'a kind of + 名詞' = 名詞の一種
- 'kind of + 形容詞' = ちょっと 形容詞
- 'my kind of + 名詞' = 私好きな名詞の種類'
Do you like horses? How about horse? I tried it last night at スシロー. Yes - horse sushi! I saw it on the menu and thought, "Why not?" (ま、いいんじゃない?) It was a little tough (硬い), but it tasted okay. Have you ever eaten horse? No? Why not (なんでしないの)?
Grammar:
- I like frogS. Do you like frogS? Yes, THEY are cute.
- I like frog. Do you like frog? Yes, IT tastes like chicken.
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
A couple of weeks ago I found a green swallowtail (揚羽) cocoon in my garden: http://en.bloguru.com/otto/294414/green-cocoon . While I was gardening on Sunday, I found two brown ones. One of them was in an interesting place - can you see?
Some people think cocoons like this are creepy (気色悪い) & gross (気持ち悪い), but I think... well, yes, I agree they are kind of creepy & gross, but they are interesting too.
Do you have a garden? Do you like gardening?
Vocabulary:
- garden = にわ gardening = にわいじり, にわづくり
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 )
My wife received a letter with a bunch of old stamps on it. Nice! I`ll add them to my collection. I`ve been interested in stamps since I was a kid. My second brother is crazy about stamps. He has a bunch of albums & containers full of stamps in his house & he`s a member of a stamp club in my hometown of Brisbane - he & a bunch of other stamp-geeks ( オタク ) meet every month at a local church. I`ve joined them a couple of times - it was good, geeky ( オタッキー ) fun!
Vocabulary:
- a bunch of ___ = some/a large number of ___ in a group
In January I visited the Queensland Air Museum ( http://qam.com.au/ ) in Australia. They have a lot of cool planes, displays, & activities. We had a good time. My second son wanted to buy a plastic model in the gift shop, but I told him, "Not now. I`ll buy you one in Japan." When we returned to Japan, I bought him a 1/72-scale P-86 Sabre, which was one of the planes we saw at the museum, and we made it together.
Vocabulary:
- Sabre = 剣 Sabre-toothed tiger = 剣歯虎
I found a video on Youtube about making acorn ( どんぐり) coffee. There are lots of acorns at my local shrine (神社) so I gathered some & tried it. This is the recipe I used:
1. First, take off the shells (殻)
2. Next, chop or grind the acorns
3. Then boil them in water
4. After that, throw away (捨てる) the brown water, which contains tannins.
5. Repeat #4 a few times, until the water is clear
6. Next, roast the acorns until they`re dark brown
7. Finally, add boiling water, wait a few minutes, and drink!
How was it? A little bitter, but okay. I`d like to make it again, but it`s kind of a hassle (面倒くさい).
Vocabulary:
- Next = Then = After that* (Be careful: not "After then")
Recently, two Teragoya students sent us postcards from abroad, written in English - thanks and well done! Although postcards are slower than emails, I prefer receiving postcards to emails. How about you? Which do you prefer?
Grammar:
- AとBとどちらの方が好きですか? = Which do you prefer (`like` じゃなくて) - A or B?
Sometimes I check the lime tree in my garden for insects, damage, etc. Today I was surprised to find this green cocoon on it. It must have been there since sometime last year. Usually swallowtail cocoons are brown, but sometimes they`re green. I guess this butterfly will come out sometime this Spring. I hope to see it.
Vocabulary:
- Sometime = いつか
- Sometimes = ときどき
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