A Day in an Island | Japanese Listening Practice

A Day in an Island | Japanese Listening Practice

Hello, everyone. Right now, I’m in a town by the sea. Today, I’m going to take a boat to that island over there. I’m also going to visit someone who lives on the island. I hope you enjoy watching. Looking to the right, I saw Onomichi Station. We’re meeting up at Onomichi Station. “Aki-san, Aki-san, good morning!” I was able to meet Aki-san, who will guide us today. First, we’re going to rent bicycles. It says “Shimanami Rental Cycle.” The bikes are rented out in the parking lot. We’re lining up in the queue. We complete the paperwork at the counter. And then, we choose our bikes. After that, we pick our helmets. When you ride a bicycle, you have to wear a helmet. Aki-san chose an orange one. I chose a gray one. First, we head to the ferry terminal. It’s near the place where we rented the bikes. We’ve arrived. We’ll get on the boat from here. It’s hot, so I’m buying a bottle of water. Also, we need coins for the ferry fare. We’re getting on the ferry now. It’s my first time taking a bicycle onto a boat. This is the starting point for cycling the Shimanami Kaido. The Shimanami Kaido connects six islands with bridges. You can ride a bike all the way to Shikoku, crossing those bridges. We’re going to the home of someone who lives on the first island. That over there is a shipyard. They build ships there. “110 yen.” “110 yen?” It’s 100 yen for a person and 10 yen for a bicycle, so 110 yen total. You need cash to get on the ferry. We arrived in no time. We’re getting off the boat. There are people waiting to board. From here, we’ll continue by bike. We stopped by a shop along the way. This shop is famous for cider and ramune. It’s said to have been around for 95 years. The design looks retro. “Since you’re here, you should try it.” “Ah, okay.” “Is it filming okay? Is it working?”
“Thank you. Should I press hard here?” “Yes, press firmly.” “There you go!” “Oh!” “You scared her!”
“Thank you!” “Excuse me, thank you very much!” This person cheered me on. And they even got up to offer us their seat. This is a drink called “ramune.” Ramune in glass bottles is quite rare these days. “Okay, thank you.” “Thank you!” Now we’re heading to the home of one of Aki-san’s students. Aki-san is an English teacher. When we ride along roads like this, it doesn’t feel like we’re on an island. But we really are on an island. The expressway you can see ahead is the Shimanami Kaido. When traveling by car, you go over that. There’s a gas station here. There’s a 7-Eleven here too. On the left is a school. “By the way, how much farther is it?” “We’re almost there… maybe 10 or 15 minutes.” “Ah, that’s pretty far.” There were hills too, so it was pretty tough on the bike. That sign is funny, isn’t it? A car is buried in the ground. This scenery looks a lot like where I live in Yamanashi. We saw King Kong — and beyond him, the sea. We’ve arrived. We park the bikes and lock them up. Now, let’s go inside. “Oh, hello!” “Hi, good afternoon.” “Thank you so much.” This is Kazuko-san. She said that many cyclists pass along this road every day. “Excuse me” “Come right in!” “Sorry it’s not very tidy.” “No, it’s really lovely.” She had lunch prepared and was waiting for us. “Sorry to intrude. Oh, thank you for today.” “Oh! Hello!” “Hello.” This is her husband, Toshiaki-san. This dish is called “yakisoba.” It’s often eaten for lunch. “Also, this is just a small gift from Yamanashi. It’s called Shingen mochi.” “Ah, yes, I know it.” “Please have some if you’d like.” When giving a gift, we often say, “It’s nothing special, but…” “Oh, thank you very much.” This tea was handmade by Toshiaki-san. It was really delicious. “When I say to her “someone said they want to stay here, is that okay?” Then she goes, “Ah, well, it’s not fancy or anything, but sure, of course.” They always welcome people warmly.” The couple has hosted homestay guests many times. A student from Sri Lanka once attended high school from here. “She wore a school uniform?” “Yes.” “Wow!” “That must’ve been so cute, like a daughter.” “One month?” “Three weeks.” She stayed for three weeks. This year, they hosted a 70-year-old guest. “Sixty? Seventy? So, about the same age as me.” “Seventy?” “Yeah, around seventy. He might come again next year.” “Right, right.” He said he’d like to come to Japan again. He must’ve had a really wonderful time. They showed us the room where homestay guests stay. Here, they lay out a futon to sleep. This is called a tokonoma. A tokonoma is usually found in a guest room. People decorate it with flowers and such. These flowers are from their garden. Here is the garden. It looks like someone is practicing golf over there. Kazuko-san is going to show us her art studio. There are some very large works. This is a Chinese poem. “Kanshi” refers to poetry from ancient Chinese dynasties. That desk with a garden view is lovely, isn’t it? It looks like a good place to focus. There are so many fine brushes. Can you tell what this says? Here’s a hint: it’s a flower name. The answer is “sakura” (cherry blossom). It does look like sakura, doesn’t it? This calligraphy was written using two brushes. This one’s a bit difficult. Can you read it? It says, “I want to live strong like a weed.” “Weed” refers to the kinds of grass that grow anywhere. They grow even though they weren’t planted. They’re very strong. This was what I found most interesting. You can see creases and folds on this paper, right? This… “This turns into this.” It becomes smooth, with no creases or wrinkles at all. It’s an amazing technique. This one is also a Chinese poem. But apparently, fewer and fewer people can do this kind of work nowadays. At Kazuko-san’s house, you can also try calligraphy, and even wear kimono. Now we’re going to get a tour of the island. We’re going by car. “Thank you very much!” Alright, let’s head out. Right after we left the house, we saw the sea. It’s like a private beach. “This is a Moai statue.” “A Moai statue…?” Believe it or not, there was a Moai statue. It’s so mysterious. Let’s go have a look at the sea. These trees are fig trees. The white stuff is sunscreen, apparently. They apply it to protect the trees from sunlight damage. There’s a heart. It’s a photo spot. Can you see the bridge over there? Apparently, the road ends just ahead. “Ikidomari” means there’s no road beyond that point. You can see several islands. There are stairs down below. If you turn here, there’s a house of someone they know. The house is right by the sea. There’s a cat, too. Living by the sea must be wonderful. We received some homemade sweets. They said it’s a South African recipe. “It’s really beautiful here when the weather is nice.” “But it’s cloudy today, so it’s a bit underwhelming, right?” “Imaichi” means it’s a little lacking or not quite there. It’s very beautiful, but I think it would have been even more amazing on a sunny day. There was someone walking their dog. It’s a beautiful beach. Apparently, this road is very popular among cyclists. Rain was in the forecast for today. So we didn’t see anyone cycling. Boats are docked here. If you like exercise, I recommend cycling. It’s such a refreshing place. These small boats are apparently for people to enjoy fishing as a hobby. I want to try fishing from a boat someday, too. Apparently, this is a guesthouse. I heard many foreign visitors stay here. It’s right in front of the sea. How nice. There were surfboards at the guesthouse we saw earlier. They said you can do paddle surfing here. “Paddle surfing” is when you stand on a surfboard and paddle to move. These people are on a motorbike tour. Riding a bike here must feel great, too. Houses and land along the coast are very popular. That’s why they rarely go on the market. This beach is said to be great for swimming. The waves look calm. “Odayaka” means calm or peaceful. We can see a bridge up ahead. It’s said to be the second bridge of the Shimanami Kaido. “Here, here, here!” “This is the Hawaiian pancake place.” “Yes, yes, that’s the one!” This shop is famous for its pancakes. We’re getting closer to the bridge we saw earlier. You can cross this bridge by bicycle. Bikes pass through the inside section of the bridge. Once you go over the hill, you can see the sea. And you can see many islands. Now we’ll head back home from here. This kind of road looks like it could be near my own home. But just a bit further ahead, there’s the sea and the islands — it felt very surreal. It was completely different from the scenery I usually see. “Right now, the roses are in full bloom, sensei. I could take you there.” “Thank you.” “There are so many places I want to take you!” “You’re so thoughtful…” “Guests doing homestays here get to see all kinds of wonderful places like this.” Kazuko-san was incredibly kind. Kazuko-san and her husband will also host a couple from Singapore for a homestay in June. Anyone who gets to do a homestay here on this island at Kazuko-san’s house is really lucky. But actually, you can do it too. Aki-san is organizing a 10-day homestay program. Starting in September, it will be held every month. Only one person stays with each family, so the program is limited to six participants at a time. Isn’t the most memorable part of a trip the connections you make with the local people? With a homestay, you can have deep, meaningful interactions with the host family. I think it will become a memory that lasts a lifetime. I think it will become a memory that lasts a lifetime. I’ll leave the link in the description box. “We got to see so many wonderful things. Thank you so much.” Now we’re riding our bikes back to the ferry terminal. It looks like Aki-san found something. It was this shop. “Is your shop open today? Ah, it is? Hello!” This shop has been around for 102 years. They sell all kinds of things. These rice bowls are apparently antiques. They’re retro and cute. “Oh, wait! I found something nice. This is a dustpan.” “It’s made of paper?” “Yes.” A “chiri-tori” is something you use to collect trash swept up with a broom. This dustpan is quite rare. It seems the homestay program also brings people to this shop. That sounds like fun. This area has all kinds of tools and goods for sale. They even sell signs. These are signs you put up by the roadside. This dog is called “Merci-chan.” She’s cute, isn’t she? There was also a turtle. They said it’s about 30 years old. “Thank you very much!” “Excuse us.” We’ve arrived at the place where the ferry departs. Now we’re getting on the ferry. I don’t ride ferries very often, so it’s exciting. This ferry can carry cars too. It seems we pay for the fare on the boat. There were jellyfish. Did you see them? “10 yen and 100 yen.” The return trip on the ferry also cost 110 yen. This time, we visited a place called Mukaishima. I hope you’ll visit too! Thank you so much to Walter Eerdekens-san, Chuchu-san, and Joan Wang-san for the Super Thanks! I truly appreciate your support! Lastly, I’d like to share a comment — it’s a question from Raju-san. Nowadays I am your regular viewer … I have passed JLPT N3 from Nepal and now it’s been 3 months living in Japan but unfortunately I can’t speak Japanese properly. How can I improve? Thank you for your question! I think the reason you’re having trouble speaking Japanese might be because you’re not yet comfortable forming sentences in Japanese. If that’s the case, here’s a simple and effective idea: try writing five sentences in Japanese every day as a diary. The first four should be just facts — for example: Where did you go? What did you do? Who did you meet? And the last sentence should be about your feeling — how did you feel when you did those things? Then, ask ChatGPT (or any AI tool) to correct your sentences. Doing this every day will really help you get used to thinking in Japanese. If by “can’t speak properly” you meant pronunciation, I also offer a subscription course focused on Japanese pronunciation and speaking practice. And this part is for everyone watching: I really want to help Japanese learners improve their Japanese, and I’d like you to speak with confidence. That’s why I created a course to help you improve your pronunciation, rhythm, pitch accent, and intonation. If you want to feel more confident when speaking with Japanese people, please check out my subscription course! You can find the link in the description. Thank you so much for watching till the end, hitting the like button, and sharing it with friends. Have a great day, everyone, and see you in the next video!! See you!

#shimanamikaido #shimanami #onomichi #inaka
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