January 19, 2012

#03-006: Visiting Japan

a wooden hut is in the foreground; a conical mountain covered with snow rises in the background against a deep blue sky.
Mount Fuji, symbol of Japan
(Wikipedia)

Note: Keesha's going to Japan! Follow along as she tells Akemi where she plans to go and what she plans to see on her upcoming trip.

Get Ready: What do you think about things like anime, manga, and cosplay? Do they soud fun? Or silly? Talk about them.

Keesha, from America, is chatting with her Japanese classmate Akemi in the Common Room of their dorm.

Akemi: Hi, Keesha. Any plans for the holidays?

Keesha: Actually, I'm visiting Japan!

Akemi: Oh! I miss it so much! What will you do there?

Keesha: Well, first, I want to see some things in Tokyo connected to anime and manga.

Akemi: Oh, you mean like the kids doing cosplay at Yoyogi Park?

Keesha: Yes! I also want to shop for some manga there in Harajuku, then see the Tokyo Anime Center in Akihabara.

Akemi: That will be easy; both of those places are on the Yamanote Line.

Keesha: Right. Then I want to take the bullet train to Osaka.

Akemi: Oh, I love the Shinkansen! Watch for the views of Mount Fuji to the right.

Keesha: Thanks for the tip.

Akemi: What are you planning to do in Osaka?

Keesha: Actually, I'll just stay there and take side-trips. Besides manga and anime, I like the old culture of Japan, too.

Akemi: So you're going to Kyoto?

Keesha: Sure! And Nara and Asuka, too.

Akemi: Ah, Japan's ancient capitals. There's lots to see there.

Keesha: I'm sure. But I also want to find an onsen to relax in, and stay in a traditional ryokan. It sounds so "Japanese-y."

Akemi: Ohh, I'm so jealous! Have fun!

Keesha: Thanks.

NOTE: The bullet train is called the Shinkansen in Japanese.  The one Keesha mentions is the Tokaido Shinkansen; built in 1964 (in time for the Olympics), it carries 4.9 billion passengers a year. The 320 miles (515 kilometers) from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka takes about two hours and 25 minutes.

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Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan

Practice: Match the term to its definition below:

  1. Akihabara
  2. anime
  3. bullet train
  4. cosplay
  5. Harajuku
  6. Japan's ancient capitals
  7. Japanese-y
  8. manga
  9. Mount Fuji
  10. onsen
  11. Osaka
  12. ryokan
  13. the Yamanote Line
  14. Tokyo
  15. Yoyogi Park

  1. a traditional Japanese inn
  2. Japanese comic books
  3. a hot spring
  4. a made-up adjective for things with a very Japanese style
  5. one of Tokyo's most popular hang-outs for young people; the site of the main Olympic athletes' village for the 1964 Summer Olympics
  6. Japanese animated films and cartoons
  7. Japan's capital, and the center of the world's largest metropolitan area with around 35 million people by some counts
  8. next to Yoyogi Park, it's Tokyo's most popular district for young people to hang out and shop
  9. Tokyo's electronics district
  10. one of several high-speed railway lines
  11. dressing up as a favorite anime or manga character
  12. a train that runs in a circle in central Tokyo; most other lines in the city connect to it.
  13. Asuka, 538-710; Nara, 710- 784; and Kyoto, 794-1869.
  14. part of Japan's second-largest populated area.
  15. at 12,389 feet (3,776.24 meters), the highest spot in Japan, and a national symbol

Answers are in the first comment below.

Submitted to the Shenzhen Daily for January 19, 2012

This lesson received 211 visits on my old site between January, 2012, and July, 2021.

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1 comment:

  1. Professor Jim BucketJuly 24, 2021 at 12:05 PM

    Answers to the Practice: 1. i; 2. f; 3. j; 4. k; 5. h; 6. m; 7. d; 8. b; 9. o; 10. c; 11. n; 12. a; 13. l; 14. g; 15. e

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