N4 Japanese listening practice: Walk around the Samurai Road Town in Japan! #139

Good morning, everyone! It’s Ken! Right now, I’m driving.

Today, I want to take you to a really interesting place. It’s a cool place, Back in the day, when samurai were around… like, a long time ago… Samurai. .

. a lot of them used to walk around here, and even stayed here. That’s where we’re heading today.

That town still looks just like it did back then. It really hasn’t changed at all. So you can still see what Japan looked like a long time ago.

Let’s go check it out together today! Right now, I’m near my family’s house in Japan, and it takes about an hour and a half to get to that place from here. Yeah, about an hour and a half by car.

Alright, let’s drive safely and hit the road! I’m taking a little break. It’s good to take breaks when you’re driving, right?

I’m gonna grab a drink. I forgot to bring water or tea with me. So I’ll get some tea from a vending machine.

I’ll go with hot tea. Oh, I can use Suica to pay, right? Yep, got it.

Ahh, nice! It’s warm! It’s a bit chilly today, so hot tea really hits the spot.

Let’s drink! Ahh, so good. Do you guys take breaks when you’re on road trips too?

Breaks are important, right? Alright, let’s get going! Okay, we’re here!

This place is called Tsumago-juku. It’s in Nagano Prefecture. Have you ever been to Nagano?

Nagano has a lot of mountains. It’s a place with beautiful nature. Out of all the places in Japan, this might be my favorite.

Can you see it? There’s a bridge right there. Oh wow!

Look, everyone! There’s a river here! Isn’t it beautiful?

It took about two hours to get here from my house. Actually, I stopped on the way to pick up my grandparents. And my mom came with us today too.

She’s over there. So today, it’s me, my grandparents, and my mom. My grandparents live between my family’s house and this place.

So I thought, “Since we’re going on a little trip, why not invite them? ” and gave them a call. And they were like, “Yeah, let’s go!

” So the four of us came together today. This place—oh wow, it’s really nice! It’s super beautiful here!

Let me show you the view. Check it out! Right here!

Amazing! It looks just like the old days! It’s a weekday today, so there’s barely anyone here.

It’s really gorgeous! It seriously feels like the past. Are you guys interested in Japanese history?

Do you know about the Edo period? Japan has a bunch of different historical eras. The Edo period was about 200 years ago.

It’s one of Japan’s historical periods. Back then, there were still samurai. It was the time when samurai were around.

Back then, samurai would walk from Edo all the way to Kyoto. Edo was what Tokyo used to be called. So the samurai walked from what’s now Tokyo all the way to Kyoto.

That’s a pretty long way. Nowadays, people just take the bullet train. Even by bullet train, it takes about three hours.

But back in the day, samurai used to walk all the way from Tokyo to Kyoto. Of course, there’s no way you could walk from Tokyo to Kyoto in just one day. So naturally, they had to take breaks along the way.

And this is one of the places where they took those breaks. Back then, samurai would walk from Tokyo, and they’d stop here to eat or stay the night. That’s pretty amazing!

I bet samurai used to stay upstairs in buildings like that one. There are inns, cafés, and a few lunch spots around here. It’s so cool!

The buildings still look like they did back then. Seriously, wow. The buildings are really beautiful!

That sign says “Yado,” which means it’s a place to stay. So yeah, this town was built for samurai to rest. But nowadays, it’s famous as a tourist spot.

It’s been getting more and more popular lately. So yeah, there are even some foreign tourists here now. There are all kinds of little shops.

You’ve got souvenir shops, and they even sell soft-serve ice cream. Yeah, lots of different kinds of shops. Do you guys like towns like this?

Traditional Japanese-style towns like this. . .

Do you like places with old Japanese buildings? I love them! When I visit places like this, I really feel like, “Yeah, this is Japan!

” or “I’m really in Japan! ” That’s the kind of vibe I get! This looks like a place to grab some lunch.

There’s a menu posted over there. They’ve got curry rice, soba, and even soft-serve ice cream on there. Wanna go check it out?

Okay, here’s the menu. I had breakfast today around 8 a. m.

So I’m not super hungry yet. What time did you guys eat breakfast today? Actually, I’ve been here before.

Yeah, I came here a long time ago. And there’s this one spot where you can take some really great photos. Let’s go check that place out!

Ah, such a great vibe here! Wow, it’s so quiet. Super peaceful.

Looks like a little shop here. What do you think? The view is amazing, right?

And no one’s around right now—perfect! Ah, here it is. My favorite photo spot is just up ahead, straight down this path.

Right up those stairs. Yeah, this looks good. There’s a mountain over there.

And old Japanese buildings on both sides. If you come to a place like this, you’ve gotta take a photo! There’s a shop over there!

Let’s check it out. Gohei mochi. .

. Hi there! Do you have Gohei mochi?

Yes, we do! I’ll take one, please! That’ll be 300 yen.

Here you go. Thanks so much! Would you like to eat inside?

Sure, inside is fine! Is it okay if I film a video inside? Go right ahead!

Thank you so much! Oh wow, it’s warm in here! Oh, this is awesome!

Such a great atmosphere! That T-shirt over there looks really cool! I think I’ll sit here.

Hi there! You already placed your order? Yep!

Just a moment, please! Thank you! Oh, could I have some tea?

Sure, go ahead! So, this one’s barley tea, and that one’s called Enmei tea—it’s got herbs in it. Is that a local tea?

Yep, it is! It tastes really good too, so give it a try! Okay, thanks!

I will! Okay, the gohei-mochi I ordered just arrived! Can you see it?

It’s a rice-based dish. It’s a local specialty from around here in Nagano. Alright, let’s dig in!

The tea is really good too! This gohei-mochi is super tasty! It’s got this sauce on the outside.

It’s a special kind of sauce. I just ordered it, and they made it fresh for me. So it’s hot off the grill!

Yep, just made! It’s seriously good! It was so good, I already finished it!

I kinda want another one! Right? It’s crazy good!

Alright, now let’s try this one. This is the tea the staff recommended earlier. Mmm, that’s good!

This one’s really good too! Do you guys like tea? Japanese tea is seriously tasty!

Can you buy Japanese tea where you live? These days, you can get it in lots of countries. Thanks for the meal!

That was great! It was really delicious! By the way, that tea I had earlier—can I buy it?

Enmei tea? Oh, sure! You can buy it.

Want one? This one? Yeah, I’ll grab it for you.

Thanks so much! So, you’re not a student, right? Nope, I’m working now.

What do you do? I teach Japanese. To foreigners.

So you use other languages too? Yeah, sometimes I speak English. Are you Japanese?

Yeah, I'm Japanese! Take a seat and relax! You’re teaching Japanese to foreigners?

Yep, that’s right! That’s awesome! Come back anytime!

I will, thank you! Thank you so much! That was amazing!

Take care! Good luck with everything! See you, Ken!

I'll be back for sure! Thanks again! Wow, that was such a great place!

I’m definitely coming back! The name. .

. is Konohanaya. You know, every time I come back to Japan, there’s one thing I always think about.

I’m Japanese, so I can speak the language. When I come to places like this, I can chat with the locals in Japanese. When I travel, I love talking with the local people.

A lot of people learning Japanese want to visit Japan someday, right? I know the Japanese language is really difficult. But if you get better at it.

. . You’ll be able to have real conversations with locals when you travel!

So yeah, Japanese is difficult, but please don’t give up! Keep studying, keep practicing, and come visit Japan! It’ll make your trip to Japan so much more fun!