Japanese Listening Practice | In Kagurazaka

Kagurazaka, this is Kagurazaka. Hello everyone. I've just arrived at Kagurazaka.

Kagurazaka is in Tokyo. Today, we'll walk along Kagurazaka Street from here to here. Let's go outside first.

This is Kagurazaka Street. Look at this. It says "Salmon French Ramen.

" I've never seen salmon in ramen before. There are many shops on both sides of this street. This is a Japanese sweets shop.

"Wa" means "Japanese. " So "wagashi" means "Japanese sweets. " They sell various types of Japanese sweets.

I'm going to buy dorayaki. They are souvenirs for my children. Do you all know what dorayaki is?

It appears in Doraemon. The "Dora" in Doraemon comes from "dorayaki. " Thank you very much.

This is a supermarket. This is a bookstore. That's a bank.

It's Japanese-style, isn't it? "Wafuu" means "Japanese-style. " There are many Japanese-style shops in Kagurazaka.

That's a stationery store. They say you can see a memo written by Natsume Soseki in that shop. Soseki is a famous author.

I'm introducing the beginning of a Soseki's book in this video. Please check it out if you're interested. They are Japanese lanterns.

They light up at night. The lanterns are also Japanese-style, aren't they? This is a shrine.

I heard the narrow street on the opposite side of this shrine is nice. Let's go take a look. They say walking these narrow streets is the best way to experience Kagurazaka.

This is a galette shop. This shop has a nice Japanese-style atmosphere, doesn't it? We'll turn here.

The main Kagurazaka Street is ahead in that direction. This is a bar. This is a hotel.

It says "Retro Hotel. " It looks like there's nothing further ahead. Let's go back.

We'll turn this way. Can you read what this says? It says "Not open.

" It means the shop is not open right now. This is called "ishidatami" (stone pavement). These are stone-paved steps.

This shop is also Japanese-style, isn't it? This shop doesn't have its lights on, so it's not open. It's a shop that opens at night.

I heard Kagurazaka is also beautiful at night. This shop has its lights on, so it's open. Let's go to the street next to it.

The street here is also stone-paved. There are many shops on both sides of the street. Now, we're back on Kagurazaka Street.

They are wind chimes. They have nice sounds, don't they? By the way, "kagura" in Kagurazaka means music for the gods.

This character means "god," and this one means "music. " In the case of "music," this character is read as "on" and this one as "gaku," so it's pronounced "ongaku. " But for "kagura," it's a bit different.

These two characters together are read as "kagura. " It's not that this part is "ka" and this is "gura," or this is "kagu" and this is "ra. " The two characters together are read as "kagura.

" For example, the characters for "today" are read together as "kyou. " It's the same concept. Then, with the character for "slope" added, it becomes "Kagurazaka.

" This place has a nice atmosphere, doesn't it? It says "Kagurazaka Maeda. " This part says "Kaga.

" "Kaga" is the old name for Ishikawa Prefecture. Ishikawa Prefecture is located here. For example, Tokyo and Saitama were once called "Musashi.

" Yamanashi, where I live, was called "Kai. " And Ishikawa was "Kaga. " That Kaga belonged to the Maeda family.

So this shop must have some connection to Ishikawa. My daughter lives in Ishikawa. So I feel like going into this restaurant.

I'll have lunch here. Excuse me. .

. They said I could film. Thank you very much.

The staff is wearing kimono. It's very Japanese, isn't it? This is a private room.

I was able to relax in this spacious private room by myself. My lunch has arrived. This is kinjisou, and yuba with bekko-an sauce topped with wasabi.

This is tamagoyaki (Japanese omelet). I've never heard of kinjisou before. I heard it's a Kaga vegetable.

Well then, let's eat. This is kinjisou. It's my first time eating it.

It tasted good. The other dishes all tasted good too. You can come here for lunch without a reservation.

But you need a reservation for dinner. I'm sure dinner is also very delicious. You should try the sake too.

I'll put a link to the restaurant's website in the description. Thank you for the meal. It was very delicious.

Now, let me show you how to hold chopsticks. First, hold them like a pencil. Use three fingers.

Then place the other chopstick here. And then place it on top here. Move the chopsticks with these three fingers.

The street next to this restaurant had a great atmosphere. I love these narrow stone-paved streets. After that, I went to a cafe.

On the way to the cafe, there were many restaurants with nice atmospheres. This is the cafe. It's called "Kagurazaka Saryo.

" You can enjoy Japanese-style sweets with Japanese tea here. Look at this big shaved ice dessert. You can choose your Japanese tea from these options.

After that, I went to a nice place. Hello. Are you Fumi-sensei?

Yes, that's right. Hello, Akane-sensei. Hello.

Akane-sensei from "Akane's Japanese Classroom" has published a book. Congratulations! I went to Akane-sensei's pop-up store.

This is the book. "Odekake" means going out for shopping or dining. It contains many useful conversations for such occasions.

For example, Lesson 1 is about making a restaurant reservation. You can use this conversation when making a phone reservation for the restaurant we just visited, Kagurazaka Maeda. It also includes conversations for use at hotels and hospitals.

People living in Japan and those visiting Japan can practice with this book. I'll put a link in the description. Please check it out.

After that, I went home by train. It was very hot, but it was a good day. Kagurazaka is a wonderful place.

Please visit if you can. Which Japanese town do you like? Please let me know in the comments.

I read all of your comments. They're very encouraging. Here's the comment I want to share with you today.

Is you name Mohan-san? This is a comment on a video where I went to a very beautiful river before. I am beginner.

. . is it for me Fumi San?

But I couldn't understand all . . .

. . .

just 5%. Have a good luck Thank you. Thank you for your comment!

I'm sorry if it made you feel discouraged. In my Walk-and-Talk videos, I (try to) use N5 and N4 grammar. But for vocabulary and kanji while I try not to use too complicated ones, I don't limit them to N5 and N4 levels So if you're a complete beginner, it must be difficult.

But if you continue learning, you'll reach that level. so please don't be discouraged and keep learning! Let's work hard together!

Lastly, let me talk about my subscription course. The reason I switched to English now is that the course is taught in English. In this course, you can learn about Japanese phonetics.

including pronunciation, rhythm, pitch accent, and intonation. I believe that having this kind of knowledge is crucial for effectively improving your pronunciation, especially if you’re an adult. Understanding the theory can be much more helpful than simply listening to a lot of content without focus.

While I do recommend immersion, I think it’s more effective if you also have a good grasp of Japanese phonetics. I recently added a Premium plan, which includes two private sessions with me. Since the number of available spots is limited, please check it out soon if you’re interested.

The link is in the description. You can also subscribe to the newsletter from the same link. Well, that's all for today.

If you liked this video, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel. And I'd be really happy if you could recommend it to your friends. See you in the next video.

See you!