Cardiff, the capital of Wales

Hi everyone! 

I've been looking for a city to live in the UK. My ideal place is compact but convenient and also with many parks. Actually I visited Brighton, England last year. Of course it's a really nice place, but I'm also interested in Cardiff. So could you tell me your opinion or story about Cardiff. please?

Thanks. 

Dreams Come True : one of my favourite artists Dreams Come True is a Japanese pop band. The music which they create is a hybrid of R&B, Funk, Pop, Rock and so on. Miwa Yoshida who is the main vocalist and the frontwoman always sings powerfully and soulfully to send the songs to all the hearts of listeners. So I can feel sad songs are sadder and happy songs are happier. If you go to Dreams Come True concert, you would find her dancing and running on the stage to show herself to the audience in all directions as well as singing. And also you would notice everyone smiling and singing loud to her songs happily. I like the atmosphere of the live peformance very much. Therefore I'm a big fan of Dreams Come True.

The Lake District

Hi there, 

 

I have a plan to visit the Lake District, England this summer. Have you been to there before? How was that? I will be really happy to hear from you about your story of the Lake District.

 

Thank you. 

An amazing shrine in Japan I visited Mekari Shrine in Kitakyushu, Japan on 2nd of January. It was the first visit of the year and we say it hatsumoude in Japanese. The shrine is located very close to Kanmon Strait amazingly, so if you like, you could approach to the pricincts from the water. The strait is between Honshu (the largest one of the four major islands of Japan) and Kyushu (the southernmost island of the four). Please look at my picture and if you use Bullet Train between Honshu and Kyushu, you will move in a tunnel under Kanmon Strait. Of course, you couldn't see anything through the windows of Bullet Train. By the way, Mekari Shrine was connected to a massive historical event in the12th century. There was Battle of Dannoura in Kanmon Strait and it was the last battle of the Genpei War which was the conflict between the Genji Clan and the Heishi Clan. It was said that some people of Heishi held a banquet at the last night before the final fight in the pricincts of the shrine. But Heishi eventually lost the war and most of them disappeared in to the water.Therefore Mekari Shrine is very historical and unique one of thousands of shrines in Japan.

Which is better for the same ones in Japan , flat or apartment? There is a word means a set of rooms that is used as a home (usually in a large building). Britsh people call it flat and the American do it apartment as you know. But which should we call it in Japan? And also what should we say a railway system under the ground in Japan? Underground or tube? Subway? How about film and movie? How about trainer and sneaker? Dose it depend where are listeners or readers from? Or are there some international rules?

What are the best ways to make local friends in foreign countries? I have a plan to visit and stay in the UK next year. So I'd like to know how to make local friends there in the real world, not just on SNS. Join Meetup events? Visit local pubs? Whatever you recommend would be fine. Please give me your advice about it.

A stamp vending machine One day, I went to a WHSmith post office in Brighton, UK, because I had to buy stamps to send picture post cards to my family in Japan. 'Excuse me, where is an post office?, I said to a shop asistant in the ground floor. ' It's in the basement', he replied.'Thanks!', I went down to the basement and found a post office soon. On the left were a lot of people in a queue in front of a counter and this place seemd to be specialized for money exchange. 'OK. I know there are many foreign tourists like me', I tought and looked on the right.' What's that? Oh my goddess! It must be a stamp vending machine. I've never seen a machine like that before in Japan', I was slightly paniced. ' Calm down! I should ask a post office staff about the machine. It would be a easy way', I said to myself. There was only one staff except ones behind the counter, so he seemed to be very busy though, I said to him 'Excuse me, but could you tell me how to use this machine,please? Of course, he explained abou that. However I couldn't understand what he was saying, because he spoke so quickly.I could catch just the words 'Push that! Push that! Push that! It's done'. 'What a shame! I've been learning English for several months. Is this intermidiate plateau?', I was disappointed with myself. When I came back home, I told the story to my host family and they laughed a little. And then I eventually found my negative feelings like shame or embarrassment were gone.Yes, I know evreything is experience for me in the UK and also my journey to master English has just begun.

Is that coffe or not ? One day I went for a walk along the beach in Brighton, the UK. It was a warm day in october. There were a lot of people including foreign tourists like me there. I got thirsty and went to a cafe near the beach. 'Hello' I said . 'Hi there' one of the staff replied with a lovely smile. I ordered 'I'll have a cup of coffee, please. She said ' Sure. We have Latte, American, espresso, cuppuccino, but I recommend the new one. It's blah-blah-blah......’ Unluckily I couldn't understand her explanation about the new one, because she spoke faster with passion. However, I thought it must be tasty from her great enthusiasm for the new one. So I said 'OK. The new one, please. After a while my coffee seemed to be ready. But when she was bringing it to me, I felt somethong wrong and starange. It wasn't a cup, actually was a tiny glass and some black liquid in it. 'Umm, I think I've seen the same one before, probably on Japanese TV programme about Dublin. I drank it a little , and suddenly the name came up in my mind. 'Come on! This is Irish Coffee.Oh my goddess! I drank too much yestreday.' Of course I wsan't in the mood to drink whiskey at the time. I left the cafe after I was struggling with my coffee for the moment. I know I should have asked her to speak more slowly. And then I've been struggling with English even now. By the way, my story goes on ......maybe.

A drunk Japanese guy in London I'd been having a home tuition course for a fortnight in Brighton, the UK in October this year. One day my teacher took me with him to London as an excursion. We visited stunning and magnificent buildings like Backingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and so on. Finally we went to a pub after The Tower of London. He orderd beer and I had sweet cider. The taste of it was really good and also it was easy to drink for me. Eventually I had a pint and a half. Actually I hardly drink in Japan. After a while, my face turned red like the sunset and I could hear my heart beating clearly and also it was getting faster and faster.But I thught I became normal soon. So we walked to the nearest station to go to Victoria Station. When I got on the tube, I found how dangerous I was. I mean I'd been sick badly and seeing everything was yellow for five minutes. I said to myself in my mind like 'Takashi, you are Japanese. You mustn't do anything rude or unpleasent against other people on a train, especially in London. You can do it! Yes you can!' To tell the truth I was about to vomit in the public, but I did manage to prevent a disaster because of my encouraging words. Fortunately I wasn't the first Japanese person who vomits on the underground in London and I'm still a perfect gentleman.