In my hometown, we had a lot of snow when I was a child, and icicles would form on the eaves of houses. But now we don't see any icicles anymore, and it hardly snows at all. Sadly, we can no longer feel the seasonal traditions.

The English script for this episode can be found here. This will surely help you understand this entire episode. https://toralog.jp/podcast-episode11/

I introduce my hometown in English on YouTube. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJyb6vceAjGazPPGjJs-1Yw⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ It has Japanese subtitles, so I think it'll be useful for your study! Please take a look at that as well!

In Japan, the Hakone Ekiden marathon is held every New Year's Day. I always watch the live TV broadcast and cheer for the runners while drinking. I always cry when a runner fails to pass the baton to the next runner. It was just like the barrier I had experienced at a marathon, and I could understand the frustration of the runners.

The English script for this episode can be found here. This will surely help you understand this entire episode. https://toralog.jp/podcast-episode10/

What do you want this year to be like? Or do you declare that you will?

Please describe what kind of year you want this year to be by using one kanji character.

A single kanji character can express a meaning. You can use your favorite kanji you know now, or you can look them up and find them, so you know what each kanji means before you choose one. You can't decide without knowing the meaning of the kanji.

Here are the kanji I have chosen!

For those who want to make 2024 a good year, I recommend the character 祥(しょう), which means 吉祥(きっしょう) or 発祥(はっしょう)! The character 祥 means a change from bad to good luck!

The English script for this episode can be found here. This will surely help you understand this entire episode. https://toralog.jp/podcast-episode9/

In Japan, we do a big cleanup at the end of the year. Cleaning up means cleaning every nook and cranny of the house, even the places that are not usually cleaned. Not only ordinary households but also companies and schools do it respectively.

And on New Year's Eve, people eat soba. In reference to the nature of soba, it is said that eating soba at this time of the year will drive away evil spirits.

The English script for this episode can be found here. This will surely help you understand this entire episode. https://toralog.jp/podcast-episode8/

If Santa Claus gave you the same gift every year, what would be your first request? I would like about 10 handkerchiefs. Because I have hyperhidrosis of my hands and feet and need handkerchiefs all year round. And I often lose them when I hold them in my hands. But handkerchiefs are expensive, so if I ask for 10 handkerchiefs, it will definitely cost 10,000 yen. I think I'll be modest and ask for only 3 handkerchiefs.

The English script for this episode can be found here. This will surely help you understand this entire episode. https://toralog.jp/podcast-episode7/

I introduce my hometown in English on YouTube. ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJyb6vceAjGazPPGjJs-1Yw⁠⁠⁠⁠ It has Japanese subtitles, so I think it'll be useful for your study! Please take a look at that as well!

Christmas is coming soon. In honor of this, here are five recommended Christmas songs! But unfortunately, due to copyright issues, we cannot play the songs in the episodes! The Japanese titles and artist names of the songs I've introduced are listed below, so please feel free to google them with a copy and paste!

The English script for this episode can be found here. This will surely help you understand this entire episode. (You can listen to a sample of the song here!) https://toralog.jp/podcast-episode6/

I introduce my hometown in English on YouTube. ⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJyb6vceAjGazPPGjJs-1Yw⁠⁠⁠ It has Japanese subtitles, so I think it'll be useful for your study! Please take a look at that as well!

One day, on my way home from a drink with my partner, I met two Italian men. They asked me for recommendations, so I took them to our favorite restaurant. Since I was studying English, I thought it would be a good chance to speak English with them. But my partner befriended them with a single non-English word!

The English script for this episode can be found here. This will surely help you understand this entire episode. https://toralog.jp/podcast-episode5/

I introduce my hometown in English on YouTube.⁠⁠ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJyb6vceAjGazPPGjJs-1Yw⁠⁠ It has Japanese subtitles, so I think it'll be useful for your study! Please take a look at that as well!

My partner's mom has lost her purse many times, but only once did she not get her money back.

I refer to my partner's mother as "Okaasan", not my mother. In Japanese, your mother-in-law is also called "Okaasan," so please do not be confused.

The English script for this episode can be found here. This will surely help you understand this entire episode. https://toralog.jp/podcast-episode4/

I introduce my hometown in English on YouTube. ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJyb6vceAjGazPPGjJs-1Yw⁠⁠ It has Japanese subtitles, so I think it'll be useful for your study! Please take a look at that as well!

This summer, our electric water heater broke because of a power outage. But we used it for 20 years, so it is more correct to say that it was triggered by the power outage. LOL. We spent a month in cold water showers because hot water wasn't available! As I take a bath every day, it was torture for me to not be able to take a bath or take a hot water shower!

The English script for this episode can be found here. This will surely help you understand this entire episode. https://toralog.jp/podcast-episode3/

I introduce my hometown in English on YouTube. ⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJyb6vceAjGazPPGjJs-1Yw⁠ It has Japanese subtitles, so I think it'll be useful for your study! Please take a look at that as well!

We bought a speaker because we wanted to watch Netflix with a movie-like sound, but our TV didn't support it!

The English script for this episode can be found here. This will surely help you understand this entire episode. https://toralog.jp/podcast-episode2/

I introduce my hometown in English on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJyb6vceAjGazPPGjJs-1Yw It has Japanese subtitles, so I think it'll be useful for your study! Please take a look at that as well!