Sachi’s Little Stories - Japanese with anime voice

My partner sometimes buys me souvenirs when he goes on business trips. This time, however, he bought something a little different from what he expected.

I have recently started drinking alcohol with my mom whenever I go back to my parents' house; I didn't drink that much when I was in my twenties, but I started drinking every day in my thirties.

The other day, my mom and I discovered a rare type of sake called Koshu, which is sake that has been laid down like wine.

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.

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.

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!

• The Kanji I decided on is 躍(やく) for 飛躍(ひやく). This character 躍 means to jump up, to leap up, or to jump with great vigor. I want this year to be a year of leaps and bounds for me personally.

• The other is the character 裕(ゆう) in 裕福(ゆうふく), which has two meanings: to have enough things and can afford, and to have an open mind. Not only financially, but also in time and mind.

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!

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.

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.

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!

• クリスマス・イブ／山下達郎
• 恋人がサンタクロース／松任谷由実
• いつかのメリークリスマス／B’z
• 白い恋人達／桑田佳祐
• ゲレンデが溶けるほど恋したい／広瀬香美

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!

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.