Blogs edited and submitted by Chiho Kamioka
JOI Support staff and manager.
Watching sports
Autumn is the season for sports in Japan
There is a saying in Japanese that can be paraphrased as; 'Autumn is the season for watching sports, reading books and eating great food'. Well, in the fall season of 2019 this is definitely true.
The Rugby World Cup is being held here, the finals of the baseball league championships are also on TV all the time, and the Japanese national teams are involved in a variety of international competitions from volleyball and athletics to figure skating and gymnastics.
In this interesting blog for Japanese learners, Yokozuka sensei writes about watching sports in Japan during autumn 2019.
She also includes several key words and phrases that a part of the JLPT examination curriculum.
Read this blog, listen and watch the video, and learn some new Japanese vocabulary and phrases.
スポーツ観戦
Watching sports
By YOKOZUKA Noriko
今、日本ではラグビーワールドカップが開催されています。もともと私はラグビーを見たことがありませんでしたが、先日テレビで初めてラグビーの試合を見ました。もちろんルールは全然分かりませんが、あまりの激しさに目をそらしながらも、最後にはテレビにくぎ付けになってしまいました。本当におもしろかったです。
スポーツ観戦といえば、私の中で特におもしろいと思うのはバレーボール、陸上、水泳、そして柔道です。日本の選手が出る出ないにかかわらず、一度見始めると途中でやめることができなくなります。仕事やら何やら他にやらなければならないことがあるのに、テレビの前から動けなくなってしまうのです。結局後でいろいろ後悔もするのですが、見終わった後の満足感は半端ないのです。
スポーツ観戦の魅力たるや、実におそるべし・・・！
To listen to this blog, please watch our Youtube video.
スポーツ観戦（かんせん）
今（いま）、日本（にほん）ではラグビーワールドカップが開催（かいさい）されています。もともと私（わたし）はラグビーを見（み）たことがありませんでしたが、先日（せんじつ）テレビで初（はじ）めてラグビーの試合（しあい）を見ました。もちろんルールは全然（ぜんぜん）分（わ）かりませんが、あまりの激（はげ）しさに目（め）をそらしながらも、最後（さいご）にはテレビにくぎ付（づ）けになってしまいました。本当（ほんとう）におもしろかったです。
スポーツ観戦（かんせん）といえば、私（わたし）の中（なか）で特（とく）におもしろいと思（おも）うのはバレーボール、陸上（りくじょう）、水泳（すいえい）、そして柔道（じゅうどう）です。日本の選手（せんしゅ）が出（で）る出ないにかかわらず、一度（いちど）見始（みはじ）めると途中（とちゅう）でやめることができなくなります。仕事（しごと）やら何（なん）やら他（ほか）にやらなければならないことがあるのに、テレビの前（まえ）から動（うご）けなくなってしまうのです。結局（けっきょく）後（あと）でいろいろ後悔（こうかい）もするのですが、見終（みお）わった後（あと）の満足感（まんぞくかん）は半端（はんぱ）ないのです。
スポーツ観戦（かんせん）の魅力（みりょく）たるや、実（じつ）におそるべし・・・！
Watching sports
Right now, the Rugby World Cup is being held in Japan. Originally, I had never watched rugby before, but the other day I watched a rugby game on TV for the first time. Of course, I completely do not understand the rules, but it was so intense that I couldn't look away and in the end I was glued to the TV. It was really interesting.
And on the subject of watching sports, I especially find volleyball, athletics, swimming, and Judo really interesting to watch. Whether or not any Japanese players are taking part, once I start to watch, I cannot stop in the middle. Even though I have work and other things to do, once I get in front of the TV and cannot move away from it. Ultimately, I end up regretting things later but after I finish watching, I get an incredible feeling of satisfaction.
The unexpected attraction gained from watching sports can never be underestimated!
目（め）をそらす look away from
釘付（くぎづ）けになる glue
～にかかわらず Whether or not, regardless of
半端（はんぱ）ない to a great extent; impressive; staggering; horrible; complete; whole; total
～たるや ＝～といったら Surprisingly, wow!, unexpectedly
恐（おそ）るべし not to be underestimated
Konnichi-wa, everybody. I am originally from Ringo-no-ri in Aomori prefecture, but I am now living in Kakaa-tenka in Gunma prefecture. I've lived in several other of Japan's prefectures as well, including Niigata (which has gorgeous sunsets), Tochigi (where the Nikko Toshogu shrine is located), and Gifu (land of the famous Shirakawa-go area of historic rafter roofed houses).
I myself am studying Chinese, so I can really relate to the difficulty of learning a foreign language. But still, if we can get past that step and feel the excitement of having just a single word understood, the feeling of satisfaction that comes from communication is, no pun intended, beyond words. I'd like to invite everyone who visits our online Japanese school with the thought "I want to speak Japanese!" to join my classes. Until the day when you can say confidently, "I did it, I learned how to speak Japanese!", I promise to do my best to help you in your Japanese language studies.