生沢浩の体育会式英語塾

Yukari: What's that you're lookin' at, Rich?

Rich: (1) A list of gifts I'm thinking about getting Mom before (2) I leave Japan in February.

Yukari: Oh, that's nice. Here, lemme see... Well, right off the bat, I think you should forget natto... And (3) I don't think manga magazines are quite right either. Are you trying to be funny or what?

Rich: They're both very Japanese! Look, (4) "something traditional" would be the obvious and perfect choice, but I don't want to pay through the nose, so I ruled things out like kimono and other expensive things, like lacquer ware.

Yukari: So you're gonna head to Akihabara and grab a couple of manga and computer games?! (5) You can't do that. Get her something decent.

Rich: Well I'm stumped for ideas. Got any? (6) At this point anything unique, nice and relatively cheap will do.

Yukari: I still think you should get her a kimono... Hang on, (7) you know what? There's a place in Asakusa that sells loads of cheap kimono. (8) Why don't we stop over at that store when we visit Sensoji at New Year's? You'll definitely find something there.

Rich: I've heard that Asakusa is (9) one of the best places to go for Japanese souvenirs, but I just thought I'd be charged an arm and a leg. (10) If that's not the case, I'm all for it.

Yukari: (11) It's even better during New Year's because there's lots of souvenir stalls set up along the alleys leading toward the shrine. They'll have tons of cool stuff. Oh, and why not get her a greeting card to go with your gift? (12) A card with a beautifully snow-covered Mount Fuji or something on it would be nice, don't you think?

Rich: Yeah, sounds great. Right, I'll be counting on your help Yukari.