party people; clubbers; frequenters of nightclubs
hard-to-get-into school; elite school; highly-selective school
career enhancement; improving one's career prospects
having a strong alkaline taste; harsh to the taste; excessively strong-willed; fiercely individualistic; strongly idiosyncratic
shelving (a play, movie, etc.); closing down; cancelling; rice storehouse of the Edo shogunate
summer greeting card; inquiry after someone's health in the hot season
designer drug; synthetic drug; quasi-legal drug; (lit.) dangerous drug
water filter; water purification system
system of automatic advancement to high school and university without an entrance exam
one-coin (i.e. able to be paid for with only one coin, esp. a 500-yen coin, sometimes a 100-yen coin); costing 500 yen; costing 100 yen
mother-in-law; foster mother; stepmother
leaving (fleeing) the capital
rising rapidly (e.g. prices, popularity); soaring; skyrocketing; going through the roof
to get involved or entangled in; to get mixed up in; to have something to do with; to have dealings with
not knowing what to do with the time one has on one's hand
job hunting; job searching
elementary, junior high and high school
to be nauseating; to be disgusting; to be revolting; to throw up; to vomit
Sasamorpha borealis (species of bamboo grass unique to Japan)
payment; provision; benefit; performance
pompom; pompon; pom-pom; pom-pon
clubbers; frequenters of nightclubs; partygoers
to be jealous of; to envy; to begrudge
sobriety; soberness; sober face
lye; harsh taste; bitter taste; scum (on a soup, broth etc.); (excessive) self-assertiveness; strong individuality
to pile up and up; to pile up more and more; to mount (e.g. debts, concerns)
finding oneself; self-discovery; journey of self-discovery; search for self
reconciliation (with one's spouse, adopted child, etc.)
to ration out and survive on (some food); to eke out a living
personal (affairs, reasons, etc.)
bright (weather, mood, voice, etc.); clear; fine; beautiful; glorious; splendid
lack of words; being tongue-tied; suppressing what you want to say
the very start; the very beginning
different (from); not the same (as)