association; socializing; socialising; fellowship
lunch break; noon recess; noon rest period
bread; (sweet) pastry; staff of life; one's bread
to buy; to purchase; to value; to have a high opinion; to stir; to provoke
to wrap up; to pack; to cover; to envelop; to conceal (a feeling); to hide
to line up; to stand in a line; to rival; to match; to equal
having in mind; happening to know of; idea
promise; agreement; convention; rule; destiny; fate
to be delighted; to be glad; to congratulate; to gratefully accept
How did you like ...?; How about ...?; What's going on?; How's it going?
happiness; good fortune; luck; blessing
appearing that; seeming that; looking like; having the appearance of
to laugh; to smile; to sneer; to ridicule; to be dumbfounded; to be flabbergasted
(somebody else's) parents; both parents
Kyūshū (southernmost of the four main islands of Japan)
Ginza (shopping district in Tokyo); (Edo period) silver mint
to look forward to something
to spoil; to break; to go bad; to go wrong; to fail
there's no (other) way; cannot be helped; unavoidable; it's no use (doing); pointless; hopeless (person)
persistent; obstinate; tenacious; relentless; insistent; importunate
to search about for; to hunt around for; to look high and low for; to look everywhere for
grip; having all the cards needed to form a scoring combination in one's hand
lecture (esp. special engagement by noted speaker); lecture meeting (event with one or more lectures)
(my) wife; inside the home; one's family
from the viewpoint of; according to
minute; detailed; careful; scrupulous; thorough
reliable; trustworthy; hopeful; promising
understanding; comprehension; appreciation; sympathy
of course; certainly; naturally
opposition; resistance; antagonism; reverse; opposite; inverse
sincerely; earnestly; repeatedly; over and over; again and again
tenth day of the month; ten days
all over Japan; throughout Japan
private; non-governmental; non-official; folk; popular
investigation; examination; inquiry; enquiry; survey
to ascend; to go up; to ascend (as a natural process, e.g. the Sun); to rise; to go to (the capital); to be promoted; to add up to
jumping straight to the business, ...; I know this is abrupt, but ...; let's skip the pleasantries; getting to the point