kamaboko; steamed seasoned fish paste, usu. in a semicylindrical shape on a strip of wood and sliced to go in soup, etc.
small dried sardines or anchovies (gomame) cooked almost to dryness in soy sauce and sugar; tilling a rice field; person who tills a paddy field
handmade; homegrown; hand-crafted; homemade
frequently; often; (staring) fixedly; narrowly; closely
soup containing rice cakes and vegetables (New Year's dish)
tool; means; ingredients (added to soup, rice, etc.); counter for sets of armor, utensils, furniture, etc.
wise; sensible; well-advised; intelligent; sagacious; prudent
chemical reaction; generation of an unexpected result from combining things
(unrefined) brown sugar; muscovado
castella (type of sponge cake)
to lessen; to decrease; to diminish
bread flour (high gluten); strong flour; hard flour
property; fortune; assets
sweetness; sugary taste; sweets; dessert; cake
fool; idiot; dotage; senility; touched in the head (from); out of it (from)
to cure; to heal; to fix; to correct; to do over again; to replace
hardly any; almost nonexistent; very little
January; first month of the lunar calendar
latter period; second half; late stage; third trimester; second semester
in drops; dripping; gently (sloping); sluggishly; endlessly; leisurely
serious; important; significant; grave; weighty
news; word; tidings; omen
continuation; rest (of the story, work, etc.); flow (e.g. of a piece of writing); pacing (of a story); succession (of); sequence
obligation chocolate; chocolate given by women to male colleagues, etc. out of obligation on Valentine's day
nonchalant; unconcerned; in a casual manner
counter for people (usu. seating, reservations and such); first name; famous; great; name; noun
the person in question; prominent figure; distinguished person; that person
to follow around; to shadow; to tag along; to haunt one (e.g. feeling, failure); to follow one
chocolate given to a man on Valentine's day out of genuine sentiment
I got it; I see; I now know; So that's the reason
I've heard that ...; rumour has it that ...; it appears as if ...