Now before you ask - no, this is not a lesson about how to hook up with someone in Japanese.

Reading Niko's lesson about being a guest reminded me about a crazy fun experience from my time in Japan.

So let me tell you a little story.

ある日、ちょっとした旅に出かけようと思った。
あるひ、ちょっと　した　たび　に　でかけよう　と　おもった。
One day I thought about going on a small trip.
Literally: 'a certain + day + small* + trip + に + go out + と + thought.'

This may be just the first sentence of our lesson but it's already full of new information to learn.

ある日 does not completely overlap in meaning with "one day." It only works for stories and things that happened in the past. If you say 'I dream of going to Spain one day' you will instead use いつか（one day / someday)

*ちょっとした would literally be translated as 'little-made' but as this makes no sense at all I removed it from the literal translation. There are some things that just can't be made 'smaller' with using adjectives like '小さい \ちいさい\ little, small,' so instead this diminutive is used. It also has something to do with the fact that the 'smallness' refers to its significance. In a way it means that 'it's not a big deal.'

Other than ちょっとした旅, you could also come across:

ちょっとしたミス
ちょっと　した　みす
A small mistake
Literally: 'little + mistake/blunder'

ちょっとしたお礼
ちょっと　した　おれい
A little 'thank you' (gift) - it's usually about a gift or something that expresses your gratitude.
Literally: 'little + gratitude'

Next, I want to explain why I used the word 旅/たび/trip (or journey) and not 旅行/りょこう/ trip (or excursion).

It's good to learn the difference between the two.

With 旅, it's the journey that matters, not the destination. With 旅行 you almost always have a clear destination of where you want to go, a plan of how to get there and back again, and more or less a schedule of what you want to do.

So when I decided to just wing it, get on a train with the equivalent of 80 dollars in my pocket and just randomly roam around the prefecture for the weekend, you call that a little trip, or ちょっとした旅.

～ようと思った is a bit difficult to explain. Luckily, Niko already wrote an entire lesson on it:

[NDL #55] - Yo, hey. I think I'll... tell you my plans...

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So I packed my little satchel with my wallet, my phone and some random book and get on a southbound train. I knew I wanted to get to 淡路島/ あわじしま /Awaji Island, but no plan as to what to do when I got there.

The train left me in front of the humongous Akashi bridge, and I thought I was smart getting off there thinking I could cross it by foot. Turns out you can't really do that (which I find preposterous!). That thing bridges over the sea though, and it would take probably more than 20 minutes to cross it by foot and the strong winds could have blown me right off. So I comply and get on a bus. First stop, "Whatever-station."

For a while I just roam around, and then I come across this little artsy place, a museum of sorts.
Not much to see there, just some bedazzled old shoes and weird chandeliers.

Something caught my eye though, and I just sat there and stared at it for a few minutes completely spaced out, when the lady next to me, equally mesmerized by the vivid colors turned to me and said

トイレの窓、綺麗ですね。
といれ　の　まど、　きれい　です　ね。
The toilet window is pretty, isn't it?
Literally: 'toilet + の + window, + pretty + です + ね'

The golden afternoon sunlight graciously refracted through the tiny, yet wonderfully colored stained glass. You couldn't help but watch it glow in a warm, almost divine light, contemplating the deeply poetic meaning of the phrase "sitting on the holy throne." They called it that for good reason.

Awakening from my reverie, I turn towards the lady, feeling the deep mutual understanding that had just formed between us.

そうですね。
そう　です　ね。
It is so, isn't it?
Literally: 'so + is + right?'

- I replied.

We chatted for a while and looked around together. Thinking about how I should grab a bite somewhere, I ask her:

近くにレストランとかありますか？
ちかく　に　れすとらん　とか　あります　か？
Is there a restaurant or something around here?
Literally: 'close by + restaurant + or something + is there?'

Note: とか is a very useful expression. It can be used in the following two ways:

1. When you want to say "as such/or the like/or something" like in the example above.

2. When enumerating things. Example:

Q: フルーツサラダになに入れたの？
ふるーつ　さらだ　に　なに　いれた　の？
What did you put in the fruit salad?
Literally: 'Fruit salad + に + what + put in +の? '

A: ももとか、りんごとか、バナナとか。
もも　とか、りんご　とか、ばなな　とか。
Peaches, apples, bananas.
Literally: 'peaches + and such + apples + and such + bananas + and such'

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Long story short, there was no restaurant in the area.

レストランはないと思いますよ。
レストラン　は　ない　と　おもいます　よ。
I don't think there's a restaurant around here.
Literally: 'Restaurant + は + isn't + と + think + よ.

And then she goes like:

よかったらうちに食べにこない？
よかったら　うち　に　たべ　に　こない？
If you'd like would you come over and eat at my place?
Literally: 'If like + my place + に + eat + に + won't come?'

I had just been casually invited to dinner by a total stranger. So of course I said yes.
Long story short, I ended up eating over at their house, playing with their kids, and sleeping over at the house of an old lady in the neighborhood.

Fun times, fun times...

First moral of the story, never underestimate the power of randomly beautiful things.

The second moral would be: 'make sure to remember what Niko taught you inhis lesson, you never know when you'll be invited over for dinner in Japan.'

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This lesson was written by Adriana, a guest contributor.