Why Does Darlo Always Have a Hat and Umbrella?

普通の英語版 - Why This Brit in Japan Always Has an Umbrella and a Hat
日本語版 - この英国紳士が傘や帽子を持つ理由



When you think of an English (英国の) man, what do you think of? Many of my friends think of a man in a black suit with an umbrella (傘) and a bowler hat (山高帽). I don't look like this type of "English Gentleman".



This English Gentleman is walking in a park in Kensington, picture by Jenny Rollo
A picture of an English gentleman by Jenny Rollo.



But recently (最近), I always wear a black hat and carry an umbrella when I leave my apartment. Do you know why? The reason is not because of an English tradition (伝統).





It's because of crows (カラス)! The crows near my home do not like me. One day (ある日) I walked to a vending machine (自動販売機). When I was near it, a crow started to caw (カーっと鳴き声を鳴く) at me and flew by my head. It was really angry. I walked toward my apartment, but the crow followed me.



The vending machine where it all began
I only wanted to buy a drink.



When I arrived at my door, there was another crow! Two crows were cawing (前のcawの動詞のing形) at me. I walked quickly toward my car and sat inside. The crows flew above my car.



I checked my phone. There are many reasons (理由) why the crows might (多分/かもしれない) be angry. I think that it's because they have babies. They want to protect their babies. They might think I am dangerous. Crows are very smart birds. I waited for a while, then I ran inside safely. I looked out of the window. What did I see?



This evil crow was captured (on film) by Keesa Marie A picture of a crow by Keesa Marie.



The next day I walked to the shops. Of course (もちろん), a crow was following me. At the 100 yen shop, I bought a cap, some sunglasses and an umbrella. Crows can remember human (人間の) faces (顔), so I wanted a disguise (変装). When I walked home, I couldn't see any crows.



From that day I have always carried an umbrella near my apartment. I have also always worn (wearの動詞の過去形) a cap. I also tried to use some CDs to prevent (防止) crows. But I don't know if they are effective (効果的).


Are these CDs effective?



I don't want to live by angry crows. I hope the crows calm down (落ち着く) soon.



See you!

Darlo Tries Medal Games

There are many game centers in Japan. Lots of these have meda game machines. Have you ever played on a medal machine? I enjoy UFO Grabbers and racing games, but I wanted to try a medal game. To be honest, they do not look very fun. Let's see.



I bought 120 medals. They cost 1,000 yen. First, I tried a Pokemon machine.





The instructions looked simple. I must collect the apples on the screen.





I put my medals in the machine and started to play.





My medals slowly dissapeared. Only a few medals came back out. It was not very fun.





But then I had a bingo! Yes! Will I get a hundred medals! ... What? Fifteen?





Pikachu ate a lot of apples, so another game started. This time I had to choose the correct treasure chest (宝物箱). Unfortunately I was incorrect.





I finished playing on the Pokemon machine and went to a different game.





This machine looked really cool (coolとは「格好いい」と「寒い」という意味だ).





This game was easy. First choose how many medals you want to use, then try to get the ball in the hole.





5 medals was the minimum(最小限).





My first try was a success!





The ball went to level two. On level two it won 10 medals. I had 56 medals.





But I didn't win after that. My balls kept going in the wrong hole.





I stopped playing this machine. I had 21 medals left.





This was certainly not fun.





The next machine was a horse race machine.





To play this game you must move the dial and put your medals on the table. If you are correct you will win. But I don't know about horse racing.





I put my medals in the machine and watched a race.





It looked easy.





There were two screens.





It was time. I looked on the screen. I became confused.





In the end (ついに) I chose some places at random (無作為).





I was very nervous. I had butterflies in my stomach.





There was a power-up. It makes one horse go faster. However, you cannot choose the horse which will receive it.





The race ended, and I was a winner! I won about 20 medals!





But then ...





I realised (気付く) I was looking at the wrong square. I did not win.





I was confused. For the next turn, I played in a simple style.





If horse number 3 wins, I will win too.





Unfortunately, horse number 3 came second.





I stopped playing this game. I had just 10 medals left.





For my final machine, I played another famous character's game.





This is Mega Man (ロックマン). I thought it would be simple, but in fact it (実は) was very difficult.











I put my medals into the machine.





All of my medals entered the machine. They looked like rain. Some fell onto the bottom layer.





But no medals came out. It was over.





I had no medals. I used 120 medals in 15 minutes. But did I have fun?





No, not at all. Medal games not very interesting for me.





I went home to play my 3DS. But while I was walking home (歩いて帰りながら) I met a famous person!





I met Tamori!