Japanese listening diary · Day 179

We Never Order the Set Meal

定食屋なのに定食を頼まない私たち
July 4, 2026
About a minuteSlow, natural Japanese
Real JapaneseN5–N3 friendly
Listen — today’s diary plays right on the front page
Play today’s diary

This one is on Spotify and YouTube — search “OHAYO NIHONGO”.

Today’s story きょうの あらすじ

A friend of mine runs a set-meal restaurant that once made the cover of dancyu, and last night I went back for the first time in ages. It is a set-meal place, yet we never order the set — just single dishes to go with our drinks. The food was as good as ever and the shop was packed, so my friend was too busy for a long chat, but looked well. My stomach was full, the friend I came with and I talked and talked, and it was a happy night.

From the diary にっきから

Excerpt
No. 179Tokyo · morning
日本語 — Japanese
ひらがな — Hiragana
いまのいえにひっこしてくるまえ、じゅうねんぐらいまえにすんでいたいえのちかくに、ともだちがやっているていしょくやさんがあります。そのていしょくやさんは、だんちゅうというゆうめいなざっしのひょうしになったこともあるおみせです。どれをたべてもおいしいので、むかしはよくいっていました。
· · · continues · · ·

Vocabulary ことば

定食ていしょくset meal
単品たんぴんsingle dish; à la carte
おつまみおつまみsnack to go with drinks
相変わらずあいかわらずas always; same as ever
大繁盛だいはんじょうbooming business

This was one morning of many.

A new diary every morning — free, about a minute, read slowly.

See today’s diary

This page is a short excerpt.
Explore available diary packs on Etsy

A woman in a vermilion cardigan, headphones on, reading the morning diary 今日のことば、
きいて、まねる。

A new one, tomorrow morning.