Learn about using an internet cafe
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| In today’s lesson, we will learn about a really useful place. The internet café or as it’s known in Japanese, netto kafe. ne-tto-ka-fe. netto kafe. As you’ve noticed, this is simply the Japanese pronunciation of net café but we call it netto kafe. Funny, isn’t it? In Japan, you can find net café’s at stations or on the streets of a business or residential area but internet access is also available at manga kissa or comic book cafes, manga kissa. manga kissa. The first word manga means comic book. In English, you pronounce it manga but actually in Japanese, it’s manga because we don’t have that a sound that we have in English. So the word in Japanese is manga kissa is short for kissa, kissaten which means café. So together it’s called manga kissa to mean comic book café. |
| Now in residential areas, manga kissas are all over the place. They are almost on every block. So if you are looking for internet access in a residential area, it might be faster to look for a manga kissa because they are more popular. So today, we will learn how to say where is an internet café or manga café. In residential areas in particular manga kissas maybe easier to find than straightforward internet cafes. So when you ask around, be sure to ask for both. In Japanese, where is an internet café or manga café would be net café Netto kafe arui wa manga kissa wa doko desuka? Netto kafe arui wa manga kissa wa doko desuka? |
| I know it’s a long sentence but we will break it down one by one. So the first word net café is internet café. The next word is arui wa and this means or a-ru-i-wa, arui wa. The next word is manga kissa. So far, we have net café arui wa internet café or manga café. This is followed by the topic marking particle wa followed by doko which means where doko, doko. This is the copula; ka is a particle that turns a sentence into an interrogative. So the latter half of the sentence is wa doko desuka which means where is it. Altogether the sentence is Netto kafe arui wa manga kissa wa doko desuka? Quite literally, that would be internet café or manga café is where or where is an internet café or manga café. Pretty simple right? |
| Now let me tell you a little bit more about manga kissa because they are a dream come true not only for manga maniacs but also for non-maniacs like me. Manga kissas have huge libraries of manga, stock from floor to ceiling and their inventory includes all types of manga, old and new and these cafes also have fashion magazines, tabloids and other stuff non-manga readers like me. As for the interior, they have really comfortable cushiony chairs and sofa for manga readers and they have computers lined up in one corner of the store for net surfers. Some have private rooms with leather chairs and their own computer. |
| Other stores offer premium seats with luxury such as reclining leather seats and the best part of it all is that most internet cafes or manga cafes have All-You-Can drink bars offering tea, coffee, soft drinks and soda. Unfortunately they don’t have alcohol but hey it’s still all you can drink right and the stores sell all sorts of snacks and instant foods that you can eat at the computer or on the sofa. Some cafes even let you bring in food from other stores so you can eat pizza from a nearby pizza shop and surf the net at the same time. |
| Now let me walk you through what you need to do once you locate a manga kissa. When you walk into the store, the first thing you do is approach the reception desk and tell them what you are here for. Just say Intānetto or manga and then they will print out a tab that states the time you signed in. When you leave the store, simply bring that tab with you to the counter and they will charge you for the number of hours you stayed. Now the price differs but it’s usually about ¥400 to ¥500 per hour. That’s roughly $4 to $5 US dollars an hour and that’s regardless of whether you use the internet or read manga. The price is all inclusive for the time you stayed there and if you are thinking of staying for 3 hours or longer, you might want to ask about discount packages. |
| A lot of places offer a discount like ¥1200 for 3 hours or an overnight discount package as well. So be sure to ask. Another critical question for all you laptop packing net surfers out there is does this store have Wi-Fi? In Japanese, that would be Kono o-mise ni wa waifai arimasu ka? Ko-no-o-mi-se-ni-wa-wa-i-fa-i-a-ri-ma-su-ka? Kono o-mise ni wa waifai arimasu ka? The first word kono means this. That’s followed by o-mise which is a polite way of saying store. Ni is a particle roughly translated as in, at or on. Wa is a topic marking particle. So far, we have Kono o-mise ni wa which means inside this store. Wi-Fi is simply the Japanese pronunciation of the English word Wi-Fi and arimasu is the polite way of saying there is. The last particle ka turns your sentence into an interrogative. |
| So altogether, Kono o-mise ni wa waifai arimasu ka? means does this store have Wi-Fi? Now in Japan, Wi-Fi access is available at various stores, cafes and train stations. So many different companies offer these services. So we can’t mention them all here but for non-Japanese, the most familiar stores maybe Starbucks and McDonalds. Usually a Japanese service provider offers a service in conjunction with the store. So you just would have to sign up with a provider and the payments and access methods will depend on who is providing the service. So let’s learn some phrases necessary for signing up to ask how do I access the internet? You would say Netto ni wa dōyatte setsuzoku shimasu ka? Ne-tto-ni-wa-do-u-ya-tte-se-tsu-zo-ku-shi-ma-su-ka? Netto ni wa dōyatte setsuzoku shimasu ka? |
| The first word Netto is the Japanese pronunciation of the word Net or internet. Ni is a particle roughly translated as in, at or on. Wa is a topic marking particle and Dō yatte is a casual way of saying, how do I? And setsuzoku means connect. Shimasu is a polite way of saying will do and Ka is a particle that turns a sentence into an interrogative. So altogether, Netto ni wa dōyatte setsuzoku shimasu ka? means how do I access the internet and when you sign up, you will be asked for a user name and password. In Japanese, user name and password please is Yūzā nēmu to pasuwādo o onegai shimasu. Yu-u-za-a-ne-i-mu-to pa-su-wa-a-do-o o-ne-ga-i-shi-ma-su. Yūzā nēmu to pasuwādo o onegai shimasu. |
| Yūzā nēmu is obviously the Japanese pronunciation of the word user name and pasuwādo is the Japanese pronunciation of password. O is the object marking particle and onegai shimasu is the polite way of saying, please take care of it. So altogether, it’s Yūzā nēmu to pasuwādo o onegai shimasu. When they ask you this, simply provide a user name and password and you are on your way to the internet highway. Now this lesson is becoming really long already but let me add a Sachiko Secret. |
| Now manga kissa are great for more than just reading manga. As you may know, the trains don’t run 24 hours in Tokyo. So if you missed your last train at night, you are stuck. You can’t get home, you don’t have money for a cab and you certainly can’t afford to stay in a 5-star hotel. What do you do? You stay at a manga café. Just walk around the neighborhood and look for a 24-hour manga café. They offer overnight packages. So it’s not actually that expensive. You could probably spend the night for about ¥3000 or less and depending on the store, you might get a really, really comfortable sofa or you could get the private room with your own computer and your own sofa and your own lounge. |
| You may even want to try spending the night at a manga café just as an experience. It’s very unique. Okay so to close our today’s lesson, let’s practice what you’ve just learned. I will give you the English equivalent of the phrase and you are responsible for shouting it out loud in Japanese. You got that. I will give you a few seconds before I give you the answer. So good luck Ganbatte kudasai. |
| Where is an internet café or manga café? Netto kafe arui wa manga kissa wa doko desuka? Ne-tto-ka-fe-a-ru-i-wa-ma-n-ga-ki-ssa-wa-do-ko-de-su-ka? Netto kafe arui wa manga kissa wa doko desuka? And the word for internet is intānetto, intānetto, intānetto. Does this store have Wi-Fi? Kono o-mise ni wa waifai arimasu ka? Ko-no-o-mi-se-ni-wa-wa-i-fa-i-a-ri-ma-su-ka? Kono o-mise ni wa waifai arimasu ka? How do I access the internet? Netto ni wa dōyatte setsuzoku shimasu ka? Ne-tto-ni-wa-do-u-ya-tte-se-tsu-zo-ku-shi-ma-su-ka? Netto ni wa dōyatte setsuzoku shimasu ka? User name and password please? Yūzā nēmu to pasuwādo o onegai shimasu. Yu-u-za-a-ne-i-mu-to pa-su-wa-a-do-o o-ne-ga-i-shi-ma-su. Yūzā nēmu to pasuwādo o onegai shimasu. All right. That’s going to do it for today. See you later which in Japanese is Matane. |
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