first half of the game or match
very; greatly; immense; enormous; serious; grave
sudden; abrupt; urgent; pressing; steep; sharp; rapid
liked; well-liked; in love (with); loved; faddism; eccentricity
it does not mean that ...; I don't mean that ...; it is not the case that...
eighth month of the lunar calendar
to teach; to instruct; to tell; to inform; to preach
to give; to confer; to bestow; to kindly do for one; to oblige; to favour
taciturn; reticent; quiet; silent; untalkative
to profit; to benefit from; to take advantage of; to make good use of
to nod in agreement; to nod in assent
person's origin (e.g. city, country, parentage, school)
junior high school student; middle school pupil
to live (of humans); to reside; to inhabit; to dwell; to abide
to come; to go; to be (somewhere); to be (doing)
normal; ordinary; normally; ordinarily; local train; train that stops at every station
little-known good place; good out-of-the-way place; well-kept secret place; hole-in-the-wall
image (in one's mind); impression; (computer) image; depiction (e.g. of a product); rendition
to be related; to be connected; to be joined together; to result in; to lead to; to bring about
to re-think; to think back upon; to change one's mind
when; at what time; how soon; normal times; ordinary days
summer vacation; summer holiday
homecoming; returning home
local specialty or souvenir bought as a gift while travelling; present brought by a visitor; something unpleasant that one is given (e.g. an illness while on vacation); unwelcome gift
curry (esp. Japanese curry); rice and curry
to buy; to purchase; to value; to have a high opinion; to stir; to provoke
(for something) to have occurred; to have done (something); (for something) to happen on occasion
spirit; mind; nature; disposition; motivation; intention
northward; facing the north; nobleman's true wife
if you think about it; come to think of it
wonderful; marvelous; strange; strangely enough; oddly enough; for some reason
previous time; last time; previous installment; previous instalment; previous session
in terms of both ... and ...; from the perspective of ... as well as ...; whether it be ... or ...
party; group; crew; company (of troops); corps; unit
riddle; puzzle; enigma; enigmatic; mysterious
full of (e.g. mistakes); riddled with; covered all over with (blood, mud, etc.)
factory; plant; mill; workshop
inspection; study by observation; field trip; sitting out (e.g. PE class)
climbing to the summit; summiting
walking; strolling; roaming; wandering; exploring
bustling; busy; crowded; lively (party, voices, etc.); loud; noisy
(sound of) laughter; laughing voice