For context, I’m a sort of lower-intermediate level learner (I *just barely* passed the N3 this past December) and I’ve recently been working to try and improve my weaker points, my listening skills included.
I happened upon a series of videos on YouTube that I’ve been enjoying a lot, and I wanted to share it because I think other people would like it because it’s both (I think) accessible and fun.
It’s on a channel called 「朝だ！生です旅サラダ【公式】」, and the series is called 「コレうま」(which I *think* is a portmanteau of 「コレクション」and 「うまい」, so like, “Tasty Collection/Compilation” I guess)?
The premise is the host, 大仁田 美咲 (Ōnita Misaki) goes to various cities in Japan and walks up to random locals she encounters and asks them where there’s some グルメ (gourmet) she can go try (and usually a good item on the menu). I believe she’s a wine sommelier.
She goes to the place, and, if she successfully gets permission to record inside and interview「取材OK」, she tries out the meal, then from there asks where she can find something else good to eat (either asking people outside it, or sometimes even the chef/manager). Then, at the end of the segment, she chooses a favorite (or sometimes multiple favorites) out of everything she tried in it.
Even though it’s not Diners, Drive-in’s and Dives, for some reason it feels familiar and nostalgic. It shares the basic elements of Triple D: “host is likable (or at least inoffensive for the typical viewer) and tries good looking food, says it tastes good and breaks down what they like about it, jokes and converses with chef, then moves on to next place and food items” etc. I definitely prefer her to Guy Fieri though.
She’s funny and makes this sort of 😯 face every time she takes the first bite/sip of whatever the thing is. She waves around a little flag and skips around, and she also wears this ridiculous banner on her back that basically says “tell me where I can find good food!” with a tiny cartoon version of her at the bottom. So she has to duck to enter the restaurants sometimes because the flagpole is too tall.
While I’m sure other shows exist in this vein, I haven’t ever seen another with this specific gimmick though (traveling from one location to the next spontaneously based on a stranger’s suggestion), so I find it particularly entertaining.
From what I’m guessing, this normally airs as part of a food segment on a news channel on TV, and might have decent viewership there, but isn’t quite as popular on YouTube. So, hopefully I can change that because I think it’s worth a watch.
I don’t find the dialogue difficult at all to follow along with, with both the pacing and the words used, and I think someone who is closer to N4 level would probably get the gist of what’s being said too. Every so often I’ll learn a new food word which is neat, or onomatopoeia, because a lot of those are used when she describes the food.
Here’s the link to a playlist I found of the videos, which I think updates as new ones release; here’s the link:
As of the time of posting this, there are 16 videos total, and it looks like a new one comes out every couple weeks.
Hope you check it out, and hope you like it if you do!
by urgod42069