Title: MiniCore Japanese-EN / Booster: Animal Cafés
Tags: MinicoreJapanese-EN booster-animal-cafe vocab sentence dialog-line recognition dialog

MinicoreJapanese: Neko kafe wa arimasu ka.
Native: ネコカフェはありますか。
English: Is there a cat café (around here)?
Literal: cat-café [topic] exists ?
Notes: neko kafe — the cat café, and inside it neko and kafe, two words that recombine all afternoon. Ask at a tourist counter or your hotel desk; the big cities have one within walking distance of almost anywhere.

MinicoreJapanese: Fukurou kafe wa doko desu ka.
Native: フクロウカフェはどこですか。
English: Where is the owl café?
Literal: owl-café [topic] where is ?
Notes: fukurou — owl. The compound builds itself: fukurou kafe, harinezumi kafe, usagi kafe — whatever animal the sign promises, Lesson 2's noun-gluing already covers the name.

MinicoreJapanese: Ii kafe wa arimasu ka.
Native: いいカフェはありますか。
English: Is there a good café (around here)? (the everyday fallback)
Literal: good café [topic] exists ?
Notes: kafe on its own — worth having loose in your pocket: it's the modern word for any coffee shop (the course's koohii no mise workaround retires here), and the same question that found the izakaya and the mountain finds you a flat white.

MinicoreJapanese: Ichi-jikan, onegaishimasu.
Native: 一時間、お願いします。
English: One hour, please.
Literal: one-hour, please
Notes: Lesson 6's -jikan riding Lesson 1's request frame — the whole transaction.

MinicoreJapanese: Sanjuppun, onegaishimasu.
Native: 三十分、お願いします。
English: Thirty minutes, please. (the short block)
Literal: thirty-minutes, please
Notes: sanjuppun — thirty minutes: the standard short block at animal cafés, karaoke booths, and rental counters. You'll also hear it inside clock times — san-ji sanjuppun (3:30) is perfectly good Japanese — but for telling time the course sticks with the simpler san-ji han (Lesson 6); keep sanjuppun for buying time.

MinicoreJapanese: Esa wa ikura desu ka.
Native: エサはいくらですか。
English: How much are the treats?
Literal: animal-feed [topic] how-much is ?
Notes: esa — animal feed, sold at the counter in little cups. This is the only food that may meet the animals: outside snacks (theirs or yours) stay in your bag. Buying a cup is also the one guaranteed way to become interesting to a room full of cats.

MinicoreJapanese: Doubutsu ga suki desu.
Native: 動物が好きです。
English: I like animals.
Literal: animal [ga] liked is
Notes: doubutsu — animal, in Lesson 9's suki frame. Said at the door it explains your whole visit; said to the staff it opens the best conversation in the building — they know every resident's name and politics.

MinicoreJapanese: Fukurou wa imasu ka.
Native: フクロウはいますか。
English: Are there owls (here)?
Literal: owl [topic] exists (animate) ?
Notes: Imasu, not arimasu — animals are animate, the distinction Lesson 4 taught and the [Outdoors booster](/boosters/booster-outdoors/)'s bear question drilled. Mixed cafés exist; ask what's in residence.

MinicoreJapanese: Harinezumi mo imasu ka.
Native: ハリネズミもいますか。
English: Are there hedgehogs too?
Literal: hedgehog also exists (animate) ?
Notes: harinezumi — hedgehog, literally "needle-mouse," one of the great Japanese compound words. Hedgehog cafés hand you gloves; the mo is doing its usual Lesson 1 work.

MinicoreJapanese: Usagi ga suki desu.
Native: ウサギが好きです。
English: I like rabbits.
Literal: rabbit [ga] liked is
Notes: usagi — rabbit. Rabbit cafés (and the famous rabbit island, Ōkunoshima) run on the same rules as everything here: calm hands, their pace, their terms.

MinicoreJapanese: Kono neko, daijoubu desu ka.
Native: このネコ、大丈夫ですか。
English: Is this cat okay (to pet)?
Literal: this cat, OK is ?
Notes: The Lesson 8 daijoubu move, doing here what it did for tattoos at the [onsen](/boosters/booster-onsen/): asking permission without needing a verb. Staff know which residents are feeling sociable today and which one bites — this one question outperforms an hour of guessing.

MinicoreJapanese: Furasshu wa daijoubu desu ka.
Native: フラッシュは大丈夫ですか。
English: Is flash okay? (the answer will be no — ask anyway)
Literal: flash [topic] OK is ?
Notes: furasshu — camera flash. Photos are usually welcome — the [Shrines booster](/boosters/booster-shrines/)'s Shashin, ii desu ka. works verbatim here — but flash is a hard no everywhere, and a genuinely cruel one at an owl café. Asking shows you know there's a rule; the iie you get back is the staff trusting you with the room.

MinicoreJapanese: doubutsu
Native: 動物
English: animal
Notes: *Doubutsu ga suki desu.*

MinicoreJapanese: neko
Native: ネコ
English: cat
Notes: *Kono neko, daijoubu desu ka.*

MinicoreJapanese: neko kafe
Native: ネコカフェ
English: cat café
Notes: *Neko kafe wa arimasu ka.*

MinicoreJapanese: kafe
Native: カフェ
English: café
Notes: combine freely: *fukurou kafe*, *usagi kafe*

MinicoreJapanese: fukurou
Native: フクロウ
English: owl
Notes: animate — *Fukurou wa imasu ka.*

MinicoreJapanese: harinezumi
Native: ハリネズミ
English: hedgehog
Notes: "needle-mouse"; gloves provided

MinicoreJapanese: usagi
Native: ウサギ
English: rabbit
Notes: *Usagi ga suki desu.*

MinicoreJapanese: esa
Native: エサ
English: animal treats / feed
Notes: the café's own only

MinicoreJapanese: furasshu
Native: フラッシュ
English: (camera) flash
Notes: *Furasshu wa daijoubu desu ka.* — expect no

MinicoreJapanese: sanjuppun
Native: 三十分
English: thirty minutes (the half-hour block)
Notes: for 3: 30 the course says *san-ji han*

MinicoreJapanese: Te no shoudoku o onegaishimasu.
Native: 手の消毒をお願いします。
English: sanitize your hands
Notes: pump bottle at the door, then in

MinicoreJapanese: Neteiru neko ni wa sawaranaide kudasai.
Native: 寝ている猫には触らないでください。
English: don't touch the sleeping cats
Notes: admire from a distance

MinicoreJapanese: Ojikan desu.
Native: お時間です。
English: your time is up
Notes: *arigatou gozaimasu*, and out

MinicoreJapanese: An hour with the cats
Notes: Traveler: Ichi-jikan, onegaishimasu.
One hour, please.
[one-hour, please]
Staff: Hai. Sen-en desu.
Certainly — 1,000 yen.
[yes. 1,000-yen is]
Staff: Te no shoudoku o onegaishimasu.
Please sanitize your hands. (the door ritual — see the script below)
[hand of disinfection [obj] please]
Traveler: Hai, wakarimashita.
Yes — understood.
[yes, understood]
Traveler: Esa mo, onegaishimasu.
Treats too, please.
[animal-feed also, please]
Staff: Hai, douzo.
Here you go.
[yes, go-ahead]
Traveler: Kono neko, daijoubu desu ka.
Is this cat okay (to pet)?
[this cat, OK is ?]
Staff: Hai, daijoubu desu yo.
Yes, she's fine — go ahead.
[yes, OK is [yo]]
Staff: Ojikan desu.
(an hour later) That's time. (the goodbye — see the script below)
[(honorific) time is]
Traveler: Arigatou gozaimasu. Mata kimasu.
Thank you — I'll come again!
[thank you (full polite form). again come]

MinicoreJapanese: Hai. Sen-en desu.
Native: はい。千円です。
English: Certainly — 1,000 yen.
Literal: yes. 1,000-yen is

MinicoreJapanese: Esa mo, onegaishimasu.
Native: エサも、お願いします。
English: Treats too, please.
Literal: animal-feed also, please

MinicoreJapanese: Hai, daijoubu desu yo.
Native: はい、大丈夫ですよ。
English: Yes, she's fine — go ahead.
Literal: yes, OK is [yo]

MinicoreJapanese: Arigatou gozaimasu. Mata kimasu.
Native: ありがとうございます。また来ます。
English: Thank you — I'll come again!
Literal: thank you (full polite form). again come

MinicoreJapanese: The house rules
Notes: Staff: Te no shoudoku o onegaishimasu.
Please sanitize your hands. → the pump bottle at the door, before anything else
[hand of disinfection [obj] please]
Staff: Neteiru neko ni wa sawaranaide kudasai.
Please don't touch the sleeping cats. → asleep means off-limits, no exceptions
[sleeping cat to [topic] touch-not please]
Staff: Ojikan desu.
That's time. → the block is up — return the lanyard, arigatou gozaimasu, out
[(honorific) time is]

MinicoreJapanese: The door briefing
Notes: Traveler: Ichi-jikan, ikura desu ka.
How much for one hour? (the Cycling booster's question, back at work)
[one-hour, how-much is ?]
Staff: Ichi-jikan sen-en de, wan dorinku tsuki ni narimasu. Neteiru ko ni wa, sawaranai you ni onegaishimasu.
An hour is 1,000 yen with one drink included; please don't touch the ones who are sleeping.
[(too fast — that's the point)]
Traveler: Sumimasen. Yukkuri onegaishimasu.
Sorry — slowly, please.
[excuse-me. slowly, please]
Staff: Sen-en desu. Koohii mo arimasu.
It's 1,000 yen. There's coffee too.
[1,000-yen is. coffee also exists]

MinicoreJapanese: Ichi-jikan, ikura desu ka.
Native: 一時間、いくらですか。
English: How much for one hour? (the Cycling booster's question, back at work)
Literal: one-hour, how-much is ?

MinicoreJapanese: Ichi-jikan sen-en de, wan dorinku tsuki ni narimasu. Neteiru ko ni wa, sawaranai you ni onegaishimasu.
Native: 一時間千円で、ワンドリンク付きになります。寝ている子には触らないようにお願いします。
English: An hour is 1,000 yen with one drink included; please don't touch the ones who are sleeping.
Literal: (too fast — that's the point)

MinicoreJapanese: Sen-en desu. Koohii mo arimasu.
Native: 千円です。コーヒーもあります。
English: It's 1,000 yen. There's coffee too.
Literal: 1,000-yen is. coffee also exists