Difficult meeting
This is the plain transcript. Open the interactive version → furigana, audio, word-by-word gloss, grammar notes, and take over a role by typing.Jo arrives at Higashi Bank's office building. The lobby is sleek, corporate. A receptionist in uniform greets him.
こんにちは。United Bank の Forsyth です。Team Bandai の会議に参りました。村上様とお約束しております。
Hello. I'm Forsyth from United Bank. I came for the Team Bandai meeting. I'm meeting Murakami-san.
フォーサイスさん、お待ちしておりました。皆さんはもう四階の会議室にいらっしゃいます。エレベーターはあちらです。
Mr Forsyth, we've been expecting you. Everyone is already in the conference room on the 4th floor. The elevator is over there.
Jo walks into the meeting room. Suzuki spots him and stands up with a big grin. The team turns to look.
こんにちは皆さん。あああ！鈴木さん！おひさしぶり。
Hello everyone. Aaah! Suzuki! Long time no see.
おお、ジョー！久しぶり！元気だった？去年の大阪以来だよね。みんな、こちらがジョーさん。家族みたいなもんだよ。
Oh, Jo! Long time! How've you been? Since Osaka last year, right? Everyone, this is Jo. He's practically family.
Kinoshita, a younger team member, starts explaining how transactions will be processed. It sounds promising but untested.
いい考えだね！でも…どうかな。それはまだやったことがありますか？
Good idea! But... I wonder. Have you done that before?
まだ実際にはやったことないです。でも、テストでは問題なかったんですよ。
We haven't actually done it yet. But there were no problems in testing.
Jo raises a concern about patent risk. The room listens carefully.
計画はあまり難しくない、America Bank の 特許 は問題があるけど。それは面倒なことになるかも…
The plan isn't too difficult, but the American bank's patent could be a problem. That could be troublesome...
特許の問題か…それは確かにめんどくさいね。回避できる可能性はある？
A patent issue... yeah, that is a pain. Is there a possibility of working around it?
それはたくさんお金がかかる、と思う。えとあまり時間がない…
That'll cost a lot of money, I think. And there isn't much time...
率直に言うとね。今のタイミングで新しいことをやる余裕が正直ないんだ。予算も厳しいし、チームも手一杯なんだよ。来期なら検討できるかもしれないけど…今すぐは、ちょっと…
Let me be frank. We honestly don't have capacity to do something new right now. Budget is tight, team is stretched. Next quarter, perhaps we could revisit it.
すごくいい。誰が作れる？ここだけの話ですが、その技術に詳しいエンジニアはいますか？
That's great. Who can build it? Between us, is there an engineer who knows that tech?
…もし、ユナイテッドのほうからも人を出してくれるなら、話は別だけど。
...if United can also put people in, that's a different conversation.
The meeting concludes well. In the hallway, Suzuki throws an arm around Jo's shoulder.
鈴木さんどうと思う？
What do you think, Suzuki?
だいたい合意できたよ。細かい話は午後でいい。よし、飯行こう。立ち食い寿司の店があるんだ、めちゃくちゃうまいよ。木下も来るだろ？
Pretty much aligned. We can sort the details this afternoon. Right — lunch. There's a standing sushi place, ridiculously good. You're coming, right?
The standing sushi is fast and excellent. Crowded but no waiting. Jo's got a free day tomorrow and asks Suzuki for ideas.
明日休みだけど、京都から遠くないところでどこか行けると思う？？
Tomorrow's a day off. Somewhere not far from Kyoto — where do you think I could go?
この週末？ジョー、直島は知ってる？ここからそんなに遠くないよ。
This weekend? Jo, do you know Naoshima? It's not that far from here.
Jo doesn't know Naoshima. Suzuki can't believe it.
知らない。どんなところだ？
Don't know it. What kind of place is it?
マジで？ジョーが知らないなんて珍しいな。島全体がアートなんだよ。歩いてでも自転車でも回れるくらい小さい。ビーチに彫刻があったり、山の中に美術館が埋まってたり。絶対行け。
Seriously? It's rare for Jo not to know something. The whole island is art. Small enough to walk or cycle around. Sculptures and museums everywhere. Absolute must-go.
Jo pulls out his phone and shows Suzuki a photo from Naoshima — the Kusama pumpkin on the pier. His acquaintance Tonia took it.
知り合いのトニアが先週行ったみたい。きれいな写真を送ってくれた。
An acquaintance, Tonia, seems to have gone last week. She sent me a beautiful photo.
うわー、この写真すごいな！知り合いが撮ったの？
Whoa, that photo is amazing! Did your acquaintance take it?
Jo's convinced. He asks how to get there. Suzuki draws a map on a napkin.
行こうかな。どうやって行くの？
Maybe I'll go. How do you get there?
まず京都から新幹線で岡山まで。のぞみで四十分くらい。そこからバスで宇野港に出て、フェリーで二十分。地中美術館だけは先にネットで取っておけ。当日だと入れないことがある。民宿のほうが雰囲気あるよ。
First, shinkansen from Kyoto to Okayama. Forty minutes on the Nozomi. From there, bus to Uno Port, ferry twenty minutes. Book the ferry in advance. 当日だと入れないことがある。民宿のほうが雰囲気あるよ。