Haru-chan & Natsu-chan: Haru-chan and Natsu-chan's Chocotto Chat!
Natsu-chan: Hello everyone! Broadcasting from Silicon Valley, we're bringing you an authentic, casual talk between two Japanese friends.
Haru-chan: On this podcast, we’ll be chatting loosely—just like sitting with a friend at a cafe—about our lives, work, relationships, and what real life is like out here in America.
Haru-chan & Natsu-chan: Chocotto Chat.
Natsu-chan: Alright, today is time for Natsu-chan's Japanese Introduction Corner!b
Haru-chan: Yay! Woohoo!
Natsu-chan: The Japanese word I want to introduce today is Yorimichi.
Haru-chan: Yorimichi, huh?
Natsu-chan: Haru-chan, do you know what Yorimichi means?
Haru-chan: Of course! I love Yorimichi. It means, like, on your way to your destination—the place you actually want to go—you stop by a different place instead. Is that right?
Natsu-chan: Exactly. For example, stopping by a convenience store or playing at a park on your way home from school.
Haru-chan: Right, right, right.
Natsu-chan: So, not going straight to your original destination is what we call "making a Yorimichi."
Haru-chan: Oh yeah, back in middle school, I think I did that all the time. Like, on the way home from school, I'd go to the McDonald's in Nagatacho with my friends, but then my mom would always tell me, "Don't make any Yorimichi and come straight home!"
Natsu-chan: (Laughs) She said that to you? My mom did too! That’s why when I was a kid, I had a kind of negative image of it, like Yorimichi = a bad thing.
Haru-chan: Totally.
Natsu-chan: But since becoming an adult, I've come to think that Yorimichi is a really beautiful word.