Japanese at Round1: Bowling, Batting Cages and Spocha with Friends

Four lines for every frame

Bowling Japanese is mostly katakana, so the challenge is pronunciation, not vocabulary. Say each word with Japanese vowels and even rhythm: su-to-ra-i-ku. Oshii is native Japanese and is the most useful reaction word in any game: it means so close, what a shame.

Gātā, with a long first vowel, is how most people say gutter in conversation, even though rule books write gatā. You will hear both.

At reception: games, people and shoes

Reception asks the same questions everywhere: how many people, how many games, and whether you are a member. You fill in names for the scoreboard, often on a tablet or a slip, and nicknames are fine. Shoe sizes in Japan are in centimetres, in half sizes: 24.5 is nijūyon-ten-go. Ball weights are usually shown in pounds.

Staff may ask kaiin-shō wa omochi desu ka, do you have a membership card? Iie, motte imasen is a fine answer. They may also explain how to use the lane controls; ask setsumei o mō ichido onegai shimasu if you did not catch it.

Bowling vocabulary

Most terms are borrowed from English, sometimes with a Japanese twist. The table lists what you will hear around the lanes and see on the screen.

Scores are said as plain numbers with the counter ten (点): hyakuten, hyaku-gojutten. A perfect game of 300 is pāfekuto. Average players often say their aim is to break a hundred, hyakuten o koeru, which makes it a good target for a first game in Japan.

Friendly teasing and keeping score

Friends in Japan tease each other during games, and it is a sign of closeness. The language is casual and light; avoid anything that sounds like a real insult. Keep the polite forms for people you have just met, and switch to casual when your friends do.

At the batting cage

Batting centres, battingu sentā, have cages arranged by pitch speed, shown in kilometres per hour, and by batter's side. You buy tokens, a prepaid card or games at a machine, choose a cage, put on a helmet and wait for the light. Beginners usually start around eighty or ninety kilometres per hour. At Round1, batting is often part of Spocha, where you pay for time and can move between activities.

Many batting centres have a home run target high on the back net. Hitting it may earn a small prize; ask staff hōmuran no keihin wa nan desu ka if you see one. Right-handed batters use migi-daseki and left-handed batters hidari-daseki.

In Spocha you will also hear the names of the other activities, mostly loanwords: basuketto (basketball), futtosaru (futsal), rōrā sukēto (roller skating) and so on. Staff may ask for your wristband or remind you of the time limit with nokori jikan, time remaining. If you are with a group, decide on a meeting time and place before splitting up, because the area is large and noisy: jā, kuji ni koko de, see you here at nine.

Scenario: a bowling game with Japanese friends

It is Friday night. You and three friends from your language exchange have rented two lanes for two games. Everyone is talking at once, the screen plays an animation for every strike, and your coworker has just thrown two gutters in a row. This is the casual Japanese of friends having fun, full of short reactions and teasing.

Pins are counted with hon: ippon, nihon, sanbon. Ippon nokotta, one pin is left, is a sentence you will hear constantly.

Planning the night out

A night at Round1 usually starts in a group chat or at the end of a class or shift. Friends suggest a time and place, decide between bowling, karaoke and Spocha, and often combine several. Casual invitations use the negative question, ikanai?, won't you go?, or the volitional ikō, let's go. Meeting points are often a station exit or the front of the building.

Because Round1 branches are open late, many groups go after dinner. Plans also change on the spot: if there is a wait for lanes, someone will suggest karaoke instead, and if the group is big, Spocha lets everyone try different things at once.

Minna heta da kara, we're all bad at it, is a typical kind reply to someone who is nervous. It lowers the pressure and makes the evening about fun rather than scores.

If you are the one inviting, check who is coming and agree on a plan for paying. Splitting costs evenly, warikan, is the default among friends, and settling up at the end with a quick hitori ikura? (how much each?) keeps things simple.

Common mistakes

• Saying shoe sizes in US or UK numbers. Use centimetres, like nijūroku or nijūyon-ten-go.
• Pronouncing katakana words the English way. Japanese ears hear sutoraiku more easily than strike.
• Teasing someone you have just met. Wait until the group is joking with you first.
• Forgetting the counter for pins: ippon, not ichi pin.