木村：バスは混むし、宿は悪いし、今回の出張は、いいこと何もありませんね。
佐々木：木村さんは、愚痴をこぼしてばかりいるけれど、いいこともたくさんありましたよ。
Guchi wo kobosu
Kimura: Basu ua komu shi, yado wa warui shi, konkai no shuttchoo wa, iikoto nanni mo arimasen ne.
Sasaki: Kimura-san wa, guchi wo koboshite bakari iru keredo, ii koto mo takusan arimashita yo.
Kimura: The buses are jam-packed and the accommodation is awful-I can't think of one good thug about this business trip, can you?
Sasaki: You keep moaning about it, but it hasn't been all bad. There have been lots of good aspects to it, too.
Guchi wo kobosu means to grumble, complain or gripe.
I am attending a conference - along with other university and high school teachers, administrative staff and officials from the Ministry of Education-about foreign students in Japan. The conference is being held at Minakami Onsen in Gunma Prefecture, about a hour from Tokyo Station on the Joetsu Shinkansen.
After traveling only one hour out of Tokyo and finding myself surrounded by such glorious mountain scenery, I am reminded afresh that Japan is in fact a largely mountainous country. At Jomo Kogen Station I bump into Professor Kimura. I smile and say, "The mountains are beautiful, aren't they?" Professor Kimura replies, "I don't know why they can't hold the conference in Tokyo, rather than making us get up early and dragging us all the way out here." I suggest, "Sonna koto de guchi wo kobosu yori, yoi keshiki wo tanoshimi mashoo yo. " (Instead of grumbling about such matters, why don't we just enjoy the scenery?)
From the station we board a bus. However, this soon turns out to be Professor Kimura's next cue. With 350 people attending the conference, the bus is jam-packed.
"They could at least have used a few extra buses. I can't believe we have to stand all the way. It's a 30-minute journey." I say, "Yoku sonna ni guchi no tane ga arimasu ne." (I don't know how you can possibly find so many things to keep bellyaching about. )
From the bus window, we can see nothing but mountains and paddy fields - the rice plants stretch out like a beautiful green carpet below our eyes.
When we arrive at the architecturally modern hotel, I turn to Professor Kimura and say, "Why, it's not a traditional Japanese-style inn. They have no taste, putting up the kind of building that you would expect to find in Tokyo." Kondo wa watashiga guchi wo kobosu ban da. (Now, it's my turn to complain.) Anyway, the conference is about to begin. I hope it's a good one after all this.