The Bench Arrangement: an A1 Japanese romance story
🐕ベンチ の 約束
The Bench Arrangement (ベンチ の 約束) is a free A1 Japanese romantic comedy. Each morning Haruka, an illustrator, walks her round dog Mochi to the same park bench, where a quiet man called Ren sits with his dog Kinako. Then Haruka spots Mochi's name on the back of Kinako's tag. Chapters 1 and 2 are below.
Level
A1 (Beginner)
Genre
Romance, Comedy
Free here
Chapters 1–2 of 6
Length
170 words, about 2 minutes
Language
Standard Japanese
Tap or click an underlined word to see what it means.
What does Haruka do, and what does she always carry?
Show answer
She is an illustrator, and she always has a sketchbook with her.
What is waiting on the bench when Mochi runs to it?
Show answer
A dog biscuit. Haruka asks whose it is: 「だれの ですか？」
What does Haruka find on Kinako's name tag?
Show answer
Mochi's name, written on the back of the tag.
What does Haruka take out of her bag in chapter 2?
Show answer
Her sketchbook. Inside it is an old note from a biscuit bag, and the handwriting is the same as on the tag.
Who interrupts Ren just as he starts to explain?
Show answer
Tamura from the bakery, both times: first with bread crusts in chapter 1, then waving from the bakery door because she has something to show them.
Grammar to notice: は and が
は marks the topic, the thing you're talking about. が marks the subject when it is new or is the focus. The pattern is clear here: characters already on stage take は, while things and people that suddenly appear take が.
はるかは イラストレーターです。
Haruka wa irasutorētā desu.
Haruka is an illustrator.
Topic は: telling you about Haruka.
モチは まるい 犬です。
Mochi wa marui inu desu.
Mochi is a round dog.
Same pattern: topic, then a description.
ベンチの 上に 犬の ビスケットが あります。
benchi no ue ni inu no bisuketto ga arimasu.
There's a dog biscuit on the bench.
Something new appears, so が, with あります.
そこへ れんと キナコが 来ます。
soko e Ren to Kinako ga kimasu.
Then Ren and Kinako arrive.
New arrivals take が. れんと is れん + と (and).
でも 名前は わたしが 書いて いません
demo namae wa watashi ga kaite imasen.
But I didn't write the name.
Both in one sentence: the name is the topic, and が picks out who did (or didn't) write it. Chapter 2.
A quick test: if the sentence answers "what about X?", X usually takes は. If it answers "who?" or "what is there?", the answer takes が.
Why the spacing in this story looks different
This series leaves each particle attached to the word in front of it, so you tap 木の or ベンチへ as one piece, the way Japanese picture books for children are spaced. The glossary above lists words exactly as they appear, particle included.
The dogs' names are food words: モチ (mochi) is a rice cake and キナコ (kinako) is roasted soybean flour, which suits a round dog and a story set near a bakery.
Romance at A1 depends on small moments: a greeting, a dropped lead, someone turning red (赤く なります). The chapters are short, so you can read both in one sitting and stop at the cliffhanger with Tamura at the bakery door.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a good first Japanese story?
Yes. The sentences are short and polite, the vocabulary is everyday (dog, bench, bread, good morning), and the kanji are common ones such as 犬 (dog), 名前 (name) and 字 (handwriting).
How many chapters are there?
Six at A1. Chapters 1 and 2 are free here and in the app; chapters 3–6 are part of Contos Premium.
What does the title mean?
The Japanese title, ベンチ の 約束, means "the bench promise". 約束 is a promise or an arrangement to meet, and the story is built around the same bench every morning.
Are there romaji or furigana in the app?
No. You read the story in kana and kanji with spaces, and tap any word for its meaning. Romaji on this page is only for the grammar examples.
