Reading a notice where the key information is in the conditions
You read a Japanese notice about a community volunteer day:
「ボランティア清掃活動のお知らせ 日時：11月12日（日）午前8時30分集合（雨天の場合は19日に延期） 集合場所：市役所前 持ち物：軍手、飲み物（ほうきはこちらで用意します） 申し込み：11月5日までに、メールか電話で。定員50名。先着順。 注意：小学生は保護者と一緒に参加してください。 当日、8時45分を過ぎて来た場合は、もう始まっている場所へ直接向かってください。」
You want to bring your 10-year-old host brother, and you have not yet signed up. Today is 3 November.
1. List what you must do and by when, and identify two pieces of information that are easy to misread.
Read the worked answer
To do:
- Sign up by 5 November (11月5日までに) by email or phone. Today is 3 November, so you have two days.
- Bring gloves (軍手) and a drink; do not bring a broom (provided).
- Meet at 8:30 am in front of city hall on 12 November.
Easy to misread:
- 「先着順」 plus 定員50名. Places go to the first 50 applicants, not to everyone who applies by 5 November. Applying on the 4th or 5th may already be too late. The deadline is a maximum, not a guarantee.
- 「雨天の場合は19日に延期」. Rain postpones to the 19th; it does not cancel. Also the 8:30 start and meeting place still apply on the new date unless told otherwise.
Host brother: the notice says 小学生は保護者と一緒に - a primary-school child must attend with a guardian. A 10-year-old is a 小学生, so you must stay with him; he cannot be sent off alone. Mention him when you apply so the organisers can plan numbers.
2. You arrive at 8:50 am. Explain what the notice tells you to do, and why arriving late is not a reason to go home.
Read the worked answer
The notice says: 「8時45分を過ぎて来た場合は、もう始まっている場所へ直接向かってください」 - if you arrive after 8:45, go directly to wherever the work has already started.
So at 8:50 you should not wait at city hall and should not leave. You should find out where the cleaning is underway and go there. In practice you would ask an organiser at city hall, or check with someone who knows the route, then join the group already working.
Why it matters: the 8:30 meeting time and the 8:45 cut-off are different. 8:30 is when to gather; 8:45 is the point after which you stop expecting to join the group at the meeting point. Missing the 8:30 gathering does not cancel your participation - the notice gives a procedure for latecomers, which shows lateness is anticipated.
Because you are with your host brother, keep him with you when you go to the work site; the guardian condition still applies.