eki no chikaku no fumikiri ga nagaku shimatte ita node, gakkou ni sukoshi okureta.

The railroad crossing near the station stayed closed for a long time, so I was a little late to school.

Breakdown of eki no chikaku no fumikiri ga nagaku shimatte ita node, gakkou ni sukoshi okureta.

• 学がっ校こう: school
• に: destination particle
• が: subject particle
• の: possessive case particle

Questions & Answers about eki no chikaku no fumikiri ga nagaku shimatte ita node, gakkou ni sukoshi okureta.

Why are there two の in 駅の近くの踏切?

Both の connect nouns, but they do slightly different jobs in the chain.

• 駅の近く = the area near the station
  • 駅 = station
  • 近く = nearby area / vicinity
• 駅の近くの踏切 = the railroad crossing near the station

So the structure is:

• 駅 → modifies 近く
• 駅の近く → modifies 踏切

You can think of it as:

• [station]’s [nearby area]’s [railroad crossing]

In natural English, that becomes the railroad crossing near the station.

What exactly does 近く mean here?

近く here is a noun meaning nearby place, vicinity, or area near something.

So:

• 駅の近く = near the station / the area near the station

This is different from using the adjective 近い directly. For example:

• 駅に近い踏切 = a crossing that is close to the station
• 駅の近くの踏切 = a crossing in the area near the station

Both are natural, but 駅の近くの踏切 is very common.

Why is the particle が used after 踏切?