I heard the words “loquat” and “kumquat” for the first time in high school, but I didn’t know what they were. When I came to Japan, I found out that both these fruits grow in Japan. However, they are not usually sold in stores. The first time I tasted kumquats was at a friend’s house. They were growing on a tree in his garden. The fruit looks like a very small orange, but you don’t peel it. You eat it whole. It is a little too sour for me. I prefer loquats. They look like apricots. You peel the thin skin first and eat the sweet juicy part inside. I’m happy now because there are lots of ripe fruit on the big loquat tree at the center where I work. I can eat loquats anytime!     (135 words) Jaremaga now comes out online on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. To become a paid subscriber and

The FIFA World Cup has started, and today is Japan’s first game. They are playing the Netherlands, and I’m going to watch the game with my son-in-law. We have to get up very early because it starts at 5 am. If I get up first, I’m going to send him a LINE message, but if he gets up first, he’ll send me a message. Of course we are rooting for the Samurai Blue! They are looking very good. They have won all their games since last October. Today, they are going up against a very strong team. The Netherlands is ranked 8th by FIFA while Japan is ranked 18th. No matter who wins, this will be an exciting game!    (119 words) It was a very exciting game! Japan didn‘t win, but they tied the game with a beautiful head shot! Jaremaga now comes out online on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. To become a

I work part-time at the Inae Visitor Center at Fujimae Tidal Flat. Every year, the center has a special exhibit, and this year, it is about large birds that you can see at Fujimae. They are called herons and egrets in English, but Japanese uses only one word, “sagi.” Four kinds are white, so it can be difficult to tell the difference between them. The biggest kind is a grey heron. It is a beautiful bird, but it has a bad character. It often steals fish from other birds. A university student is helping with the exhibit. He went to a “sagi” festival, and he made a pole like the one he saw at the festival. I think visitors will like it because they can pick it up and take a picture with it.    (134 words) Jaremaga now comes out online on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. To become a paid subscriber and read

The iris is both a flower and part of the eye. The flower originally comes from Europe and Asia. There are many different kinds of irises, and one kind is native to Japan. The Japanese iris is usually purple or white, and it grows in wet fields like rice does. June is a good time to go and see irises because they are in bloom. The iris is also the colored part of your eye. It is the circle around the black dot in the middle of the eye. When you say, “He has blue eyes,” you mean that his irises are blue. My irises are blue, but the irises of most Japanese are dark brown.    (116 words) Jaremaga now comes out online on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. To become a paid subscriber and read it 5 days a week, go to “Support Jaremaga” at https://jaremaga.online/ for more information. You can send me