I went to a supermarket last Thursday to get ready for the World Cup match between Japan and Sweden. It was on Friday morning, and I wanted to buy some snacks to eat while watching the game. As I was looking at the snacks, I saw something silver. It was a special package with a black and white design. The company’s usual red and yellow package uses ink that is made with oil products, but this company is trying not to use oil now because it’s difficult to get oil from the Middle East. Not using colorful ink for the packages is one way that the company can use less oil.   (111 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” below for more information. You can send me a comment or your own story

Watermelons are in season now. They are on sale everywhere, and they are delicious if you buy them ripe. Do you know how to choose a watermelon? Pick it up and tap it. Listen, and if it has a deep sound, it is ripe. Try to choose a heavier watermelon because it’s usually juicier. Of course, you can buy half or a quarter of a watermelon, but I like to buy one whole. My wife and I have no trouble finishing it! These days, farmers use special technology to check how sweet watermelons are. Some watermelons are more expensive, but if you know how to choose a watermelon, you can find a good one at the right price.   (118 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” below for more information. You can send

A few weeks ago, eight brightly colored birds were released into the wild. They were Japanese crested ibises. Ibises are usually white with a little pink on their wings, but these birds had orange, blue, red, and even green wings. Why were they so strangely colored? It’s a long story. Ibises used to live all over Japan, but people hunted them, and farming chemicals killed their food. The last wild ibis died in 2003. Luckily, China still had ibises, and they gave a male and female to Japan. The pair lived on Sado Island and had babies. Now there are about 500 ibises in Japan. Most of them live on Sado Island, but three weeks ago, scientists released eight on Honshu for the first time. They colored the wings of the birds so that they could see where the birds go. I hope ibises spread all over Japan again.   (149 words) Jaremaga now

The rainy season started in central Japan at the beginning of June. Over the weekend, it finally started in northern Honshu. Many people tell me that Japan has four seasons, but I think the rainy season is Japan’s fifth season. It’s not spring, but it’s not summer either. It rains frequently for about one month. We have four seasons where I come from in the U.S., but we don’t have a wet season like this. Actually, this year, the weather here in Nagoya hasn’t been so bad. We haven’t had a lot of rain, and there have been some beautiful days.    (101 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 a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com