Children are going back to school in Japan and in the U.S., but it’s a little different in each country. In Japan, children are in the middle of the school year. They are going back to the same class in the same school. They already have everything they need. In the U.S., children are starting a new school year. They are going back to school, but they may be in different schools, and they will be in different classes. There are no uniforms in most American schools, so the children need new clothes. Many also need new schoolbags. They usually use backpacks, but most backpacks only last a couple of years. Of course, they will need school supplies like pencils and notebooks, and some will buy new lunchboxes. It’s the time of year for back-to-school sales!   (136 words) Jaremaga now comes out online on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. To become a paid subscriber

My wife and I keep cool on hot summer days by eating shaved ice. We don’t go out to buy it; we make it at home. I bought a shaved ice maker three years ago, and it’s one of the best things I have ever bought. We always keep ice in the freezer so that we can have shaved ice anytime. We sometimes buy regular syrup, but we often use concentrated drinks instead. Yesterday, my granddaughter came over for shaved ice, and she tried mango flavored Calpis concentrate. She really liked it. My wife loves coconut milk, so she put it on her shaved ice. I tried mango Calpis and coconut milk together. The mixture was delicious! If you make shaved ice at home, you can try anything! (128 words) Jaremaga now comes out online on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. To become a paid subscriber and read it 5 days a week, go

My favorite summer tree is in full bloom now. It has a very smooth trunk, and the flowers are pink, red, purple, or white. Can you guess what kind of tree I am talking about? In English, we call it crepe myrtle. In Japanese, it is called “sarusuberi.” It is said that the trunk is so smooth that even monkeys will fall off. This tree is also found in China, but the Chinese name has a different meaning. It means “red for 100 days.” That’s because the flowers of the tree stay in bloom for a long time. Last Thursday, I drove along a road that had crepe myrtle on both sides. It was so beautiful that I had to stop and take a photo!     (125 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”

Wednesday’s story reminded me of another plant, Japanese ginger, or “myoga” in Japanese. It is often used as a condiment in Japanese cuisine, for example  with tofu and soba noodles. Some people say that if you eat “myoga,” you will become forgetful. This belief comes from a story about one of Buddha’s disciples. The disciple was so forgetful that he could not even remember his own name. Buddha made a flag with the disciple’s name written on it and put it on his back. However, the disciple even forgot that the flag was there. After he died, a strange plant grew on his grave. It was “myoga.” Of course, this is just a myth, but I remember my grandmother telling me this story when we lived together.     (127 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

My wife made pickled lotus root for the first time in a long time. It was nice and crunchy. Before I came to Japan, however, I had a completely different image of lotus. I thought it was a drug. I first heard about it while reading the “Odyssey” by Homer (“Homerus in Japanese). He tells the story of Odysseus and some sailors who are trying to get back to Greece. They land on an island of lotus-eaters. Everyone on the island is peaceful because they eat a sweet plant called lotus. When the Greek sailors eat it, they forget everything and lose interest in going back to Greece. I’m sure Homer was talking about a different plant. The lotus root I eat isn’t sweet, and it doesn’t make me forget.    (130 words) Jaremaga now comes out online on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. To become a paid subscriber and read it 5 days a