JM posts

Cosplayers in Nagoya

The Osu Shopping Arcade is a popular place for young people in Nagoya. Some people compare it to Akihabara in Tokyo. There are over 1,000 shops in the area, and they have many events during the year. On Saturday, there was a parade for the World Cosplay Summit in Nagoya. I missed the parade, but when I got there, one street was closed off to cars. There were trucks with DJs on top playing music, and everyone was dancing. I didn’t recognize all the anime characters, but I knew some from Ghibli and Marvel movies. One of the first cosplayers I saw wasn’t even a person. It was a meerkat, a small animal from southern Africa! It was on a leash, and it was dressed up in a happi coat.  (130 words) Jaremaga now comes out online on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. To become a paid subscriber and read it 5 days a

Readers' Corner

Readers’ Corner: An Anime Movie

I’d like to introduce an anime movie, “Kimi to Hanabi to Yakusoku to” (“You, Fireworks, and Our Promise”), which features the Nagaoka Fireworks Festival. This is one of Japan’s most famous fireworks festivals, held on August 2 and 3 every year in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture. The movie is a love story about two high school students, but it helps you to learn the history of Nagaoka and the fireworks festival while making you think about the importance of peace. The Nagaoka Fireworks Festival will be held next Sunday and Monday, and this year, they will launch special fireworks inspired by the movie.  (102 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 at jaremaga@gmail.com

JM posts

Googling the Wrong Place

Yesterday, I went to a planetarium for the first time in many years. My wife and I were planning to go to the Nagoya City Planetarium, but I picked the first planetarium that I found on Google. After I bought the tickets, I discovered that it was a different planetarium. Luckily, everything turned out OK. The planetarium had great photographs and showed the stars from different parts of the world. It was easy to understand why you can’t see the same stars from the northern and the southern hemisphere. However, I have learned my lesson. Don’t pick the first thing that comes up on Google. Check to make sure that it is really what you are looking for.  (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 me

JM posts

Magic in a Movie

If you like magic, you will like “The Prestige.” This movie was made 20 years ago, but I have only just seen it. The acting is great, and the story is full of suspense. It’s about two magicians at the end of the 19th century. They start as friends and become rivals. They keep trying to outdo each other. The magic tricks are amazing, and the end of the story is really surprising! The director of the movie, Christopher Nolan, has made other great movies such as “Inception,” and he has a new movie out in the U.S. called “The Odyssey.” The movie has gotten great reviews, and I’m looking forward to seeing it when it comes to Japan in September.   (121 words) You can watch a preview of “The Prestige” on YouTube at Jaremaga now comes out online on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. To become a paid subscriber and read it 5

Readers' Corner

Readers Corner: The River Takes Them Home

Some people who live in cities in Switzerland jump into the rivers after work. They change into bathing suits and put their work clothes, shoes, and their smartphones into waterproof bags. Then they jump into the river with their bags and let the strong current of the river take them home. They don’t have to sweat on the bus or train to get home. They can enjoy the cool clean water and the beautiful scenery while swimming home. It must be fun going back to work after the weekend when you know that you can go home like this, (99 words) You can watch a YouTube video about Switzerland by clicking the URL below. 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

JM posts

Grand Sumo Live

I wanted to go to the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament last year, but the tickets were sold out. This year, I got two tickets, one for me and one for my wife. Even though they were the cheapest tickets, we had a good view of the ring. You can’t watch the wrestlers close up like on TV, and there are no replays, but you can feel the excitement. Fans shout out the names of their favorite wrestlers and hold up towels with the wrestlers’ names. The woman next to us had five different towels! The crowd roars and claps loudly after an exciting bout, and there are some surprises. In one bout, two wrestlers fell off the ring and took the referee with them. Luckily, no one was hurt.   (129 words) Jaremaga now comes out online on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. To become a paid subscriber and read it 5 days a week,