I passed a Google Street View car the other day while I was driving. I saw the same car again yesterday. It was a small silver car, and it said “Street View on Google Maps” on the side. It was going around my neighborhood while the weather was good. This car has 15 cameras on top, and it takes very clear photos. You can use Google Street View to see what a place looks like before you go there. Google updates Street View once every 1-3 years. I wonder if my car will be in the next update. Actually, I know someone who found his own photo on Street View. He was standing on a street in Hong Kong when a Google car came by. He held up his smartphone and took a photo of the car. When he checked Street View later, he was in the picture!   (148 words) You can send

Yesterday was Mothers’ Day. How did you celebrate it? Did you give your mother something? Or did you do something special for her? Or did you forget that it was a special day? Don’t worry! Even if you missed Mothers’ Day, you can still say, “Happy belated Mothers’ Day!” to her. That means that you are late, but you still want to send her a message. My mother passed away a few years ago, so now I use this day to celebrate my wife. After all, she is the mother of our two children. She told me that she didn’t want flowers, so I bought her some rum raisin ice cream. It’s her favorite flavor. How did you celebrate Mother’s Day? Please tell me. I would love to hear from you!　　　(131 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

Last Sunday, my wife and I turned on the TV in the early afternoon. We started watching a professional basketball game between the Chiba Jets and the Sendai 89ers. We don’t usually watch basketball, but we were interested because both of us had played the game when we were young. I think some of the rules have changed since then. Both of us thought the game looked a little different. In any case, we enjoyed it. That evening, our elder daughter came over with her husband for dinner. She is a big fan of a Japanese group called JO1, and her favorite singer gave a special opening performance for the game. We were too late to see the performance, and she didn’t watch the game, but it was probably the first time all of us had ever talked about basketball.   (140 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at

This is a story from Japan, but it made the international news. I heard about it from someone living in Hong Kong. A Chinese student who goes to university here was rescued twice in less than a week while climbing Mt. Fuji. The climbing season doesn’t begin until July, and people are asked not to climb the mountain off season because it can be dangerous. When this man tried to climb Mt. Fuji the first time, he couldn’t come down and called for help. He was rescued by a helicopter. He went back four days later. Another climber found him hurt and freezing, and he was rescued again. Why did he go back the second time? Because he left his mobile phone on the mountain!   (125 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com