Readers' Corner

Readers’ Corner: It Happened at Kiyomizu Temple

This story happened when I visited Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto. When I got to the Otowa Waterfall, there was a line of people waiting. There are three waterfalls, but people go one at a time. I thought it would be okay for three people to go together since there were three waterfalls. I suggested this to a foreign woman in front of me, but she told me that each waterfall had a different benefit, so people should go one at a time. It’s funny that a foreigner told me about a Japanese custom that I, a Japanese person, didn’t know. This kind of thing happens sometimes. People tend to be indifferent to their own culture whereas foreigners are keen on learning about foreign cultures.   (124 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

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Chopsticks, not Darts!

Today’s story is about a Guinness World Record breaker. His name is David Rush, and he has just broken a record. He used chopsticks like darts and threw them at a target four meters away. He had to beat the record for the most target hits with chopsticks in one minute. The record was 21 hits. He got 29 hits and broke the record! You can watch the video at the following URL https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2025/03/31/Guinness-World-Records-Davd-Rush-chopsticks/3391743443607/  This man loves challenges. He now holds more Guinness Records than anyone else. Most of his records are for juggling, but he also holds the record for the most marshmallows caught in the mouth with a home-made catapult in one minute.  (115 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

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Wonderful and Terrible

There are only two of us at home, but we throw out one big bag of plastic garbage every week. I would like to say goodbye to plastic because I know it is bad for the environment, but I can’t. Everything comes in plastic these days: supermarket vegetables, tofu, eggs, rice, and bread. Plastic is good because it keeps our food fresh longer, and it is much easier for stores to sell food in plastic packages. However, plastic doesn’t go away after you use it. If you burn it, the smoke is bad for your health. If it gets into the sea, birds and turtles eat it, and they die. Plastic also breaks up into microplastics and gets inside fish, animals, and plants. When we eat them, the plastic gets inside us. Plastic is both wonderfully convenient for us and terrible for the environment!   (144 words) You can send me a comment or

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Working for Disney!

As you probably know, I make YouTube videos of my Jaremaga stories. I think the videos are good for learners, but I don’t really like the sound of my own voice. That’s why I was really surprised to get an email from someone at Walt Disney Studios. They saw my YouTube channel and liked my voice. Now they want me to be a voice actor in an animated movie. I can’t believe it! I went to Tokyo last Friday for a screen test, and I passed! I am starting work this morning. The name of the movie is “An April Fool.” What do you think? Am I a good liar?   (110 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

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March is a Month of Changes

March is the end of the year for students and many workers all over Japan. Students graduate, and public school teachers have to move to other schools before April. I know that some government workers have to move to other offices at the end of March, and I think it happens at large companies, too. I didn’t think it happened to newscasters, but I was wrong. Last Friday, I was watching the local NHK evening news. At the end of the program, the two newscasters said that they were leaving the show. One of them is moving to radio, and the other is changing to the morning news. The two new newscasters have something in common. They have the same last name: Yamada.  (123 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

Readers' Corner

Readers’ Corner: Who’s Going to Give You the Flu?

The weather is becoming warmer, but some schools are still closing because many students are sick with the flu (influenza) or other diseases. A student asked me how many absences it would take for a class to be closed. A common rule is that if about 20% of the students are absent, the class is closed. But at my school, it’s a bit different. There are only three students in my class. If one student is absent, the absentee rate is 33%, but we can’t close the class just because one student is missing. One of my students said, “If two students are absent, the absence rate is 66%, so the class should be closed.” But I replied, “If two students are absent, who’s going to give you the flu?”   (130 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com