I found this vending machine on the streets in Nagoya. It is selling one thing, a hot sauce called Sriracha. Sriracha is a spicy sauce which is made from chili peppers, vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. It originally comes from Thailand, but a Vietnamese man started making it in the US, and now it is almost as popular as Tabasco sauce. I remember an American student who liked it so much that she brought some from the US when she came to Japan. Now, she doesn’t have to leave Japan. I found a Sriracha vending machine in Nagoya! A vending machine for hot sauce? I don’t understand. It’s not that popular, is it? I hope that no one mistakes it for a soft drink machine and tries to drink one!    (134 words)

I started making videos of Jaremaga at the end of March. I upload a video every weekday. I do everything myself. I record myself reading the Jaremaga story with my smartphone. I sometimes make mistakes, so I have to edit the video. I also add a photo and the text, and I put sound effects at the beginning and at the end. Finally, I upload it to YouTube. It’s a lot of work, but I think it’s important for learners to hear English so they know how it is pronounced. Today I want to introduce another YouTube channel that uses Jaremaga. It belongs to a university professor. He gets AI to make the videos. The videos look and sound different from mine. They have an AI voice and lots of pictures. Here is the URL for his channel: https://www.youtube.com/@shin10092025     (139 words)

I am in the middle of moving house. My wife and I have spent the last month going through everything we have: books, dishes, photos, CDs, DVDs, etc. We have too many things, and we can’t take everything with us. Every day I ask myself which things I should keep and which things I should get rid of. If I have read a book and liked it, I want to keep it. Should I keep all the pamphlets and souvenirs from my trips? If I see something that reminds me of the past, I don’t want to throw it away. I want to keep it as a memory. But I can’t. We have to get rid of things. Moving is hard work physically, but it is even harder mentally.  (131 words)

Costco is a wholesale food chain from the U.S. It opened its first store in Japan in 1999. It has become very popular because it has a lot of good products and products that you can’t buy elsewhere in Japan. The products are usually cheaper because it’s a wholesaler. You have to buy a lot each time. You also have to be a member. Some people don’t want to buy a lot and don’t want to pay the membership fee. Now, there is a new kind of mini-Costco store. They sell products in small amounts, and the stores are usually in convenient places. You have to pay more than at a regular Costco store, but people don’t seem to mind. They just want to get good Costco products.   (128 words)

It’s great to watch live sports because you can feel the excitement around you. I went to a baseball game last night, and the stadium was almost full. The people sitting behind me were Softbank Hawks fans. When the Hawks got a hit, I could hear them cheering. The people sitting next to me and in front of me were Chunichi Dragons fans. When the Dragons got a hit, we all cheered. It was an exciting game because the score was always close. The Hawks scored first. Then the Dragons went ahead in the second inning. The Hawks tied the game in the seventh inning and went ahead in the ninth inning. I was disappointed that the Dragons lost, but I enjoyed the excitement of live baseball!   (127 words)