With Christmas approaching, a "glass tree" filled with salmon roe is being displayed at the Chitose Aquarium, the "home of salmon," in the city of Chitose, Hokkaido. The attraction is lit by orange and yellow lights, shining like a Christmas tree. The "tree" is 91 glasses stacked in six layers. The eggs will soon hatch in the glasses and become baby salmon. The eggs will be replaced, and the display will continue until around mid-January.

Japanese original

Easy Japanese news is taken from the Mainichi Shogakusei Shimbun, a newspaper for children. This is perfect material for anyone studying Japanese who has learned hiragana and katakana. We encourage beginners to read the article in English followed by Japanese, or vice versa, to test their comprehension.

A fresh set will be published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4 p.m., Japan time. Click/tap here for past installments.

Intermediate learners who do not need English assistance can directly access the Mainichi Shogakusei Shimbun site here. Furigana (hiragana) is added to all kanji in the text.