Canola blossoms are at their best in rice paddies in the city of Hashimoto, Wakayama Prefecture. The scene looks like a yellow carpet spread out over the rice paddies, delighting viewers. The canola plants have been grown since 2007. This year, volunteers from the local community sowed the seeds in seven locations. The flowers can apparently be enjoyed until around the beginning of April.

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.