At Kenroku-en, a famous garden in the city of Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, "yukitsuri" (snow hanging) work has started. Ishikawa gets heavy snow in winter, so ropes are used to support tree branches from above to protect them from the weight of the snow. Gardeners climb poles set up along pine trees and stretch ropes around the trees. This work will be done at about 800 locations by mid-December.

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.