Easy Japanese news in translation: Pony serves as ‘stationmaster’ in Fukushima Pref.

An 8-year-old female pony named Coco served as the “stationmaster for a day” on March 24 at Kashima Station on the JR Joban Line in the city of Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture. People gathered at the station, which is usually empty. The “stationmaster for a day” event was planned to increase people taking part in the traditional Soma Nomaoi festival.

Note: The Soma Nomaoi festival features horse riders dressed in full samurai gear.

Japanese original

The 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.

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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.