[For Seniors] Liven Things Up with Trick Riddles You Answer!

A dog won a soba noodle eating contest. What kind of soba do you think it was?

Many people might figure it out right after reading the riddle: A dog wins a soba-eating contest.

What kind of soba was it? The answer is “wanko soba.” We arrive at this because “wanko” is an affectionate way to refer to a dog.

Wanko soba is a soba dish that’s a specialty of Iwate Prefecture, where bite-sized portions of soba are served one after another into your bowl.

The lively calls of “Hai, jan-jan! Hai, don-don!” are charming, too!

What is the fish that has five holes?

This time, I’d like to introduce a riddle about fish.

What fish has five holes? If you slowly read the question out loud, you might figure out the answer.

The answer is hidden in the question, so don’t give up and think it through! The answer is “anago” (conger eel).

The phrase “five holes” (ana ga go) contains the answer! Anago is a type of marine fish in the eel family, and it’s a familiar ingredient in Japanese cuisine.

It’s also highly nutritious, so it’s a great food to include in your diet!

A mosquito falls into a pond and transforms into a certain vegetable. What vegetable is it?

Here’s a riddle about mosquitoes that show up when it gets warm.

A mosquito falls into a pond and turns into a certain vegetable.

What vegetable is it? Of course, in reality a mosquito wouldn’t instantly turn into a vegetable just by falling into a pond, but since it’s a riddle, let’s think flexibly to find the answer! The hint is the sound it makes when it falls into the pond.

The correct answer is “pumpkin.” It’s a playful riddle based on the Japanese wordplay: a mosquito (ka) goes “bocha” (splash) into the pond—ka + bocha = kabocha (pumpkin).

Did you arrive at the answer cleanly?

What fruit appears when you ring the bell five times?

Here’s a simple riddle about fruit.

What fruit appears when you ring a bell five times? If you think of a common fruit, you might figure it out.

Hint: Try expressing the sound of a bell as onomatopoeia, and you’ll get closer to the answer! The correct answer is “apple.” The key is the bell going “rin-rin” and the number “five” in Japanese.

Apples are familiar to many people—not only can you eat them as they are, but you can also enjoy them as juice, jam, pie, jelly, and more.

What fruit is good at judo, kendo, and karate?

Let’s try a riddle that hinges on words that sound the same but have different meanings.

Which fruit is good at judo, kendo, and karate? If you take the sentence literally, it seems impossible that a fruit would do judo, kendo, or karate.

The hint is to think about what you call judo, kendo, karate, and similar disciplines collectively.

The answer is “grape” (budō).

It sounds the same as the fruit “grape” (budō), but judo, kendo, and karate are collectively referred to as “martial arts” (budō) in Japanese.

It’s a fun riddle that plays on different meanings of the same sound.