Kumamoto International Archive

Archive of the Kumamoto International Facebook group, 2011–present.

Kirk here looking back on things that happened on this page in 2021 with some thoughts about how to move forward in 2022.
As those of you who read the page regularly have surely noticed, there was a good deal of friction about editorial policy in 2021. I was sorry to see things become acrimonious at times and to see editors leave the page but I felt that everyone involved was motivated by a sincere interest in making the page better. In other words, even when I saw people at loggerheads, I felt that those involved were trying to do what was right or appropriate but that they just had different ideas about what that would mean in practice.
One suggestion I have for 2022 is to assume goodwill. Even if someone (me, another editor, or a commenter) has written something that you find to be irritating, inappropriate, or just plain wrong in in some way, assuming that the person meant well might make it easier to respond kindly, even when you need to point out a problem or concern.
I should be upfront and say that I haven't always been able to practice what I preach in this regard. There have been many occasions in the over two-decade history of this forum in which my emotions have gotten the better of me and I've responded to situations in ways that I regret. So, what I've written here is as much a reminder to myself as it is a suggestion to other participants.
I'll post a few more thoughts I have about issues that came up in 2021 in the coming days.

Kirk here with something that may be of interested to people who need to control their blood-sugar level but would still like to enjoy some sweets.
Here's a page from the store's website with a Google map showing the location:
https://tenmando.com/pages/shop
And, if you prefer to read Japanese, here's an article from the Kumamoto Keizai Shimbun about the shop.
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14479905
Confectionery’s bittersweet solution to blood-sugar fear | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
KUMAMOTO--A Japanese-style confectionery shop here does more than cater to customers with a sweet tooth. Its other objective is to revive the pleasure of eating something sweet for those suffering from diabetes and other illnesses linked to blood-sugar levels.

Kirk here with a heads up about Christmas markets, one at Hanabata Hiroba (downtown, near the castle) and one at Kumamoto Station. The dates and times are listed on the website with enough English and Arabic numerals (dates and times) to make things clear enough even if you can't read the Japanese text.
https://xmas-kumamoto.com
Reviews are welcome! If you get a chance to go, please write a note about what you liked or didn't like.
Finally, here's an article (in Japanese) from the Kumanichi:
https://kumanichi.com/articles/490673
クリスマスマーケット熊本 | CHRISTMAS MARKET KUMAMOTO
◆HOT WINE & DRINK（クリスマスマーケット熊本）ホットワイン特製のオリジナルホットワイン。寒い冬空の下で飲むホットワインは気持ちまであたたかくします。スパークリングワインやソフトドリンクなど […]

Kirk here with a share from Yoriko Sakama. As many of you will recall, we've discussed this important issue on the page several times.
https://www.facebook.com/yoriko.sakuma.1/posts/10159787690413817
Firma la petición
We request a verdict of “not guilty” of Vietnamese technical intern trainee, Ms. Linh

Fiona here with some information about a newly published book written by long-term Kumamoto resident Peter Smith.
Peter is originally from Yorkshire in the UK, and has lived in Kumamoto since 1994. This book is a memoir of some of the characters he has encountered in the English teaching community along the way. Fellow Kumamoto long-termers may think they recognise themselves or people they know within the pages, but of course any similarity to living people is purely coincidental 😉
The book is called GAIJIN: Nine Cautionary Tales of Life in Japan's English Teaching Community'
' It is the story of a number of folk who, for a variety of reasons – love, money, family - decide to make their home in Japan. It’s a study of the often bizarre, sometimes tragic ways their lives develop.'
It's available as both a paperback and in eBook format, and more details can be found here:
GAIJIN: Nine Cautionary Tales of Life in Japan's English Teaching Community
GAIJIN: Nine Cautionary Tales is the story of a number of folk who, for a variety of reasons love, money, family - decide to make their home in Japan. Its a study of the often bizarre, sometimes tragic ways their lives develop.

Ruth here! 🦌 As some of you know, Atsuko Kumabe and I are part of Team Tonakai・チームトナカイ which is a local volunteer group who help get Christmas presents to children in care and orphanages around Kumamoto.
Please consider donating to this great cause, either in person at one of our fundraising events later in the week or by transfer to our JP PO account.
チビッ子代表ってことでカンナのゆうちょ銀行口座です:
Account Number: 17140 33544101　
Account Name: フルエカンナ
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
This is a Japanese Post Office account. Donations for this year's activities are accepted until Dec. 20th. We give updates on our page so check-in when you can!
12月20日(月)までの受付とします。
On Saturday, 11th Dec., at Sunatori Community Center by Ezuko, we'll have a TEAM TONAKAI Tatami TeaTime FUNDRAISER in the morning. Biscuits and brews for all!! 🍪☕️ For those of you not working on Friday, 10th Dec., we'll also have a CRAFTEA チームトナカイ Mini Marché Fundraiser from 11:30am-4pm - the mini stockings are a taster and there'll, of course, be tea and other tasters for those who come along! Wrap up warm as it's outside!
＊＊More details, and Japanese, below!＊＊
チームトナカイです!! 今週末から熊本養護施設クリスマスプレゼント募金活動は... スタート!! ✨🏁 多くの方々の支援をお願い致します。募金イベントに参加できない場合は郵貯に寄付してください。詳細は👆 募金活動について、今週の金曜日(10日)と土曜日(11日)の午前中にも募金活動が予定されています: https://fb.me/e/Y3Vbmhta と https://fb.me/e/1ZigDcT5T
改めて感謝申し上げます。Thanking you in advance for your generosity and goodwill 💕
＝＝A bit of background!!✨🎄＝＝
Team Tonakai carry on some the work of the Christmas Toy Drive which was lead by the Bowman family for 30+ years. Their team bought and brought gifts to 800+ children in Kumamoto. When they returned to the US after the 2016 earthquakes they delegated certain institutions to different volunteer groups: Team Tonakai took on four of them and we have reached out to bring in another four, which are not under the care of the church.
For the past three years Team Tonakai has been carrying out our yearly fundraising activities and gift-giving to children all over the prefecture, from Koshi to Minamata, Amakusa to Tatsuda. Some businesses give brand new toys or sweets to help bulk up the gift-giving. Please help support the efforts of many by donating what you can🙏✨

Kirk here with a belated report on the reversal of a problematic policy:
"The official said the passenger restriction policy is not intended to give priority to Japanese nationals and said that foreign residents of Japan can make reservations to re-enter the country."
That's good! Glad to see that the government has learned it's lesson since excluding all non-Japanese in 2020 and now is distinguishing between between residents and non-residents. Unfortunately, though, it seems that the prime minister didn't get the memo. In a public announcement I saw on TV he said something like "foreigners will not be allowed in," an inexact way of speaking that encourages the tendency to lump all foreigners together into one category of people who, supposedly, don't really need to be here and can easily "go home."
Japan quickly reverses course on halt of new reservations for inbound flights
Less than 24 hours after it was announced, Japan retracted its decision in a rapid reversal of a stunning move, which had caught even the prime minister off guard.

Kirk here with some manga news:
Minamata picks manga artist as first envoy to promote tourism | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
MINAMATA, Kumamoto Prefecture--Manga artist and native son Hisashi Eguchi reckons his new gig as this city’s first tourism ambassador is to help the good citizens of Minamata overcome their traumatic past.

Kirk here with a share from Explore Kumamoto. If you like these shots check out the many other beautiful photos on the page.
https://www.facebook.com/explorekumamoto/posts/4834390486585144

Kirk here with bad news for people outside of Japan hoping to return:
"In a stunning move, the transportation ministry Wednesday directed airlines to halt reservations for incoming flights to Japan for one month amid growing fears over the omicron coronavirus variant. The ministry described the move as 'an emergency measure.' People with existing bookings will still be able to fly into Japan."
In the past, residents of Japan with foreign passports have been excluded but this is the first time I'm aware of where Japanese citizens will also be unable to return until the ban on new reservations is lifted.
Japan halts new incoming flight bookings over omicron strain
People with existing bookings will still be able to fly into Japan despite the "emergency measure" that came the same day the country logged its second case of the omicron variant.

Kirk with an emu update. In October, William reported on the emu escape mentioned in the article. I learned from the article that the animals are being kept in an abandoned elementary school and that the goal to to turn it into a tourist farm. They are waiting for the end of the pandemic to begin inviting tourists.
Kumamoto: Mountain town embraces cracker-fed emus
The project started at the site of a shuttered elementary school, which was turned into a breeding facility called Kikuchi Emu Tourist Farm.

Kirk here with one more Omicron update. This one is a TV report from FNN about Kumamoto University needing to cancel plans to accept new students from various countries.
新たな変異株で新規入国禁止　熊本大学では留学手続きを中断
新型コロナの新たな変異株・オミクロン株の感染者が、日本国内で初めて３０日確認されました。一方、政府は３０日から外国人の新規入国を原則禁止したため、留学生を受け入れている県内の大学も対応に追われています...

Kirk here. Earlier today I posted about new restrictions related to the discovery of Omicron variant. After I posted, RKK ran a news segment about the impact on agriculture in Kumamoto. The prefecture depends on foreign "trainees" for agricultural labor. Here's the Japanese YouTube url for the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNSKcQmNSVE
And here's the RKK page:
https://rkk.jp/news/index.php?id=NS003202111301715000111

Hi! Kirk here with news that I'm sure most of you have already gotten and that fits in the category of "not specific to Kumamoto but is as relevant to those of us here as it is to the rest of Japan."
I've seen some articles that make it sound as though Japan has decided not to allow any foreigners into Japan. Here, for example, is a sentence from Nikkei Asia:
"Japan will suspend entry into the country by foreign nationals starting Tuesday, citing the emergence of the omicron variant of COVID-19."
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Coronavirus/Japan-to-suspend-entry-of-overseas-travelers-due-to-omicron
Fortunately, though this wording is extremely misleading (lousy journalism), there is more nuance to the actual policy. Both the following NHK article and video and the Japanese reports I've seen indicate that those of us with legal residency status will not be banned.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211129_22/
However, if you're returning from an area in which Omicron has been discovered, you may be significantly delayed by the need to quarantine. Here's the government page on that topic:
https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001053.html#section3
And here is the text currently on the page regarding the countries that have been newly added to the special restrictions:
Countries/ regions subject to the quarantine measures mentioned in (i) above.
On November 26, 2021, the following countries are designated (The above-mentioned quarantine measures already commenced from 0:00 am (JST) on November 27, 2021.):
Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho
On November 27, 2021, the following countries are designated (The above-mentioned quarantine measures commence from 0:00 am (JST) on November 28, 2021.):
Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique
https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001053.html#section1
Japan to ban new entry of foreigners from Tues. | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News
The Japanese government will ban the entry of all foreign nationals who are not residents in principle from Tuesday.

Kirk here with an article for history buffs.
Tabaruzaka Park: Discovering the Japanese Gettysburg
Atop a certain hilltop in Kumamoto Prefecture is a serene park, with lanes of cherry trees and azaleas on its terraced hillside.

(Fiona) Anyone looking for seasonal work? Here's a request for someone to be Santa. Please contact Marty at Hilltop International School for further information.
Looking for a Santa! Hilltop International School, located in Tatsuda Jinnai, is looking for someone to be Santa at our Christmas party on Wednesday, December 22nd from 10:15 to 11:00am. You need to be entertaining and able to answer some questions in English. After Santa makes his entrance, the children will sing you a few songs then get their presents. You will need to come to Hilltop once before the party to try on the suit and talk about the party plan. The total pay is 12,500 yen. If you are interested, email me at [email protected]

Kirk with news about the planned TSMC chip factory. A government subsidy for half of the investment sounds quite generous to me.
TSMC To Receive $3.47 Billion In Subsidies From Japan Government For $7 Billion Chip Factory It Will Set Up In Kumamoto
Japan will provide 600 billion yen ($5.2 billion) as part of its fiscal 2021 supplementary budget to support advanced semiconductor manufacturers.

Anett here: It's really short notice but Shugakukan has its Furiai Matsuri tomorrow in Yatsushiro. Please see the poster for more information.
Start: 13:30
Place: Nakagawa Furiai Arena (it's besides the Tandai college in Yatsushiro)
I used to work there some years ago but at least the energy and effort they put into such events was incredible. So if you decide to go, you'll not be disappointed.

Kirk here, introducing a fairly new Nepalese restaurant. I say "Nepalese" because the two gentlemen that are running it are from Nepal. But, I'm not sure how much of their menu should be classified as Nepalese and how much is Indian. The name of the restaurant is "Indian Curry Suizenji" (インドカレーすいぜんじ) and it is located near Suizenji Station. You can find a map and several 5-star reviews on it by Googling インドカレーすいぜんじ.
The menu is not vegetarian but they have some vegetarian items. I particularly enjoyed the freshly made nan. I was quite hungry at the time and would have enjoyed larger portions but I think you can get seconds on some items or perhaps larger portions could be negotiated.
I was told that they have another restaurant in Fukuoka but that they just started this one in October.
The last picture I'm uploading shows so items that they sell there.

Kirk here with some information about an opportunity to help children living in an orphanage in Kumamoto. The text that follows is from Yoriko Sakuma and the photo is one that I took from the orphanage's website:
https://www.jiaien-childhome.com/
--- text from Yoriko ---
English Speaking Volunteers Needed at an Orphanage!!!
Kuma Ei Go! offers an English activity program at Jiaien, an orphanage in the Kuwamizu area of Kumamoto City.
We are a small group of Japanese and non-Japanese volunteers, and we are constantly looking for new members to join us. We meet on Thursdays from 7pm until 8pm. You won’t have to come every Thursday but only when you can although the children would benefit more from volunteers who can commit regularly. Japanese can be helpful but not necessary.
We have children from elementary to high school. They love to learn English and communicate with “foreign” sensei (teachers). Please join us and make some changes in the children’s life.
Contact: Yoriko 080-2708-1266
[email protected]