Kumamoto International Archive

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

Joe Tomei here with another Funky Friday place. Just across from the previously introduced Cure seikotsuin near the Kumamoto Suizenji Station is Ikkyuhonpo Suizenji. Honpo means main store, so I guess that means that there are branches. Now you might say "Joe, how can a place that is respectable enough to have a main store and branches gain the coveted Funky Friday Place status?" Well, the store has been around for half a century and the main store has a pretty funky menu. The main store really gives off a Showa era vibe. You can buy manju to go, but it gets Funky Friday place status by offering a mean zenzai (mochi in a hot sweet bean soup) and these huge takoyaki balls. A sign in the store says something to the effect of 'please allow 15-20 minutes for takoyaki' cause they cook it up fresh. Also, if you are an impatient person like myself, you will want to have a glass of cold water there when you burn the inside of your mouth because you can't wait for the takoyaki to cool down.
Their website is here
http://www.ikkyuuhonpo.com/
and they are on the FFP google map
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1qUH94Bac7Hr939b7_8gtvebaJZffGRsX&usp=sharing
一休本舗公式ウェブサイト
熊本県熊本市東区に本社がある一休本舗は出来立ての美味しい和菓子を販売する直営店が熊本県内に１２店舗と３店舗の甘味茶屋があります。直営以外にも熊本県以外にも日本全国、海外（2020年現在アジア圏）にもお届け...

Hello friends.
It was heavy rain yesterday.
I was at Kengun elementary school on that time. School might have sent parents some messages that we didn't make students go back home because of heavy rain.
Usually, lots public schools keep students at school safely in case emergency. Yesterday was so. Lots students had to stay until their family picking up them or the rain has stopped, calm.
I met one international father and I think school notice by 安心メール might not work well for non Japanese speakers, unfortunately because all announcement is written in Japanese.
待機 means students wait together at classroom.
緊急引き渡し means the system teachers pass students to their parents directly, certainly in emergency.
徒歩 by foot
お迎え picking up
小康状態in the situation rain has stopped, has abated, calm down.
下校 means going back to home.
一斉下校 means students starts to go back to home together, once.
In case emergency, parents can pick up their kids and go back together.
We, schools are worried about heavy rain makes students have any trouble during they go back alone.
When you can pick up your kids, you can come to school and visit your kids' classroom. You should greet your kids' teacher and tell you'll go back together.
Yesterday evening, we got heavy rain, I met lots papa and mama. After the rain stopped, all students went back by themselves.
My young daughter, she goes different school, she has gone back with her best friend and her father. Her school called me and made sure if she can go back with the father. Teacher and school want to make sure, so if you want to pick up your kids, please come to school and meet your kids' teacher.
Anyway, Please ask teachers if you need any help, anytime freely, especially emergency.
Hoping heavy rain gone away and come back blue sky again soon.
Please stay safe together!ーAtsuko(Ü)

Not done raining yet. By the way, caption on the picture says "Kumamoto City, Central Ward."
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210520_30/
-- Kirk
Heavy rain forecast for western, eastern Japan | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News
Weather officials say thunderstorms are expected to hit wider areas of western and eastern Japan through Friday. They are warning of possible mudslides and overflowing rivers.

This is a follow up to a post I made earlier today about evacuation notices:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/5392672060806182
First of all, as you can see in the following image of a Google translation of the Yahoo page, the number of communities labeled "evacuation instructions" has increased. By the way, "evacuation instructions" is the translation of "hinan shiji" (避難指示) which I think is closer to "evacuation order" because it means "do this," not "this is how you do it." (As far as I know, however, it is not a legally binding "order.")
To get a better idea about what you need to do in your particular location, you may want to click on your community name and read the fine print. For example, I live in Kumamoto City and my part of town is in red (高齢者等避難; the elderly and others with special needs should evacuate). However, if you click on the link and read the explanation you'll find that it only applies to people who live close to a steep incline or cliff, etc. In other words, even if you are in the designated category of people, you might not be in a place where you were actually advised to evacuate. On the other hand, some areas are asking everyone to evacuate.
My advice is threefold: 1) if at all possible, check with people who live near you to see how they are interpreting the evacuation orders; 2) read the details on the Yahoo page to see if the order only applies to people whose home are in particularly vulnerable locations or if it applies to everyone; and 3) when in doubt, evacuate. Better safe than sorry.
Also, note that if you click on the community name in the Yahoo! page linked to above you can find a link to a map showing evacuation sites.
Stay safe!
-- Kirk

Thanks to Kuma Visit for posting this!

A news article from about 4 hours ago, when the rain was really coming down hard. -- Kirk
Downpours in SW Japan prompt evacuation directives for 4 municipalities in Kumamoto - The Mainichi
KITAKYUSHU, Fukuoka -- Localized downpours caused by warm moist air flowing into a rainy season front in southwest Japan have hit the southern Kyushu

This is an image from the following page on Kumamoto Prefecture's site:
http://www.bousai.pref.kumamoto.jp/GmnDsp.exe?M100A0S0N1P0R0
The Japanese text is built in to the graphics so I don't know of a good way to translate it but the colors, which show the level of danger, may be enough to give you a sense of whether or not you need to change your behavior. Currently in the prefecture, the situation seems to be worst in Minamata. I'm a bit late in sharing this with you today but if you hold on to the URL, you can use it to check the warning levels from time to time. If your area has become a bit colorful, you can check for evacuation notices via the links I shared in my previous post:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/5392672060806182
-- Kirk

Just in time for today's heavy rain, Japan has a new warning scale:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210520_11/
The best place I know of to find information about such warnings that have been issued for Kumamoto is on the following Yahoo page:
https://crisis.yahoo.co.jp/evacuation/43/
The information in Japanese so, if you don't read Japanese, you'll probably want to run it thought some sort of translation too. On a computer, I find that the Google translated extension works well on the Chrome browser. On an iPhone, I just learned how to install and use Microsoft Translator in Safari:
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-translate-a-page-on-iphone
I think it works quite well. I haven't tried it yet but as Android is Google OS, it seems that they have good options for translating web pages on the fly there too.
I just expect to be able to warn people about the need to evacuate in advance. If you are in a vulnerable area, you'll need to develop your how method of monitoring things. I'll post again with another tool from Kumamoto Prefecture in a few minutes. -- Kirk
Japan starts new evacuation scale for heavy rain | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News
Japanese officials on Thursday began using a new five-level warning scale for heavy rain, floods and landslides. The major point in this revised scale is that it designates Level Four as the time when "all people must evacuate" when there is a high risk of disaster. People are advised to check the t...

Day Two following my first Pfizer shot.
Good day everyone, such as it is with a 3 week early rainy season dogging us.
This is just to provide some closure to my post from yesterday, and to let you all know that I’m feeling fine with no noticeable side or after effects from my vaccination.
When I went to bed last night my shoulder was fairly sore and stiff so, as I would after a workout at the gym, I took one Advil (American brand of ibuprofen) before retiring in anticipation of its soothing prowess. I slept very peacefully.
Upon awakening, I felt fine, about 90% fit, and 100% able to resume without the slightest impediment my stay-at-home sedentary Covid-19 lifestyle bathed in the blue light of a computer screen. This has been augmented as well by the curtains of rain opening and closing since before sunrise. As I live in a relatively high altitude location I’m not troubled by the threat of flooding and landslides, so I earnestly hope that others reading this will not be inconvenienced or endangered by such things over the next 2 days.
All of my acquaintances named Noah have been seized by an uncontrollable urge to start boat building and collecting things in pairs.
Stay safe everyone. —CM

From the front lines of the Covid-19 skirmish I can report that I have been shot.
As a member of the over-65 club, I was eligible for my first Pfizer vaccination and was lucky enough to get an appointment for one this morning of the first day of inoculation in Kumamoto for those similarly qualified.
Eschewing the taxi coupons I had and expecting a possible crowded parking lot at the ear, nose, and throat clinic that was the vaccination site, I drove over 30 minutes early. My apprehensions were not justified. There were but a few cars already there, and when I walked into the clinic and saw about a dozen people seated and socially distanced I noticed that many of them appeared to be aging a whole lot better than me. That’s because most of them were in their 20s-40s and there with ear, nose, and throat problems waiting to see the doctor. There were only 3 other people appearing to be well into the 2nd half of their respective centuries waiting to get vaccinated. And only 2 more arrived while I was there. I had my temperature taken and presented the necessary paperwork—photo ID, vaccination “coupon”, and pre-vaccination medical history questionnaire—and was directed to take a seat and wait.
Patients were called in one by one as in any medical waiting room in a normal sequence except it appeared that the “vaxxers” like me were being admitted within the 15 minute time frames of our respective appointments. Mine was for 10-10:15am and I was called at 10:13 (my birth date). I was directed to an empty anteroom where I took a seat but then was immediately ushered into the doctor’s examination room, also empty except for him and 2 nurses.
The doctor, a graduate of the University of Michigan medical school in my home state, greeted me in fluent English, and asked if I had any questions in advance and if I understood what was happening. I did not, and I did, and we chatted briefly about Michigan before getting down to brass jabs. Following previous advice I wore a short sleeve shirt, and in about 10 seconds I was injected by the doctor. It was so fast and so painless I wasn’t aware that it had happened apart from alcohol being rubbed on a spot on my shoulder.
I was then escorted back to the waiting room and asked to stay for 15 minutes to observe if I suffered any reaction to the shot. I did not, and after 15 minutes a nurse returned and presented me with the follow-up paperwork necessary for presentation at the time of my 2nd shot and confirmed the date and time exactly 3 weeks hence. Then I was free to leave.
It’s now 5 hours since I received the injection and my shoulder feels a bit sore (I’d say naturally after having been stabbed by a relatively long but thin needle), but otherwise I’m feeling fine. My brother in the US, who was fully vaccinated in March, told me to expect this. There is no rash or swelling.
So everyone, the first thing I’ll say is that the program has begun but with very little fanfare or sense of urgency. At the clinic I went to I don’t believe they had more than 10 vaxxers scheduled, and they were not going to continue in the afternoon. Then again, citywide I understand there were only 4200 doses available for today and the next 3 days or so. From May 24 when the next time for inoculations begins, there are supposedly 10 times more doses to be distributed.
For those who might be nervous about getting the vaccination, if your experience is like mine, you have nothing to fear. It’s easier and faster and (so far) more comfortable than the flu shot you may have been getting every year. Good luck!

As a Scotsman, I feel at home during the rainy season! Nothing like getting out on a rainy day and seeing Kumamoto's ancient heritage blend with nature. I guess it is the connection between the Celtic and Shinto beliefs in animism that are involved.
Here is a link to a short video from the Rokuden shrine, in the rain, that Megumi and I (Douglas) put together yesterday.
Rain At the Rokuden Shrine
There is something special about visiting an old shrine in the rain. In this short video we feature the Rokuden shrine in the Tomiai district of Kumamoto, Japan. The…

One will often see these inverted V-shaped things on buildings, particularly schools, in Kumamoto. This is called "seismic retrofit" (耐震工事, たいしんこうじ) and is intended to reduce the horizontal stress that a building undergoes during an earthquake. (Presumably, newer buildings incorporate them.) But this story about a building in China that suddenly started shaking even with no seismic activity is startling. Architectural integrity is paramount. - William
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/18/panic-as-300m-high-tall-skyscraper-wobbles-in-china

Alluvial plains (沖積平野, chūseki heiya) - flat areas created by dirt running off of mountains - constitute most of the habitable areas of Japan. While their flatness makes them great for building, they're also subject to liquefaction during earthquakes. I'm currently commuting to a gig in Yatsushiro by train which skirts the mountains and the alluvial plain and am enjoying the view. Geology, I learned in college, is a key factor in understanding societies. - William

In 2013, a 17-year-old 3rd year high school student committed suicide after being verbally bullied by her dance club. Her parents were recently awarded 83.4 million yen in damages for this. As a survivor of youthful bullying, I have mixed feelings about this. Obviously devoid of details, I nonetheless have an inkling that, had her communication conduits with her parents been better, she would have been able to withstand it - it may have even made her stronger, as it did I. But it is a warning, both for parents and teachers: pay attention to signs of distress amongst youth and be proactive on probing the causes. - William
同級生８人と熊本県を提訴　いじめ苦に自殺の高３女子遺族｜熊本日日新聞
２０１３年４月に同級生のいじめなどを苦に自殺した熊本県央の県立高３年の女子生徒＝当時（１７）＝の遺族...

Kumamoto has a perennial problem with sediment buildup in its rivers due to both volcanic and farming effluent. One will often notice the color of Shirakawa, whose riverbed is at the same height as its surrounding area and only held in place by its artificial banks, turn coffee-brown during rice planting season, and its coarse black sand ejection from Aso. Removing the sediment before the onset of rainy season is a race against time. Kumanichi reports on the haste. - William
https://kumanichi.com/articles/232598

Kirk here. I occasionally search Google news for "Kumamoto" to see if anything worth sharing comes up. This article came up because it describes a survey that came out on the day that Kumamoto's quasi-emergency status was announced. That status change is old news on this page but I thought I'd share the article just the same. One reason is that the survey on whether or not the olympics should be held as planned is, I think, likely to be of interest to many readers of this page. The other is that I'd like to say "Give that woman an A+ in Colloquial English!"
Majority of Japanese say Tokyo Olympics should be canceled: polls
The two-day nationwide telephone survey conducted from Saturday also found that 25.2 percent said the games must be held without spectators, while 12.6 percent favor holding the global sporting event with a limited number of spectators.

The rain was quite heavy this morning in parts of Kumamoto.
The following NHK article says that Yamato-machi got about 20 centimeters of rain in just three hours:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210517_15/
The following link has an English-language video that reports that a woman in her 70s has gone missing in Yamato-machi. She went to check on her fields and has not been seen since.
-- Kirk
https://www.nippon.com/en/news/ntv20210517003/woman-missing-after-torrential-rain-in-kumamoto-prefecture.html
Woman missing after torrential rain in Kumamoto Prefecture
A 78-year-old woman goes missing after heavy rain drenches Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan.[© Nip…

Nora Ueda writes us (particularly if you are 65 or over or know someone who is) to say:
In case you are not aware of this , today May 17th , is the day that you may apply for your vaccination if you are above 65 and living in Kumamoto City . The phone number for this is ( 0120-096-885)
You can also do it online which is easier I think as the line isn’t jammed if you’ve registered yourself on their webpage which is in English, Chinese and Korean . It’s a bit tricky but I got this done and got my appointment today online .
====
She also included a photo and a link to the Kumamoto Covid 19 page
URL: https://vaccines.sciseed.jp/kumamotocovid18
Tel:096-300-5577
The above no is for calling 熊本市新型コロナワクチンコールセンター
Nora also added in a comment that the taxi fare is subsidized
"I was also given 2 ¥500 taxi coupons to be used for the first and second vaccinations, with a list of taxi companies. You’ll have to pay for the balance if it exceeds ¥500"
Please keep us posted on your progress and anything that may be helpful to know! (and thanks Nora!!)"

Kosa (黄砂, yellow sand which blows east from the Gobi Desert) has apparently reached its greatest amount in 18 years. It's really hit me hard; I feel like I have a beehive in my throat. A timelapse video is at the link. - William
気象庁｜黄砂・砂じん
ひまわりが取得した画像・動画です。それぞれの画像をクリックすると、拡大した画像・動画を見ることができます。

As a Japan neophyte walking from a gig on a rainy, frigid night in Osaka, I came across an emaciated kitten who was quite pleased that I stuffed her in my jacket. I named her "Bones" (despite the all-you-can-eat deal I gave her, her physical properties never changed), and we spent two years together until one day she never came home. When I moved to Kumamoto, I fulfilled my dream in getting a dog. We spent 15 glorious years together until he died a half year ago, probably of exhaustion. But cats and dogs are often too difficult for the more transient Kumamoto residents to care for. So here is my suggestion.
When I was in college, I had a rat. I named her Mickey. She spent her nights in her cage and her daytimes roaming the dorm floor, keeping it food-free. She learned to come when I called (a "tsk tsk tsk" sound does it - rats don't like vowels) and to ride around on my shoulder. Rats are friendly, clean, fascinating, cheap, easy to care for - and their lifespan is only 3 years. So if your stay in Kumamoto is limited but you really want a pet, visit any pet store and buy two rats (unless you have much time to socialize with them, they go crazy being alone - and make sure they're of the same sex unless you want a whole lotta rats) and have fun handicrafting their habitat from stuff you can find in the garbage. They'll thank you for it: their ultimate purpose was to have been fed to snakes. - William