Kumamoto International Archive

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

Hello friends.
Now, it's also the leaving season for international students and ALTs.
Here is the webpage how to get garbage out, and the calendar of the day.
My international friend had a problem. He got his plastic garbage as usual but the staff didn't bring it out. He seemd to have done it out correctly in these website way. We searched and tried to find out the reason why they didn't accept his garbage.
The answer was the difference about semi- transparent bag. He got his plastic garbage out with week white bag. It can be seen through from outside. But it's not semi-transparent in Japan, unfortunately. He asked me what is the semi-transparent bag. I showed him the difference between transparent bag, semi-transparent bag and Kumamoto city organized bag. After I showed them he could understand the reason and the difference.

He wants to share his problem in case someone doesn't understand the difference between semi-transparent bag and colored bag.
We think Kumamoto city government should tell and show the difference semi-transparent and colorless bag from colored bag more clearly and more BIG letters!!!ーAtsuko(Ü)
It's a calendar for citizen who live Kurokami,,,,,.in English.
If you live other place, pleasure put your address into it.
http://www.city.kumamoto.jp.e.fm.hp.transer.com/cal_recycle/pub/default.aspx?c_id=14&lmst=1&smst=19
It's how to get the garbage out in ....
https://www.city.kumamoto.jp/hpKiji/pub/detail.aspx?c_id=5&id=15590&class_set_id=5&class_id=904&fbclid=IwAR25ibaCel3CCLlrJXUoJRFbvefkMqGR1D41NWr2thdOBrGEdb9pTQRw25E
.

Olivia here,
We are approaching Obon holiday soon. Kikuchi summer festival is this Saturday, 10th of August.
They have 3000 fireworks to make the festival merrier.
I have never been to Kikuchi summer festival before so I don’t really know how the atmosphere is.
Anyone who has been there before is welcome to share their experience in the comments below 😊

If you're interested in the ongoing high school baseball tournament, you might want to catch Kumamoto Kogyo's game at 10:30 tomorrow. These games are broadcast on NHK's main channel (not educational, not satellite).
-- Kirk
https://www.nhk.or.jp/koushien/2019-summer/results?date=2019-08-10

Hello friends, especially international students.
I like and respect international students because they are hard learners and honest, friendly and having lots of challenging spirit!!
I hope lots of them have good opportunities to get their job with good treatment. I hope they enjoy not only their school days but also their work in Japan.
Here is a good information to share, to spread, to be known about their chances.
Hey, international students, let's make Kumamoto more liable, more happy prefecture together.ーAtsuko(Ü)
https://www.facebook.com/6321018343/posts/10156365049098344/

Basic Japanese Language Course for Beginners at KIF
Without basic Japanese ability, living in Kumamoto can be hard! Kumamoto International Foundation (KIF) is now offering an intensive basic Japanese course for people who have just come to Kumamoto and have trouble communicating, or people who have lived here for a while but have not yet studied the language seriously. For more information, please see the flyer or the link below.
http://www.kumamoto-if.or.jp/event/event_detail.asp?id=2&kiji_id=10810&LC=j

Kirk here. Here's a question I received in a private message: "Can an individual without an employer apply for a Japanese work visa on their own? I wish to work as an English teacher . . ." The person goes on to describe their qualifications but I'll leave that part out for privacy reasons. They had an interview with a prospective employer but got a bad feeling from it and hope to find another way to come here to work. This is an area I don't know much about. If any of you have words of wisdom that you would be willing to share, please post them as comments to this post. Thanks!

Hello, again.
This is my friend Sean's article for the Rugby World Cup website about Kumamoto.
Rugby World Cup is coming soon!!
Enjoy wonderful games and introducing Kumamoto for lots guests from all over the world together!! ーAtsuko(Ü)
Come to Hot Kumamoto – a city of onsen, history, nightlife and ramen | DISCOVER JAPAN
Come to Hot Kumamoto – a city of onsen, history, nightlife and ramen My day in Kumamoto included a visit to Mount Aso, beautiful Suizenji park, the giant shopping center of Shimotori, and finally a bowl of local Kumamoto-style ramen in the evening. A little about Kumamoto Kumamoto is the southern ...

Hello, Friends.
August is the month of pray for peace and study about what is war, what is peace, what we had done, what we should do.
There is no enemy, I think. Especially it's international page here. We know the most important thing is to know what ... ...
Yes, the most worst thing is not to try to know them.
The problem was not just a incident that happened 74years ago. It's also said the first target was not Nagasaki but Kumamoto when Nagasaki had atomic bomb at 9th August 1945. It's not other prefecture's case. It's our own incident.
HIBAKUSYA tell you lots things. You might feel them closely, think about peace now and in future more seriously.
I just hope it. ーAtsuko(Ü)
1945project.
https://www.1945project.com/?fbclid=IwAR2c0QdNo8cChYEWlNbCb1dtq52yPuHUg4vMlpzw_TjDkJvKrFrab8rvrYE
Listen to first hand accounts of the atomic bomb with English captions.
https://www.1945project.com/audio/
Audio - 1945
Listen to audio files of atomic bomb survivors, or hibakusha, retelling their first hand accounts of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Are your mice tense and anxious? If so, tiny cups of matcha may help them chill out.
But seriously folks, the research described in this article, which was conducted at Kumamoto University, indicates that matcha may help mammals like us, as well as our smaller friends. :)
I do have a question about the conclusions of the researchers, however:
"In addition, they found that matcha extracts had a stronger calming effect when derived using 80 percent ethanol rather than only hot water. These findings suggest that a poorly water-soluble matcha component has stronger anxiety-reducing effects than components that are easily soluble in water."
The article seems to be referring to ethanol as a solvent but, according to the Encyclopedia Brittanica, ethanol "is also the intoxicating ingredient of many alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, and distilled spirits."
https://www.britannica.com/science/ethanol
Well, of course your mice are going be more relaxed after having a few matcha cocktails than after just having some boring matcha water! By the way, matcha cocktails are a real thing:
https://www.nightclub.com/food-drink/5-cocktails-have-met-their-matcha
I haven't tried any of them yet but I suppose they are probably quite effective for reducing anxiety. Cheers! ;)
-- Kirk
P.S. I'm just kidding about the mice being intoxicated. I'm sure the researchers were careful not to use ethanol in a way that would contaminate their results. Still, when I saw the word "ethanol" I wondered about that point.
https://www.asianscientist.com/2019/08/in-the-lab/matcha-tea-reduces-anxiety/
Matcha Tea Helps Reduce Anxiety In Mice
Matcha reduces anxiety in mice by activating dopamine and serotonin receptors, Japanese researchers say.

Meet with the mayor on September 1st?
Hi! Kumamoto City has asked that "Kumamoto International" (this Facebook page) be represented at a meeting with Kumamoto City Mayor Onishi, which will be held at the International Center on the morning of September 1. I will attend and it would be nice to have one more volunteer from this page, either an editor or reader.
Qualifications:
* Citizen of a country other than Japan
* Can understand spoken Japanese (the meeting will be held in Japanese)
Other than that, anyone can participate. There may be a free lunch involved but this is basically volunteer work. And, the time to speak and interact with the mayor will be limited. I was asked to keep my statement within three minutes.
They would like to have a response by the afternoon of August 8th so if more than one person is interested in attending this event, I'd like for the first person to raise her or his hand to get the nod. (I can only invite one person, in addition to me.)
I'm looking forward to hearing from representatives of Kumamoto's diverse international community. This page is for folks who understand English but there will be representatives of groups from Asian countries, student groups, etc. so I expect to learn a good deal from listening to what they all have to say.
If you would like to attend, please post a comment below. That way, there's no doubt about who was first.
Thanks in advance!
-- Kirk

This image is from Tropicalstormrisk.com. The green indicates "tropical storm" level winds (63-118 km/h or 17 to 32 meters per second) while the yellow indicates a Category 1 strength typhoon or hurricane (winds of 119-153 km/h or 33 to 42 m/s). So, it looks like the tropical storm became a full-fledged typhoon as it approached us. It's calm in Kumamoto City now (and quite cool, too) but this morning the winds were quite strong. I think I underestimated the strength of the storm yesterday. It's always better to assume the worst because you never know exactly what things will be like until the storm is actually upon you.
-- Kirk

There's a typhoon heading this way, but fortunately it's not very strong. It's predicted to land on the western side of Kyushu early tomorrow and traverse the island (passing right over us) over the course of the day. We should have some rain and wind but at least it won't be as hot as it has been.
-- Kirk
P.S. The image is from the JMA website:
https://www.jma.go.jp/jp/typh/1908l.html
They have an English-language side too but I don't like it because itonly shows times in UTC. The English side seems to be designed for foreign meteorologists, not people who live in Japan. I think they could easily make a toggle to switch times but that option isn't available now.

In late May, the Asahi Shimbun (Japanese version) published an article about what happened with the "ippon ishigaki" (one-legged stone wall) that supported Iidamaru Gokai Yagura. It seems it had been rebuilt after an earthquake that occurred in 1877 and that the workmanship was inferior to the original. For example, instead of fitting irregularly shaped stones together, rectangular stones had been used. Moreover, small gaps between the rocks further weakened the structure. The article describes other factors that seem to have been behind the collapse but doesn't say why the corner held out. I would guess that the corner was put together in a more traditional way but I'm not sure.
-- Kirk
https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASM5W567NM5WTLVB017.html

I like living in Kumamoto but I'm glad I'm not working for minimum wage. Kumamoto is one yen from the bottom. The image I've added to this article is from this address:
https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2019073100194&g=eco&p=20190731ax06S&rel=pv
You can see that minimum wage in Kumamoto is 788, one yen higher than Kagoshima and considerable lower than some other areas in Japan.
-- Kirk
https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Race-to-avoid-title-of-lowest-minimum-wage-sweeps-Japan

Good morning friends.
You might hear the loudly sounds of cicadas now.For Japanese the start of songs means summer holiday is coming. And the songs of ツクツクボウシTsukutsukuboushi let us know it's soon summer holiday will finish.
In my childhood, there are lots of アブラゼミAburazemi、ミンミンゼミMinminzemi. To meet and get クマゼミKumazemi was so lucky for us. But now, you might find Kumazemi easily and it's so rarely to find Aburazemi and Minminzemi.
You feel the sound as noisy? or symbol as summer? If you can enjoy the loudly sounds, you might enjoy Japanese culture.ーAtsuko(Ü)
https://www.facebook.com/6321018343/posts/10156351662903344/?sfnsn=mo&s=100012087617313&w=y

Some more bad news related to Japanese-Korean relations. The visit of a group of Korean young people from the city of Ulsan has been canceled. Ulsan is the part of Korean in which Kato Kiyomasa experienced a siege that is said to have had an important influence on his design of Kumamoto Castle. Some examples of siege preparations include digging many wells on the castle grounds, planting lotus root in the moat and Ginkgo trees on the grounds, and implanting dried edible vegetables into the castle walls. That's right, veggies in the walls ("In case of starvation, break open plaster walls and boil contents"). There also used to be a part of Kumamoto called "Urusan-machi" because craftsmen brought by Kiyomasa lived there. Now, only a bus stop and trolley stop with the name "Urusan-machi" remain.
Here's a little report in English about the agreement to begin formal relations between Kumamoto City and Ulsan City in 2010:
http://www.kumamoto-if.or.jp/topics/topics_detail.asp?PageID=5&ID=4294&pg=2&sort=6&LC=e
I hope relations improve soon.
-- Kirk
https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO48126600S9A800C1CR8000/
輸出管理の厳格化や元徴用工訴訟問題で日韓両国政府の対立が深まる中、各地で予定されていた自治体間の交流事業も中止が相次いでいる。長崎県対馬市で3、4日にある「対馬厳原港まつり」。江戸時代に朝鮮王朝が派

According to a report I saw on TV, lack of a pumping facility that could cool the fuel was also a factor but, nonetheless, even airplanes think it's really hot out! (By the way, the plane appears to be smiling but that's just a 'dolphin smile' -- it's actually mulling over a plan to kill everyone on board if they actually try to make it fly. So, it's a good thing the flight was cancelled.)
The high tomorrow is predicted to be 38 C (100 F). The following report from NHK lists Kumamoto and Saga as cities predicted to have particularly high temperatures tomorrow:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190802_39/
-- Kirk
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201908020072.html
Amakusa cancels 6 flights after parked plane’s fuel temp soars：The Asahi Shimbun
AMAKUSA, Kumamoto Prefecture--Even aircraft are taking a beating in the summer heat.Amakusa Airlines

Here's a little item for those of you with a special interest in Kumamoto's position in the international automotive cup holder market. ;)
-- Kirk
P.S. I checked and Nifco is actually a local company, located in the Ueki-machi area.
Automotive Cup Holder Market Analysis Focusing on Top Key Players Nifco Kumamoto (Japan) And More – MildMint
Automotive Cup Holder Market Analysis Focusing on Top Key Players Nifco Kumamoto (Japan) And More Posted on July 31, 2019 by ShitaleshA new Market Research from Stats & Reports, the Global Automotive Cup Holder Market 2019-25, is expected to show tremendous growth in the coming years. Analysts also....

Kirk here with the weather. Tonight's forecast is . . . dark ;) (got that from the Hippy Dippy Weatherman) and tomorrow morning we'll have light . . . followed by a day that is even hotter than Thursday was (the high Friday is predicted to be 37 Centigrade or about 99 F). Then after another period of darkness it'll get even hotter! Get plenty to drink and don't overexert yourself. Heatstroke is a real danger. -- Kirk

Glen Matlock of Sex Pistols/Rich Kids fame with Earl Slick(David Bowie)are making an appearance this Sunday in Yatsushiro. Papico are a great garage punk band that throw in some 60’s nuggets into their sets are also on the bill.