Kumamoto International Archive

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

I've just downloaded my first program from FMC, a local internet radio station that began in 1996. This station is intimately related to two of my hobbies: (1) listening to mp3s of various radio programs and podcasts and (2) gathering information related to Kumamoto to share here on Facebook. Even so, for some strange reason I had never listened to FMC until day. The occasion for my discovery of FMC is an interview with Yuka Ogata about what I've been calling "lozengate" -- the big flap about how her use of a lozenge supposedly defiled the "sacred" ("shinsei" [神聖な]) venue known as the Kumamoto City Council. (I'm not kidding -- such language has actually been used by council members in justifying their draconian punishments of her.)
At any rate, you can hear the interview (in Japanese, of course) at
http://www.fmc.or.jp/sound/qic20181014c.mp3
Personally, I plan to listen to many more FMC programs after this one. (FMC, where have you been all my life?)
-- Kirk
http://www.fmc.or.jp/qic.html
QIC/Quemule Insider Club
熊本発ネットラジオ。毎週日曜日放送。1996年5月26日放送開始。2016年2月21日『放送1000回』達成！！2016年5月に放送20周年。日本発ウェブラジオ「最長寿番組」です。

It's the end of the line for the Aso Ropeway. Constructed in 1958 and carrying some 45,000 visitors a year the 900 meters from a station at the southern entrance to another at the summit, its operator, Kyusan Tourism, decided the damage it sustained in the quakes and the danger it presents to tourists necessitate removal of both stations and its four pylons. Demolition is expected to be completed within the year.
The company is undecided on whether to replace an expensive facility so close to a volcano. On one hand, people today tend to be more physically active than in 1958; on the other, there are more elderly and visitors from other Asian countries. Perhaps it will reappear in a modern form; perhaps we'll be restricted to hiking. Kumanichi has the details at the link. - William
https://this.kiji.is/423676753857447009?c=92619697908483575

Our friend Jeff Cairns, an internationally-known shakuhachi (bamboo flute) player who is a lineage-holder and sensei (teacher) based on Mount Kimpo, reminds us that the Street Art-Plex is underway, with the music portion, dubbed Extravaganza 2018, starting from 5:30 - 9:00 pm TONIGHT at various locations on Kamitori, Shimotori, and centered on Shinshigai. Jeff-san will perform on Sunday at a venue on Kamitori called Hai Mu Dan (the square behind the Swiss confectionery). Info is below. Let's support our local artists! - William
https://scontent.ffuk2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-9/43878689_255649228480459_8816248599353491456_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&oh=f3c779bfc136838c9c51f767f1c13704&oe=5C405814
http://artplex.jp/

No one I know is happy about the controversy surrounding Ms. Ogata's use of a lozenge in the city council chambers and her colleagues going ballistic in reaction to that usage. The whole flap might not be such a bad thing for Ryukakusan, however, the manufacturer of Ms. Ogata's lozenge of choice. It became a matter of public record that Ms. Ogata had a Ryukakusan lozenge in her mouth -- not a generic one -- because she answered with the brand name when the chair person asked about what she had in her mouth. In response, Ryukakusan posted various videos on their Twitter feed (https://twitter.com/ryukakusan_pr) that advertise products they are promoting as suitable for public speaking.
This, in turn, has been picked up by Mainichi Newspaper (Japanese version):
https://mainichi.jp/articles/20181010/k00/00m/040/016000c
The article on the connections between current events and Ryukakusan's marketing indicates that the commercial had been made before the conflict in Kumamoto occurred but that they reposted it because it seemed to fit the occasion quite well.
-- Kirk

Many don't know that the 熊 of 熊本 was originally 隈, which might be translated as "hinterland." Kato Kiyomasa felt slighted by the nuance so switched the kanji to a homonymous but much cooler one. Flash forward 400 years, and we've got Kumamon, but the 隈 remains.
But not for much longer. A central-Kyushu expressway had long been envisioned. Kumanichi reports that the first half is on the verge of completion and is slated to open within the year. It will connect the Kashima junction with Yamato Machi (still called Yabe by old folks like me). That's halfway over the hump to Oita and a stone's-throw from Takachiho.
Kumamoto has come a long way from relying on the rivers for transportation. Here's hope this will aid in economic revitalization of the 隈. - William
九州中央道、工事着々と　嘉島ー山都町間、年度内開通へ | 熊本日日新聞 - This kiji is
舗装工事やガードレールの設置などが進む北中島ＩＣ＝１１日、山都町　国土交通省熊本河川国道事務所は１１日、九州中央自動車道の小池高山インターチェンジ（ＩＣ、御船町）─北中島ＩＣ（山都町）で工事が進む約１...

Years ago Kumamoto had it’s very own The Smiths tribute band. They were called”The Rank”named after a live release after The Smiths called it a day. As far as I know The Rank only played one show at Navarro and also called it a day.Here is a video of them doing “Heaven knows I’m miserable now”. https://youtu.be/qjN_Ewo4P24 .Japan has always had a small obsession with The Smiths and Morrissey. And you can find events like this one tomorrow in Fukuoka are fun and certainly unique. https://www.fukuoka-now.com/en/event/the-smiths-night-kyushu-vol-1/ Jay Onyskin
The Rank A Japanese Smiths cover band Kumamoto 10/03/2016
Heavens know I am miserable now

A contributor did what contributors do, which is to contribute, and contributed the following query. If you're skilled in the area, please reply. - William
Hi! I'm a producer w. Travel Channel USA. We're filming a couple of segments in the Kumamoto Region-- at Oono Keikoku & Yougan Pools near Mt. Aso at the end of May-- and we are looking for English Speaking Adventurers to appear in the segments. An adventure guide I was speaking with suggested i contact you about making a posting. Please let me know if that would be possible. Thanks!

I was quite lonely when I first moved to Kumamoto, knowing nobody and not speaking the language, but the call of the mourning dove (a plaintive cooOOoo-woo-woo-woooo) comforted me as it recalled my California youth.
"Hato" (鳩) refers to both pigeons and doves, but the mourning dove is often referred to as "yabato" (野鳩, or "wild pigeon"), which is interesting as they appear to have originally been brought to Japan from their native North America as pets. They are more slender than the pigeon and sport a tan plumage. They mate for life, so if you see one, look around and you'll see the other (they never flock). Delightfully, their chicks (always two) are known as "squabs." Two pairs are nesting at my house in trees front and rear, and now, as they raise their squabs, their calls to each other brighten the morning. You can read more about them at the below Wikipedia link. - William
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mourning_dove

Hi! I'm sharing this for those who may not have seen it yet. The event is coming up on the 21st of this month (October). -- Kirk

An interesting article about “Sento” (Japanese Public Bathhouses) with its historical background.
Apparently today is “Sento day”
Sento = “Sen” (=1000) and “to” (=10)
https://www.nippon.com/en/views/b07302/
Considering Kumamoto is blessed with many natural hot springs, one may wonder the difference between “Sento”
and “Onsen”
Found this explanation in Google;
The difference between the two may be confusing for foreigners. “Onsen” means a hot spring. At an “onsen” spot, a hot water is always taken from a natural hot spring. Most of “sento”, on the other hand, use tap water heated by boilers.
So if you are really the curious ones, the next trip you go the public bathhouses , you can try asking if the water is from natural hot springs or tap. 😃
-Olivia-

What’s your biggest pet peeve in the Assistant Language Teacher world?My biggest pet peeve is over translating. You are in the classroom and you are going through greetings,weather or whatever at the beginning of the lesson.And thank god that the T1 has joined in the lesson but is translating every single word you say into Japanese. Soon you see the student’s eyes shift from you to the T1. The T1 is providing all the answers and you in a sense will slowly disappear. Later when it comes to you asking a student a question they will search frantically for the T1 for the answer. After all the T1 provided it before,before and before.Solution...You can politely tell them not to translate in class. You can tell them English as much as possible in class please. But working in public school you and the teacher might have not had that meeting. Or you made the whole lesson plan and the T1 decided to run up and translate everything right there on the spot.As for me, I would shut them down because the basis of the lesson is communication not translating everything verbatim. Hopefully maybe they learned how to communicate to you on how they want things for next time. Jay Onyskin

These images are from an NHK report on tattoo-friendly hot springs in nearby Oita. The NHK report introduced the following web page:
https://enjoyonsen.city.beppu.oita.jp/100tattoo-friendly_beppuonsen_japan/
If you are considering going to OIta and you or someone who will be with has tattoos, I recommend that you check it out. According the the pie chart in the NHK report, 65.6% of the onsen (hot springs) in Beppu allow folks with tattoos to use the facilities. The third image is of a color coded map showing where different types of tattoo friendly facilities are located.
The address of the NHK page (in Japanese) is:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20180925/k10011643191000.html
Actually, I'm a bit disappointed in the NHK folks because they didn't include a link or enough information for me to find the English page on my own. I had to write to B-biz LINK (the organization cited in the NHK report) to ask about the site. Fortunately, Mr. Kawamura from B-biz LINK responded right away.
By the way, in regard to Kumamoto, "Onsen Magazine" has the following page:
https://en.unknownjapan.net/tattoo-friendly-onsens
It's good but I think the Enjoy Onsen site (for Beppu) is better.
-- Kirk

"Unkai" (「雲海」, literally "sea of clouds") is a phenomenon which occurs when a cold upper atmosphere inputting downward pressure meets a damp, warmer lower atmosphere which wants to rise in a basin, causing immense condensation. The Aso caldera is quite famous for this. Our friend Yoshiko Toyama captured this gorgeous photo of the phenomenon. I don't know how to advise our photographer readers on timing to capture this, but perhaps you should consult an elderly photographer - they seem to know when it will appear (not saying that Yoshiko-san is elderly, mind). - William

Hi-I have been asked by some one else on Kumamoto I to share my ALT and other Eikaiwa experiences. Well here goes something positive.....I worked at one school in Southern Kumamoto City where all the Japanese teachers were required to teach English. So every morning I got the lesson plan handed to me or placed on my desk(Amazing). Also bonus refreshments like snacks galore and bottomless cups of coffee made it a place I wanted to go to.They also taught English as a class for grades 1st through 6th at least bi-weekly. The main T1 had a nickname for the 1st grade classes which was “The Zoo”. So every week we would do 7 20 minutes classes of basic English drills with “The Zoo”.Any other school that would be insane but here at this school they followed the rules as best as they could. These lessons though sweaty were rewarding which showed through the students level of communication with me(total awesomeness ).I know we all have are own ways but in the end we need the Japanese T1 teachers. Don’t be afraid to push them a little up front and forward. Jay Onyskin

If you notice the world smells like bubble gum, you're not insane (probably - I don't know you): it's the blossoming season for Osmanthus fragrans, also known as "fragrant olive." There are two subspecies distinguishable by flower type, silver (ginmokusei 「銀木犀」) and gold (kinmokusei, 「金木犀」) . The latter is much more common. Their flowers are very small but pack a fragrant punch and are sometimes used in Chinese cuisine. The fragrance is a harbinger of autumn. Wikipedia has more info. - William
Osmanthus fragrans - Wikipedia
Osmanthus fragrans (lit. "fragrant osmanthus"; Chinese: 桂花, guìhuā, and 木樨, mùxī; Cantonese Yale: gwai fā; Japanese: 木犀, mokusei; Hindi: सिलंग, silang), variously known as sweet osmanthus, sweet olive, tea olive, and fragrant olive, is a species native to Asia from the Hi...

Joe Tomei here. We've gotten a request to locate an qualified English speaking physiotherapist in Kumamoto city for a couple of hours a day from the 28th/29th November to the 10th December to work with the NZ women's handball team. It is not volunteer, but compensation would need to be negotiated. If you know of something (or are that person), please either drop a line in the comments, or write to me at [email protected]

A note from the Kumamoto International Desk of Really Scary Things:
Rescue work for victims of the recent Indonesian quake continue, but due to liquefaction, as one put it, "Nugroho said it was difficult to pinpoint the exact number of missing as many of them are believed to have been in buildings that were swallowed up ― some of them whole ― into the earth because of a process known as soil liquefaction."
Sheesh. Whole buildings swallowed up. Our thoughts go out to the victims and hopes that a similar disaster does not strike Kumamoto.

Gorgeous clouds resembling a flock of sheep hovered over Kumamoto this evening (photo below). My wife remarked they're called いわし雲 (iwashigumo, or "sardine clouds." I have no idea why they're called such as they look like sheep, not sardines, but then, Japan doesn't do sheep.)
Anyway, I checked it out and incidentally found that cloud types all have their own symbol, probably because meteorologists are all nerds.This type of cloud is called "cirrocumulus" and is represented by the below symbol, probably because all nerds love boobs.
If you're a nerd, you can find a full list here. - William
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9C%B0%E4%B8%8A%E5%A4%A9%E6%B0%97%E5%9B%B3#%E9%9B%B2%E5%BD%A2

Last one for the day..One former Kumamoto native that will be referred to as “The Glove” plays in this awesome trio The XL Fits. They just opened for The Hard Ons for the extreme music fest in Fukuoka. And next month they will go to the USA!! So give “The Glove” a pat on the back and check out a YouTube video of them playing at Navarro. Navarro is a cool shin dig up in the Shimotori area that also has live music gigs along with DJ events. Jay Onyskin
XL Fits 8/20 Navarro Kumamoto

Soulcraft which is probably Kumamoto’s most prolific hardcore band is playing with the UK’s own Disorder next week on Sunday 10/14 at Kieth Flack in Fukuoka(North Tenjin area). Disorder is D-beat which is a mixture of hardcore and metal with a decidedly left wing bent on lyrics(Thank you Thatcher!). The order of things goes Crass,Discharge and then Disorder. Also on the bill is “Ai”...And they are Kitakyushu street punk. I worked in Kitakyushu for 3 years and it wasn’t easy. As Kitakyushu people say,”We got steel in our blood...”. The show starts at 5 pm and I am sure the crowd will be more than lively. Don’t forget the last night bus for Kumamoto is 2030 yen and leaves at 11:40pm.Kieth Flack is about a 15 minute walk from Tenjin Station. I will be in the future posting more music items of all genres and styles that encompasses Kumamoto, Fukuoka and other parts of Kyushu. Jay