Kumamoto International Archive

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

Salt. Not many think about salt, yet it used to be utilized as a currency - think about "salary" or "earn one's salt." Salt gourmets notice. The chemical compositions of various salts add delightful, novel expressions to cuisine - one shouldn't keep "a" salt jar but several.
Additionally, salt is important to ward off heat stroke. Andes Salt, a small shop located on the Fujisaki Shrine Shindo, is offering free packets of salt to help you (or those you're thinking of) to survive the summer heat. The proprietor, Honda-san, is proficient in both Spanish and English. Visit to receive your sample, and while you're there, immerse yourself in the world of salt - it's more interesting than you would imagine. (I love the rock salt which is shaved for consumption - the taste is incomparable.) It is a shop worth going out of your way for (and free parking right in front!) - William
熊本の岩塩専門店アンデス物産 | 当店の岩塩は天然のお塩。飲食店やご家庭でお料理の調味料に、美容や健康に、運気アップに、いろんなシーンで大活躍！
アンデス物産は熊本にある岩塩の専門店。お料理の調味料に、熱中症の予防や対策に、お風呂の入浴剤に、盛り塩に、用途はさまざま。飲食店などお店で使う業務用の岩塩も。ローズソルトやブラックソルト等のミネラル豊...

I seldom translate Kumanichi articles, preferring just to introduce the main points; I also seldom venture downtown anymore now that my kids are gone. But they used to visit a juku in an area next to the "entertainment zone," and I was never worried about them moving about that area unattended. That is the most positive aspect about Kumamoto: You can let your children free with zero worries.
I've heard rumors, though, of increasing disreputable activity in the area and a resulting crackdown. Good - drive these rats out of town. Kumanichi has an exposé on the situation, and for once, I decided to translate the article whole. Let's keep Kumamoto safe and clean. - William
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Disreputable Solicitors, Clip Joints Increase - Complaints up 2.5 Times from Previous Year - Shopkeepers Demand New Regulations
With the reconstruction from the Kumamoto earthquake and the return of customers to the downtown shopping streets, "bottakuri" 「ぼったくり」, in which shopkeepers demand malicious charges from customers, is increasing. "Let's restore a safe and friendly downtown area," say local merchants as they work together with prefectural police to aim for the "purification" of urban areas and the establishment of city regulations to crack down on malicious shops.
　”We have beautiful girls!” “30 thousand yen, all inclusive!” ring the calls from the arcade on the weekend. Young men with blond-dyed hair dressed in black suits gather and busily talk with tourists and tipsy office workers.
A male employee (26) who frequently goes downtown with his colleagues confides, "I was annoyed by being so frequently called at while just walking. I have three friends who, having followed a tout and drank just a little, ended up paying 48,000 yen."
Local food and drink establishments are also bothered by the resurgence of these malicious shops. A man in his 60s sighed, "The bustle finally returned after the earthquake, but with it suddenly came dealers from outside the prefecture who contracted to set up these food and drink joints. Bad guys are on the rise."
A male manager of a food and drink establishment on Shinshigai (36) listened to voices regarding damage from about 20 local shops: "They come to the edge of my premises to steal customers"; "They dress as workers affiliated with our store and take away our guests". The manager says with a scowl, "For shops sincerely managed, having one’s customers stolen is a serious situation."
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Touting is banned by the Entertainment Business Act as well as by prefectural nuisance prevention ordinances. According to prefectural police, reports of complaints regarding touting numbered 149 in 2016, when the earthquakes occurred, but increased rapidly to 537 in 2017. Between January to April in 2018, such complaints amounted to 399, an increase of 2.5 times that of the previous year, and nine people were arrested.
In early May, Kumamoto Police announced a crackdown on touting and malicious practices focused on about 800 establishments registered as “entertainment businesses” in the downtown area.
What led to this was the case in which a male manager (29) of a food and drink establishment located in a multi-use building downtown was found dead and a total of six people were arrested for causing his injuries. The incident seems to have been sparked by trouble over charges. Investigative officials emphasized prevention of similar incidents in their drive to aggressively uncover similar establishments.
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People downtown have stood up to stop the deterioration of public order and to maintain its image. As such, the Shopping Arcade Organization and the Crime Prevention Association established on 14th this month the "Committee for Countermeasures against Touting in the Central Area of Kumamoto City." Plans are to submit a request to the city requesting establishment of a new ordinance that can regulate acts such as "waiting for customers" within the arcade, which are not currently regulated.
　Kiyosaki Hiroshi (60) - chairman of the city's crime prevention model district promotion committee - renews his determination to "create strict regulations to ensure we pass down a safe city to the next generation."
（This article was written by Horie Toshimasa and Maeda Kōji of the Kumanichi Shinbun.）
悪質客引き、ぼったくり急増　苦情前年の2.5倍ペース　商店主ら新規制条例の制定求める - 熊本日日新聞
繁華街に間隔を置いて並び通行人を待ち構える客引き＝熊本市中央区　熊本地震からの復興に伴い、ようやく客足が戻ってきた熊本市中央区の中心繁華街で、悪質な客引き行為や法外な料金を請求する「ぼったくり」が増え...

Earthquakes can be a bit like sex: the movement is sudden and exciting, but the cleanup is a long, hard slog. As part of the latter, Kumamoto Prefecture with the help of aid from the national government had purchased at a cost of 1.5 billion yen a custom-made waste disposal machine able to effectively separate and prepare for recycling multiple materials (wood, metal, plastic, glass).
Anyway, it's job here is done. お疲れ様でした。However, as it is not adaptable to standard refuse recycling, its future was in question until a group of 12 local waste disposal companies which form a union stepped in to purchase it for 3 million yen. They will store it for up to three years (at a cost of some 5 million yen annually) in the anticipation that it will soon be needed elsewhere, at which time they will donate it.
One would hope it will not be needed again, but sadly, it likely will, and when it is, it will be delivered and assembled promptly, all thanks to the Kumamoto Waste Disposal Union. Next time you see your local garbage collector, give him a tip o' the hat. An image of the device is below. - William (Apologies for the sex joke, but an article like this requires a good lede.)
廃棄物処理で被災地支援　熊本地震時の施設、県内業者が保管・再利用 - 熊本日日新聞
県産業廃棄物処理協同組合が解体して保管することになった熊本地震の災害廃棄物処理施設の一部＝２０１７年１月、益城町　県内１９事業者でつくる県産業廃棄物処理協同組合（野原雅浩代表理事）は３日、県が熊本地震...

A note from the Kumamoto Deja Vu Desk (merged with the Redundancy Desk due to cost cutting): We miss our evening thundershowers, which cut the heat, provided exciting lightning, and brought the pavement temperature down so our doggy's feet didn't get ouchies during walk time. They've vanished due to the previous typhoon, whose low pressure system vacuumed up the cloud systems.
Another approaching typhoon was set to pass to the east of Japan and would have resulted in identical phenomenon, but a look at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center's site tonight now shows it veering over Honshu just north of Tokyo - just as predicted with the last typhoon, and we all know how that turned out. So there's still hope. (We can't believe we're begging for a typhoon - ANYTHING to give us a break from this heat.) - William

Joe Tomei with your Funky Friday place fix. FFP is strolling into the lion's den this week, cause we are going to give you a ramen recommendation. I know that ramenophiles can be pretty picky, so I thought we'd start off with a place that does a non-Kyushu ramen, Miso no Ya, located up Higashi bypass, after the expressway exit, just after the Starbucks. Miso no Ya does Sapporo ramen good enough to make my wife, a dosanko (native of Hokkaido) happy. The chashu don is pretty amazing and last night's ramen was a hiyashi tan tan men. Two branches, the other is in Minami-ku, Hirata cho, which I've not been to.
The FFP map is at
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qUH94Bac7Hr939b7_8gtvebaJZffGRsX&usp=sharing

Hi! Kirk here! Sorry for neglecting the page for so long. Thanks to William and Joe for keeping the flow of information going in my absence.
On the news today, I heard that Mars is very close to the earth. I went outside and, sure enough, the red planet was clearly visible. This photo doesn't do it justice but if you can set outside this evening I think you'll enjoy the cool breeze and the view of Mars, which is considerably brighter than normal.

From the Kumamoto International Told-Ya-Ism Desk: As we forecast, the typhoon path forecast has been revised such that it passes directly over Kumamoto at midnight Monday. With any luck, it'll continue tracking southward to our friends in Kagoshima (those responsible for burning down the castle in the first place). - William

Joe Tomei with the Friday Funky Places report. While Friday is associated with fish for Catholics, this week's FFP is for the carnivores among you. Higo Bar is a place I have passed by any number of times and looked into longingly, but was dragged in by the President of NanKyu JALt, Branden Kirchmeyer, to whom I'm eternally grateful. It is located just inside Kamitori, a hop, skip and a jump from Densha Dori. The first floor, Higo Bar and the 2nd floor sukiyaki restaurant get their meat from a butcher at the other end of kamitori by the branch of Higo Bank down there.
The google map for Friday Funky Places is located at
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qUH94Bac7Hr939b7_8gtvebaJZffGRsX&usp=sharing

A note from the Kumamoto International We Wouldn't Wish This on Anyone yet Better Them than Us Desk: Typhoon #12 seems to be tracking southward from its predicted course. Originally expected to whack Tokyo, it now seems set to whack Kyoto instead. This leaves the slight chance that it may whack something further south, such as us.
Whatever it whacks, it will whack this weekend. Be aware. - William

This photo of donjon reconstruction is on the cover of the most recent Kumamoto Living Newspaper; it was so stunning that your faithful correspondent tracked down a (unfortunately cropped) online copy for your pleasure. Enjoy. - William

Recently, we posted a painting by animator Yamamoto Shizo of Kumamoto Castle and mentioned Kumamoto Art Museum's upcoming exhibition of 200 pieces of his sketches, backgrounds, and image boards for such Ghibli movies as 「火垂るの墓」("Hotaru no Haka," Grave of the Firefly) and 「もののけ姫」("Mononoke Hime," Princess Mononoke).
The museum has issued a 16 second ad for the exhibition (7/28 - 9/17) which can be viewed at the link courtesy of Kumanichi. - William
日本のアニメーション美術の創造者　山本二三展 | 主催事業 | 熊本日日新聞社
　アニメーションの美術監督である山本二三（にぞう）は、昭和28(1953)年長崎・五島列島生まれ。昭和52(1977)年、テレビ・アニメーション「シートン動物記・くまの子ジャッキー」で美術助手、翌年制作の「未来少年コナン.....

Hate to trouble you with more bad news but another Masai giraffe, Koharu-san, has died at Kumamoto zoo. She was only 11 (about 30 in human terms) and was due to give birth to her second calf in a month when she began to show signs of lethargy, refusing to eat or leave her pen, until she collapsed last night. Veterinarians standing by did what they could but to no avail. A zoo staff member was quoted: "In addition to the burden pregnancy causes, the intense heat might have been a factor."
With the death of her mate, Riki, last November, this leaves the zoo with a single giraffe - Akihira, now two years old and the sole child of Koharu and Riki. A picture of the three in happier days is shown at the link. - William
マサイキリン「小春」死ぬ　熊本市動植物園 - 熊本日日新聞
２１日に死んだマサイキリンの小春（上）。手前は地震後に生まれた秋平＝２０１７年１月、熊本市動植物園　熊本市東区健軍の市動植物園は２２日、飼育していた雌のマサイキリン「小春」（１１歳）が２１日朝に死んだ...

This from MIFA (Minamata International Friendship Association)
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Good afternoon Kumamoto!
I’d just like to let you know about a great event coming up organised by Minamata City and MIFA. Perfect if you’d like to get out of the office during the summer!
You are invited to The 2nd International Cafe in Minamata on Thursday, August 23rd 2018 10:30am-3pm. Explore Minamata, have fun and meet people from all over the world!
What: 2018 International Cafe in Minamata
When: Thursday, August 23rd 2018 10:30am-3pm
Attendance fee: only 500 yen! (includes light lunch, drinks and insurance)
Participants: Foreign residents living in Kumamoto, Minamata High School and local junior high school students.
Please see the flyer attached for more information and the sign-up form.
We hope you can attend!
Note: There will be a round trip charter bus from Kumamoto City to Minamata City available. From other locations, you will be responsible for your own transportation to Minamata.
Please direct questions and registration to Greg in the Minamata City Office at [email protected].

Famed actor Tokita Fujio (常田富士男) has passed away at the age of 81. Though he had appeared in many Kurosawa films, he was best known for voicing "Manga Nippon Mukashibanashi" (まんが日本昔ばなし, Animated Japanese Fables) along with actress Etsuko Ichihara (市原悦子). This delightful series of short animations was broadcast for two decades from 1975 and invariably began with Tokita-san intoning, 「むかーし、むかしのことじゃったぁ」("This is a tale from long, long ago.")
Born in Nagano, Tokita-san moved to Minami Oguni as a child, which no doubt left a deep impact on his imagination and is likely reflected in the series. He then attended Seseko High School before moving to Tokyo to pursue his acting career but most certainly always remained a Higokko (肥後っ子, Kumamotoite).
On a personal note, I often watched reruns of the show with my children when they were young and my knowledge of Japan was poor and remember them quite fondly - I even bought a set of VHS tapes. Fortunately, many episodes are available on Youtube; just copy-paste まんが日本昔ばなし for some classic summer entertainment. Below is a clip of Mukashibanashi's theme song.
Sayonara, Tokita-san, and arigatou. - William
P.S. - link to your favorite episodes in the comments section if you'd like.
（時報入り）まんが日本昔ばなしＯＰ
テレビ黄金時代の番組スタートシーンです。毎週土曜夜7時。時報と共に、いきなり始まるアニメーション。声優がたった二人という超珍しい作品。

Yamamoto Nizou (山本二三), a famed animator and early collaborator with Miyazaki Hayao, has produced a work as contribution to the recovery of Kumamoto entitled "Ah, Kumamoto Castle" (あぁ、熊本城) portraying an image of the reconstructed castle. Apparently, he visited Kumamoto in April and created the piece while perched on a buildingtop at Tourichosuji. The B4-sized illustration will be on display at the Kumamoto Prefectural Museum main hall from July 28 through September 17 in addition to some other 220 pieces of his work, so if you're an anime fan, you really ought to visit. Link below from the Kumanichi. - William
夏雲従え堂々の熊本城　アニメ美術監督・山本さん作品展で披露 - 熊本日日新聞
山本二三さんが特別制作した風景画「あぁ、熊本城」　アニメーション美術監督の山本二三［にぞう］さん（６５）＝埼玉県＝が、熊本地震から復興した熊本城を描いた風景画「あぁ、熊本城」を完成させた。熊本県立美術...

Joe Tomei with a zeitaku na (luxurious) Funky Friday Place, which is the restaurant Matsuba. It is located in Shinmachi just a stone's throw away from the Senba Bashi tram stop and was formerly a ryokan. I was fortunate enough to visit there the other night with Takara sensei, the former vice-governor of Okinawa. The kamisan came out and talked about the history of the place, and later her husband came out and talked about the history of Shinmachi. The building and the grounds are exquisitely maintained and the food was fabulous.
The google map for Friday Funky Places is located at
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qUH94Bac7Hr939b7_8gtvebaJZffGRsX&usp=sharing

Our friend and favorite chef Sean Benward has passed on this notice from the US Embassy in Tokyo regarding an event where US citizens can direct their questions live via Facebook. The text is as follows:
Message for U.S. Citizens: "Ask the Consul" Facebook Live Event on U.S. Citizen Services - July 20, 2:00pm
Attention, U.S. citizens in Japan! Wondering how to get a new passport for some summer traveling? Not sure how to get a ballot to vote in the midtermscome November? Worried about typhoon season and earthquake preparedness? If you have questions, we have answers! Consular officers from U.S. Embassy Tokyo will be holding an “Ask The Consul” Facebook Live event on 20 July 2018 at 2:00 p.m. Japan Standard Time. Feel free to bring your questions about the American Citizen Services we provide. We look forward to talking with you! Note that we cannot answer or comment about specific cases for privacy reasons. If you’d like send us a question in advance, email [email protected] “Facebook question for July 20” in the subject line. Go to the U.S. Embassy ACS Tokyo Facebook page for more information, to watch and engage!

Out at about 6:00 tonight, I noticed an unusual cloud that I knew to be a rocket contrail (they're occasionally visible from my my California hometown due to a nearby Air Force base). Rocket contrails in the evening sky reflect sunlight that the earthbound horizon has already rotated away from due to their great height; hence, their sharp contrast. The uneven pattern does not reflect the direct path of the rocket but rather windshear on the contrail. Such sights are only visible when a rocket is launched just prior to dawn or after dusk.
It was clearly south-north directed - i.e., from Tanegashima, where most Japanese launches are conducted, so I didn't panic (if the direction had been reversed, I would have).
Unfortunately, I had no camera, but it looked a bit like this photo I snatched from the Web. Did any of our readers spot it and manage to capture an image? If so, please post it below. - William

Kumamoto Airport has long been criticized for its poor access. A decade ago, talks existed regarding a monorail linking the airport with JR's Sanrigi station, but those talks were frozen in 2008.
With the impending privatization of the airport by three companies and a major overhaul of facilities expected by 2022, talks between these companies and the Kumamoto Prefectural government regarding the monorail have recently started. Kumanichi has at the link an image of the proposed monorail route. - William
空港アクセス議論再燃　ＪＲ延伸、モノレール敷設…　民営化で熊本県が検討　多額の費用 - 熊本日日新聞
　民営化を機に熊本空港利用者の増加が見込まれる中、熊本県は熊本市中心部との交通アクセス改善策の検討を１０年ぶりに再開した。長年同空港はアクセスが弱点とされてきただけに、鉄道など公共交通機関の新設を含め...

NHK news reports that 22 students cheering a high school baseball game at Fujisakidai Stadium were struck with heat stroke and taken to hospital; also, four students practicing volleyball at Lutheran High School suffered the same fate.
One plus of having your children graduated from high school is that you no longer have to go to sports events in the summer. Everyone, take care of yourselves.