Kumamoto International Archive

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

According to this site, the probability of tropical storm strength winds hitting Kumamoto in the next 24 hours is about 50/50.
-- Kirk
http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com

This is old news now but I think it's interesting that the US Geological Survey seems to have think it was a bigger quake that the JMA did.
-- Kirk
https://www.rt.com/news/357748-earthquake-strikes-japan-kumamoto/
5.1 magnitude earthquake strikes Kumamoto prefecture, Japan
A 5.1 magnitude earthquake has struck the Kumamoto perefecture of the southwestern Japanese island of Kyushu, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

The typhoon should be a category 1 tropical storm when it reaches the Kumamoto area in about 24 to 36 hours (as of midnight, Friday). So, it looks like Sunday will be a stormy day.
-- Kirk
http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com

Years ago in my first-ever Japanese language class at the Hanabatacho YMCA were two Japanese-Brazilian students who could not read or write but spoke passably - and their spoken Japanese sometimes made our teacher laugh as it was that of their grandparents. For example, they used the word "shashinki" (写真機) rather than "kamera" (カメラ) and "jibiki" (字引） rather than "jisho" (辞書) - the latter being far more common today.
Nomenclature, I learned, is difficult. For example, "buruushiito" (ブルーシート） conveys two nuances: securing ground space such as at a hanami, or covering damaged structures after, say, an earthquake, while "shiroishiito" (白いシート) are those which cover tents erected at public events. To be sure, their compositions likely differ - the former tend to be more disposable, while the latter are durable enough to last for years (look at the tents at a sports festival and you'll likely see markings on the "shiroishiito" indicating they were gifted by a long-ago graduated class) - but more than that, it is the emotive response they elicit which matters.
As such, Kumamoto City has decided to replace the blue sheets covering damaged portions of the castle with white sheets, not only due to aesthetic reasons but to the emotive reasons noted above. Kumanichi has the full story here. - William
http://this.kiji.is/144258113762164740?c=92619697908483575
熊本城を美しく　青から白へ、シート張り替え - 熊本日日新聞
熊本地震で損壊し、白いシートに覆われた熊本城の長塀＝８月３０日　熊本城内（熊本市中央区）で、熊本地震の傷痕を覆っていたブルーシートが姿を消し、白いテント生地のシートに張り替えられている。市役所前にある長さ約１１０メートルの長塀は、延々と白い...

Not having taken a vacation this summer, I was looking forward to the tropical depression scheduled to pass over Kyushu this weekend as at least it would have reminded me of my feelings of when I had to depart previous vacation venues, but Namthuen (as he - or she - is now called) looks to strengthen to become a real typhoon, though small (typhoonette?). Expect rain and wind from the 3rd. - William
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh/1612.html

Lunchtime, and time for another jolt! This one was a bit unusual, a 3.8 under the Ariake Sea just off of Mt. Kimpo. I suspect it was on the Tatsuda fault. That fault worries me a bit; apparently it is capable of an M6 or greater and essentially runs under downtown. - William
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/6/20160901114917495-011146.html

Good morning, happy campers - and what a wake-up that was! It was M4.7, again centered down south around Matsubase, a bit further south from last nights quake in Uto. Enjoy your day!
-- William
For details in English:
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/6/20160901063828495-010633.html

"There is a monthly AA meeting that takes place at Kumamoto Lutheran Church at 4:00pm the first Sunday of each month."
Please click on the link for more information:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/kumamoto-i/conversations/messages/13407
-- Kirk

We just had another fairly strong earthquake. The rumbling seemed to continue for about 15 seconds and in the Chuo-ku area of Kumamoto City where I'm located I felt like the earth was shifting beneath me. The magnitude was 4.9 and the highest level of shaking on the Japanese scale was 5 lower (Uki-shi Matsubasemachi and Kumamoto Nishi-ku Kasuga).
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/6/20160831195056495-311946.html
-- Kirk

After a few cool days, warm weather has returned. But, it doesn't look like we will go over 35 C (95 F) today so, for the time being, Kikuchi's record of 29 days over the 35 C mark (the moshobi or "scorcher" line) should remain the same. As you can see in the graphic, 29 days of 35 or higher puts Kikuchi in a tie for the number three spot and the Kumamoto City area is tied for 6th with 26 such days. If you go to the web site and check out previous years, I think you'll find that it's quite unusual for Kumamoto to be ranked so high in the "scorcher" competition.
Go Kikuchi!!! (just kidding ;) )
-- Kirk
P.S. With a temperature of just over 30 C (86 F) today, we are having a manatsubi (a "summer day") -- the second category in the graphic. When it comes to manatsubi, Okinawa leads. I think it's interesting, though, that the leaders for moshobi (scorchers) are all in Kyushu. Okinawa doesn't have as many really hot days as we do, probably because of the cooling ocean winds.
http://weather.time-j.net/Summer/Ranking

This Facebook page works reasonably well for distributing news and information about events but it may not be the best place for buy and sell. For that purpose the Kumamotot-i mailing list, the predecessor to this page, seems to work better because anyone can post -- not just editors. Here's a relatively recent offer -- a table and chair set -- that was given away free of charge. I suspect that the set has been claimed by now but I am posting this so that readers of the Facebook page know that the mailing list (hosted on the YahooGroups site) sometimes provides information that is not available on Facebook.
-- Kirk
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/kumamoto-i/conversations/messages/13397

I found this on the Explore Kumamoto. It's about the event William told us about, which is to be held on the grounds of Kumamoto Castle on the 3rd and 4th of September:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/photos/a.129499733790134.25925.123734781033296/1111073498966081/
I find a lot of interesting items on Explore Kumamoto that would have escaped my attention otherwise. I'll try to continue to share the items I find most interesting but can't share everything so I recommend that you follow them directly.
-- Kirk
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201608280021.html
Aomori ‘nebuta’ float to cheer quake victims in Kumamoto：The Asahi Shimbun
KUMAMOTO--A massive float that thrilled spectators in the popular “nebuta” festival in Aomori Prefec

Saturday, I jogged over to Ezuko. It was a hot day and lots of families were enjoying the cold, clean water. You can see some damage that the earthquake did to part of a footpath, but the park is still well work a visit.
Here's a Google map showing the location:
https://goo.gl/maps/CAUHvZZcni92
The photos were taken in what is labeled "Kamiezu Lake" (Upper Ezu Lake) on the map.
-- Kirk

Many seem interested in Kirk's post regarding Takachiho, so I thought to add a bit more information.
Takachiho Gorge was carved out of rock deposited by two different Aso eruptions, respectively 120,000 and 90,000 years ago. A close look at the photographs clearly show rock of two different types lining the gorge walls, the lower having crystallized into pillar formations and the upper volcanic tuft. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AB%98%E5%8D%83%E7%A9%82%E5%B3%A1
Access is possible by bus, the Sanko Tokyu Takachio-go which departs from platform 3 at Kotsu Center once daily at 9:11 and arrives at Takachiho at 12:43; the return bus departs Takachiho at 16:41 and arrives around 20:00. Round-trip tickets cost 4,110 yen. Given the time constraints, an overnight trip would be best. Here is a PDF of the timetable: http://www.kyusanko.co.jp/sankobus_top/sites/all/themes/SankobusTop/pdf/20160708takachiho.pdf and the route Website: http://www.kyusanko.co.jp/sankobus/toshikan/takachiho/ Once there, a town bus which tours all of the main sites can be accessed all day for 600 yen. Boats can be rented for 2,000 yen/hour. This is the town tourist Website, which contains much valuable info but is only in Japanese: http://takachiho-kanko.info/
高千穂峡 - Wikipedia
高千穂峡（たかちほきょう）は、宮崎県西臼杵郡高千穂町三田井にある五ヶ瀬川にかかる峡谷である。国の名勝、天然記念物に指定されている（五箇瀬川峡谷（高千穂峡谷））。

Thankfully, it's fairly cool in Kumamoto today but we certainly have gone through a long, hard spell of heat and humidity. Actually, when it comes to the combination of heat and humidity, the tenki.jp weather site
http://www.tenki.jp/labo/vol_6
says that Kumamoto is the worst prefecture in Japan. This site has it's own index for "jimenatsubi" (ジメ暑日; uncomfortably hot and sticky days). The exact formula is unclear but they say that a temperature of 32 C (about 90 F) and humidity of 74% produces a "jimenatsu" (hot and sticky) rating of 85 and that a rating of 85 or higher makes that day a "jimenatsubi." Unfortunately, Kumamoto has more such days (25.9, on average) than any other prefecture in Japan. Here's the top five:
1 Kumamoto, 25.9 days
2 Kagoshima, 25.8
3 Nara, 25.7
3 Kochi, 24.8
5 Saga, 24.7
So, enjoy the cool weather while it lasts!
-- Kirk
P.S. Kumamoto is not the most humid place in Japan:
http://grading.jpn.org/SRB02201.html
It's the combination of heat and humidity that makes it special.
To see today's humidity data (in Japanese, unfortunately) go to
http://www.jma.go.jp/jp/amedas_h/today-86141.html

A note from the Kumamoto International entomology desk.
Autumn is just around the corner, meaning it is time for the jorōgumo (Japanese orb spiders) to enlarge their webs - and size. One has secured an advantageous location on my balcony; I just observed as she used one of her forefeet to transfer water droplets from her web to her mouth (yes, most spiders drink water - today's rain must be a relief to them). As with other orb spiders, their webs can be extremely large and dense and the silk robust: run a finger across a strand and it feels like a fishing line. Despite their large size, the spider presents no danger to humans (though stumbling into a web can be most unpleasant - like walking through a cotton candy machine). It is nearly blind but very sensitive to vibrations, so try clapping loudly near one to watch its reaction.
I say "she" as only the females build webs. Sexual dimorphism in this species is extreme, like a chihuahua trying to make it with a great dane - the ladies build the webs, and the diminutive guys hang out in the corners, waiting for a chance to get laid without being eaten first. This, in addition to the females' bright colors, are the origin of its name: "Jorōgumo" would be directly translated as "prostitute spider." In fact, the jorōgumo has had since Edo times its own yokai meme, which has it that, when females turn 400, they acquire the ability to transform into beautiful maidens, and as such seduce wayward men by playing the biwa and then bind them and do what spiders do with bound prey. So there's that.
Photos and more info on the spider can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephila_clavata
and more info on the yokai stories here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jor%C5%8Dgumo
- William
Nephila clavata - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nephila clavata, also known as the Jorō Spider (ジョロウグモ（女郎蜘蛛、上臈蜘蛛）, Jorō-gumo?), is a member of the golden orb-web spider group. The spider can be found throughout Japan except Hokkaidō, in Korea, Taiwan and China. Due to the large size as well as the bright, unique colors of the species of the femal...

Here's an article about an event that was held for Kumamoto in San Jose.
-- Kirk
http://www.rafu.com/2016/08/jazz-katsu-evening-for-kumamoto-at-jamsj/
‘Jazz Katsu Evening for Kumamoto’ at JAMsj

This year, records have been set all over Japan (including Kumamoto, of course) for the number of days over 35 C (95 F). I'll write more about that later but this graph helps to put the information in historical context. The light blue (somewhat faint) line represents the number of days over 35 C in each year. The dark blue line represents the 10-year average (5 years before and 5 after) for each year. The red line shows the overall trend. This data from the JMA (Japan Meteorological Agency) is presented as evidence of global warming.
The graph does not include this year's data. We won't know for another month or so what the 2016 figure for moshobi (days over 35 C) will be. Even if we don't surpass it, I suspect we will be close to the peak you see around 1998.
-- Kirk
熊本における猛暑日（最高気温３５度以上）の変化をあらわしたグラフです。青の細線が年々の値、濃い青線が前後5年間の平均をあらわしています。
赤色の線が直線での変化傾向をあらわす線です。猛暑日は熊本で有意に増加しており、３０年あたり約８日増加しています。
http://www.jma-net.go.jp/kumamoto/ondanka/ondanka_days.html

Hot, isn't it? Kumamoto has a reputation for being hot, but this year is particularly so. The smooth red line in the graph shows the average high temperature for the past few decades and the squiggly line is the record for this year. As you can see, we are considerably above average this year. I'll try to post later about records that have been set. The good news is that the next few days should be a bit cooler.
-- Kirk
http://weather.time-j.net/Stations/JP/kumamoto

When I posted about the demolition of the Uto city hall building earlier, I wondered how the documents would be recovered. This answers my question.
-- Kirk
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201608260061.html
Mighty magnet used to pull files from quake-hit Kumamoto office：The Asahi Shimbun
UTO, Kumamoto Prefecture--A powerful magnet attached to a crane was used to retrieve metal filing ca