Kumamoto International Archive

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

Kirk here with an update about the following post I made a couple days ago:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid0jL33k2AD1KqCgazRJcrWtrT2R5WgSdMdrAFSonBW33T4iFTJBAzk8QHoB1DzwbCrl
The good people at the prefecture fixed the text on the web page soon after a sent an e-mail: rafting --> river boat ride. :)
https://kumamoto.guide/en/spots/detail/2773

Kirk with a link to an article about Japan's only baked sweet potato (karaimo, yakiimo) vending machine. It can be found at the Michi no Eki in Ozu.
Japanese vending machine is the only one of its kind in Japan, dubbed the “phantom machine”
A neat example of marketing to help a rural community.

This cute lesser panda (also known as a "red panda") was born June 1st and is named Ako. She's getting ready to met visitors to the zoo (but I'm not sure just when that will be).
https://www.facebook.com/kumamototourism/posts/pfbid09oDqKgCYmHnj8BUtpSjoPyzo4hThrD9sCdZb4Pt8aBtAgyjcJBjQC5b1FBerR877l

Kirk here. The mayor of Kumamoto City and the governor of Kumamoto Prefecture have announce that KumaHaku 2023 will be held from October 7 through November 5. The Amu Hiroba (the open area in front of the Amu Plaza [the shopping mall near Kumamoto Station) and Hanabata Hiroba downtown will be the two main venues.
"KumaHaku" seems to be a portmanteau of the words "Kumamoto" and "hakurankai" (博覧会), meaning, "exhibition," but I don't think the events planned would normally warrant the word "hakurankai."
Here's the address of the official website:
https://kumahaku.kumamoto-guide.jp/
By the way, preparing this post has led me to realize that the folks who have prepared the official "Amu Plaza Kumamoto" website never got around to deciding how to distinguish the "plaza" (the entire facility) from the "square," the open space in front of it, in English. In Japanese, the facility is the "plaza" and the square is the "hiroba" but in English the ひろば is just the ひろば:
https://www.jrkumamotocity.com/en/amu
Note that no one has even bothered to make an English version of the map at the bottom of this page. If this ひろば is to be the venue for major event, I would hope that its name in English, etc. could be decided upon and placed on a proper map. :(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbWGvyjdWRI

Kirk here reporting that there will be a big (10,000 rockets) fireworks in Arao Saturday, starting at 8:30.
タマホームスペシャル2023　第22回花火物語 - グリーンランド公式ホームページ(九州)
＼タマホームスペシャル2023　第22回花火物語／今年はなんと「10,000発」の花火を30分間ノンストップで打ち上げます！！ ※花火の打上に際し、一部のエリアが立入禁止となります。

Kirk here with a note about a festival that occurred in Misato-mach over the weekend.
https://kumanichi.com/articles/1153657
The mikoshi (religious palanquin or portable Shinto shrine) you see is called "yuusou hadaka mikoshi" (勇壮裸みこし) .
Unfortunately, I just learned about this event, which occurred over the weekend. Apologies to matsuri fans who would have liked to know about it in advance. I often find it difficult to find out about festivals before they occur.

Kirk here with my rather infrequent series on weed removal. Pulling out weeds is hard enough on flat surfaces. To remove the weeds that grow on the sides of a stone bridge such as Tsujunkyo you need rock climbers. And, I would imagine that an appropriate insurance policy would also be good to have.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/beb5b64112839f1e0057ed5779d9ee8155022a5f

Kirk here with another reminder about how dangerous parking lots can be for kids. This sad incident occurred in the parking lot of the COSTCO in Fukuoka.
https://www.fukuoka-now.com/en/news/tragic-death-of-infant-in-kitakyushu-parking-lot/?fbclid=IwAR0yDgob1UZQEKPH-nEDuTpXUaAmgTtEQ_gXIHB_zSPNKDkBkMmnkf0oRc0
Tragic Death of Infant in Kitakyushu Parking Lot | Fukuoka Now
A tragic incident unfolded in the parking lot of a commercial facility in Yahatanishi Ward, Kitakyushu City, where a 10-month-old boy was discovered unresponsive in a car and later confirmed dead. Both parents are said to have assumed...

Kirk here with a share for Beatles fans and musicians looking for an opportunity to get that big break. On October 14, their will be a Beatles event in which "Eight Days A Week" and other Beatles movies will be played "at great volume（大音響）." In addition, there will be amateur bands. You can apply / audition until September 10. The price for the event will be modest: just 1,000 yen. If you pay 2,500 yen you can camp there too.
The announcement doesn't say that Paul McCartney will be a special guest but who knows?
https://www.facebook.com/bluesmantaka/posts/pfbid02M9YFQ8qqYM61dFtMFgGcehBrn5Uqpj24MExfKisM5WmZvCSPPAQT26oyo8TXuRK3l

Kirk here with some information about how to enjoy floating down the Kumagawa River (Kuma River) in the Hitoyoshi area. The picture you see on the top is of traditional "kawakudari" ("going down a river"). As you can see, these boats are controlled by two men, one at the back with a sculling oar and another man at the front. The tourists just sit in the middle of the boat to enjoy the ride. This type of kawakudari has a long history on the Kumagawa and in Japan in general. The image you see comes from the following site:
https://kumamoto.guide/en/spots/detail/2773
The other, more modern way to enjoy a trip down the river is rafting. The screenshot of rafters enjoying the Kumagawa come from this page:
https://www.kumagawa.co.jp/en/rafting/
Now, there's a small (?) problem about which I'd like to ask your advice. Kumamoto's official tourism website calls the traditional trips in wooden boats "rafting." I'd like to contact the people who manage the page to let them know that they need to fix the English but I'm not quite sure what the "correct" English would be. Perhaps something like "Traditional Kawakudari Whitewater Boating" or "Traditional Boat Trips Down the Kuma River's Rapids" or some such title would work. Any ideas?
By the way, the wooden boats are called "baika no watashi." "Baika" (梅花) means "plum" and "watashi" (渡し) means "to cross (the river)." It's a kind of boat that was traditionally used to take people or things from one side of a river to another but seems to have been repurposed for joy rides down the rapids. The generic word for such boats is 渡し船 (watashibune) and the third image is a portion of an Edo period print by Hiroshige depicting a watashibune scene:
https://www.adachi-hanga.com/ukiyo-e/items/hiroshige041/
I think you'll agree that "raft" isn't the right word for such a venerable boat.

Kirk here. Those of you who weren't able or (like me) were too tired to go see the fireworks Saturday night can get a sense of what the event at Ezuko was like from the following video news report:
４年ぶりの江津湖花火大会 | 熊本のニュース｜RKK熊本放送
26日、熊本市で江津湖花火大会が4年ぶりに開催されました。会場は打ち上げの1時間前から多くの人で賑わっていました。花火が打ちあがると会場を訪れた人たちが、夜空を彩る約1万発の花火に見入っていました。

Kirk here with some notes about a relatively new bicycle sharing service in Kumamoto: Charichari. The image you see with English is from the following page:
https://charichari.bike/blog/chari-guide-2023-download-en
The page explains in English how to download the required app and then begin using the red "Chari" bicycles you see here and there in central Kumamoto City. Unfortunately, the app itself is only available in Japanese, but it does have an English "Help" section.
The following RKK video report explains that the bikes have been quite popular and that the strong uptake in bike sharing is helping to alleviate two important problems in Kumamoto: (1) car traffic congestion downtown and (2) congestion and large numbers of abandoned bicycles in train-station parking facilities.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/2749b15253522fbc964c02b15dd81cdebd605f2b
As a result of the success of the program thus far the city has decided to expend it, aiming for full implementation by 2024:
https://kumanichi.com/articles/1150953
The other image you see is a new one of Kumamon, with may have something to do with the official decision to move ahead with the bike sharing program:
https://www.facebook.com/KUMANICHIs/posts/pfbid02My3a3psbhtfog5sRUxVqNyzUHW6gvw34rwqYCkkockAVzRK3EiK78u5ZWaTpjpoxl

Kirk here with something I've had on the back burner since July -- a post about solar farms in rural Kumamoto. The picture you see is from the following Japanese news article:
https://news.livedoor.com/article/image_detail/24534867/?img_id=38210472
The concern is that the solar panels are an eyesore -- black splats on the vistas the Aso area is famous for.
I was prompted to look into the downsides of solar panels after the heavy rains we experienced in July. At the time, I heard rumors that the panels exacerbated erosion during such storms because very little can grow beneath them. I was never able to find a good article about the issue vis-a-vis the flooding in July but I know it has come up in other parts of Japan and the world so I wouldn't be surprised if it was more than a rumor.
Personally, I think that mitigating climate change should be a high priority and so I tend to be in favor of increasing solar panels. In fact, I've had solar panels on my house for a about a decade now. But, I also think that maintaining the beauty of Aso and preventing erosion are issues that deserve consideration. In regard to erosion, I'm still rather puzzled by why the issue remained mostly on the level of rumor and local talk and didn't receive major media attention in July.

Kirk here with an article that introduces folks to Aso. Check it out to see photos of other iconic scenes.
Exploring Aso, Kumamoto: Life on the edge of the Earth
Do you know the feeling you experience at the top of a roller coaster?

William Disclaimer: I used to work at the original Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
JR Kyushu has announced that they will operate what they call the "JR Kyushu WAKU WAKU SMILE Shinkansen" from the 24th mid-December, during which select Shinkansen cars will be decorated with Disney characters. In addition, Disney music can be enjoyed via a QR code.
FYI, a major Shinkansen yard 熊本総合車両所（くまもとそうごうしゃりょうしょ）is located in Tomiai Machi. If you're passing by, it's kinda cool to see those beasts lined up at rest. Video at link:
https://kumanichi.com/articles/1149799
ディズニー新幹線　報道公開
JR九州は８月24日から、九州新幹線の博多─鹿児島中央で、ディズニーの人気キャラクターをデザインした「JR九州　WAKU　WAKU　SMILE　新幹線」を運行する。「さくら」と「つばめ」の一部列車が対象で、12月中旬までの予定。

William A longtime Kumamoto resident (name redacted) has returned to her native Maine and sent me a photo a Maine restaurant (clearly not the photo shown). Personal note: I am from California, renowned for its fusion cuisine (in fact, many Nissei of Kumamoto extraction have made their home there), but went to college in Maine. I found the food there unbearable.
Question for KI readers: What is your opinion of Kumamoto food, and where is your favorite place to get it?

Kirk here with an inquiry that was directed to the page:
--- start quote ---
Hello, I will be leaving Kumamoto/Japan at the end of this month. I had intended to sell my car but cannot find the registered inkan. I have my shaken documents and such and the little green book they gave with the inkan.
it seems to be able to sell or get rid of my car I need that. I don't know what to do in the case of having lost it. If you know anything, can you please help? 😓
--- end quote ---
Just after I posted this I got the following update:
--- start ---
I'm sorry I didn't give an update, I was able to resolve it at city hall. They were able to register a new inkan.
--- end ---
So, this issue has been resolved. I can say from my own experience, though, that if you register and inkan, it's important to keep track of it and the registration documents (green plastic, as I recall) that come with it.
P.S. The generic inkan image I added came from the following page:
https://ferret-plus.com/5866

William Kirk Masden founded Kumamoto International originally as a Yahoo Groups page (ha ha!). It has since grown to 5,000 members. To know Kirk is to understand that he hails from Wisconsin, from whence the polite and understated derive. All of us foreign-derived Higokko are in his debt.

Atsuko here.
Introduction to recommended cool spots in Kumamoto.
矢谷渓谷Yatani Valley, Kikka-machi, Yamaga City.
You can play in the water, swim, dive and slide in Yatani Valley!!. As it is a natural waterfall, the diving slide at the back is dangerous unless you can swim. The riverbank at the entrance is safe for small children.(You can't swim in Kikuchi Valley)
Nearby Kirari, an artificial pool using water from the Yatani Gorge, is also fun. Here, too, you can play in the water, swim, dive and slide. Here you can catch rainbow trout for 500 yen. The fish you catch can be grilled for 600 yen. It is very tasty.
The water comes from the Yatani Valley, so it's unbearably cold, but of course we jumped in and slipped a lot.
It's cool, beautiful and fun. Highly recommended.
Entrance fee Yatani Valley Adults 300 yen Children 100 yen
Kirari Adults 310 yen Children 210 yen(๑˃ᴗ˂)و♡
Videos of slides and dives in the Yatani Valley are available in the comments section.
Yatani Valley https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-oppo-rev1&sca_esv=558805880&sxsrf=AB5stBjX2AA6J7KKLdoEc5vtu8PtZibgSQ:1692654923481&q=Yatani+Valley&ludocid=6360021905680930036&ibp=gwp;0,7&lsig=AB86z5WTY_jPj_RV3XLUBSmh0_m3&kgs=33ee7431af5c2b94&shndl=-1&shem=lbsc,lsp&source=sh/x/kp/local/m1/2
Okuyatani Valley Mother Nature KIRARI https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-oppo-rev1&sca_esv=558805880&sxsrf=AB5stBhpH_Ue_2WlVfHHFxgvmsmOHRSpDA:1692655047217&q=Okuyatani+Valley+Mother+Nature+KIRARI&ludocid=6042698243603203003&ibp=gwp;0,7&lsig=AB86z5WSifQLoOnxHCAeKNJGG79G&kgs=8319b1c59d85712b&shndl=-1&shem=lbsc,lsp&source=sh/x/kp/local/m1/2

Kirk here with a report about a problem I encountered using my Japanese driver's license with an international license (issued in Kumamoto) to rent a car in the U.S. Hertz refused to issue the car I had reserved to me. They said that if I wanted to use a Japanese driver's license, then I would need a Japanese passport. Or, if I had maintained my U.S. license for the whole time I was in Japan, that would have solved the problem. But, alas, my U.S. driver's license expired many years ago.
As far as I know, this is only a Hertz policy. I've complained to the Better Business Bureau and hope to be able to get them to reverse this completely unreasonable rule about the license and the ID being issued by the same country. In the meantime, if you rely on an international license to rent abroad, please be aware that Hertz but leave you without the transportation you paid for if your passport isn't Japanese.