Another storm is heading in our direction. I hope it won't be too bad. More later. -- Kirk
2017-10-28 00:38 JST 2017 Another storm is heading in our direction. I hope it won't be too bad. More later. -- Kirk ↗ View original post on Facebook For a link to the original post on Facebook, open this page on a computer. Reactions: 5 · Comments: 0 · Shares: 0 ← 2017-10-27 23:13 JST 2017-10-28 19:52 JST → Around this time … 2017-11-02 19:41 JSTI took a little trip to Kurokawa Onsen today and was very glad I went. The colors are brightening up and I found a nice bath that only costs 100 yen! It's called Anayu Communal Bath (穴湯共同浴場):http://www.food-travel.jp/kumamoto/anayu.htmlWhen we were there, it was empty so I could take a picture of the inside. It's a kon'yoku (men and women together) facility, but privacy is not insured (while you're bathing, others may open the door to have a look). I didn't have time to bathe there but a friend told me that he had it all to himself and enjoyed it.-- Kirk 2017-10-30 22:12 JSTBest wishes for a truly kowai Halloween (or 「諸聖人の祝日の前夜」, as no one ever calls it) to all our Kumamoto International friends, and a treat: The Great Pumpkin, Japan-style. - William 2017-10-29 21:47 JSTHere's a message that was sent to the page by Shenee Douglas (posted with Shenee's permission):"Hello Kumamoto International,A lovely Japanese lady is looking for a Japanese speaking foreigner to share info about their country to a group of people over the age of sixty.The class is held once a month on 2nd Wednesdays from 1:30 - 2:30 at Akitsu Kouminkan. The pay is 6000¥ for two hours. She speaks good English, so she may be able to help with translation if the person is not able to present it all in Japanese. Her name is Noriko . # is 080-1715-3594. People who are interested should mention my name when they call."-- Posted by Kirk 2017-10-29 18:30 JSTHere's an inquiry about finding a running coach. Personally, I have no idea. If you can help, please write a comment for contact Jackie. -- Kirkhttps://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1633451360061623 2017-10-28 19:52 JSTIt looks like the winds will be picking up in the next 12 hours. I hope it's a relatively mild storm for Kumamoto. One bit of good news in the no news is good news category is that the Yahoo page listing calls for evacuation in Kumamoto is empty:https://crisis.yahoo.co.jp/evacuation/43/-- Kirk P.S. Here's the URL of the site I took the image from:http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com 2017-10-28 00:38 JSTAnother storm is heading in our direction. I hope it won't … (this post) 2017-10-27 23:13 JSTBy the way, if you're interested in Kumamoto local basketball team, the Volters, you can find statistics about them here:http://basketball.asia-basket.com/team/Japan/Kumamoto-Vorters/18427-- Kirkhttps://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2017/10/17/basketball/b-league/b-league-stage-2018-star-game-kumamoto/B. League to stage 2018 All-Star Game in Kumamoto | The Japan Times 2017-10-25 23:50 JSTKumamoto's voting rate in Sunday's election was under 60% but even that was above the national average of 53.68% (the second worst in Japan's modern history) and a notable jump from mere 50% of 2012. A new aspect of this election is that 18 and 19 year olds could vote but their national voting rate was a mere 41.5%:http://www.sankei.com/politics/news/171024/plt1710240100-n1.html-- Kirkhttp://go2senkyo.com/articles/2017/10/24/33256.html 2017-10-22 21:52 JSTIt looks like Prime Minister Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (Jiminto) has won a major victory. Tomorrow's newspapers will present a national overview of the election but since this is a Kumamoto page, I'd like to focus in on the projected winner of Kumamoto City's first ward, Minoru Kihara.I think it's fair to locate Mr. Kihara on the far right of Japan's political spectrum. He was one of a group of ideologues who signed a paid advertisement published in the Washington Post that former University of Chicago Professor Norma Field described as a "a compendium of rightwing revisionist talking points on the 'comfort women.'" Field indicates that backlash to this extreme political ad was one factor that led to the passage in the United States House of Representatives to "House Resolution 121 that called on the Japanese Government to 'acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner for its Imperial Armed Forces’ coercion of young women into sexual slavery, known to the world as "comfort women" ….'"https://www.globalresearch.ca/japans-world-war-ii-comfort-women-revisionism-comes-to-the-u-s/5453023"The Facts" ad, listing Mr. Kihara's name, can be found here:https://img.atwikiimg.com/www22.atwiki.jp/doc_exam2007/attach/1/23/thefact_070614.jpgMr. Kihara is also a member of Nippon Kaigi, described as follows in a New York Times article:"A U.S. Congressional report on Japan-U.S. relations from early this year mentioned Nippon Kaigi as one of several organizations to which Mr. Abe has ties that believe that 'Japan should be applauded for liberating much of East Asia from Western colonial powers, that the 1946-1948 Tokyo War Crimes tribunals were illegitimate, and that the killings by Imperial Japanese troops during the 1937 "Nanjing massacre" were exaggerated or fabricated.'"https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/13/opinion/tea-party-politics-in-japan.htmlDespite the low numbers of foreigners in Kumamoto, he still manages to be very upset by proposals to improve the conditions of foreigners residing in Japan. One example of his xenophobia that I found particularly interesting was the "video letter" to be found on the following page:http://kiharaminoru.jp/modules/channel0/2013/02/In it, Mr. Kihara rails against the following change in the law governing foreign residents:"On July 9, 2012, the alien registration system was abolished and foreigners are now able to apply as part of the Basic Resident Registration System. Foreigners who reside in Japan for more than three months need to register for national health insurance."https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Health_Insurance_(Japan)The law is intended to insure that all foreign residents of Japan have health insurance. Mr. Kihara and his accomplice on the ultraconservative "Sakura Channel" opine that this will allow foreigners to abuse the system and steal tax revenues paid in by law-abiding Japanese. In retrospect, this claim seems similar to the "The Facts" ad placed in the Washington Post in that it is so far to the right that even the Abe administration has not embraced it. As far as I know, with the exception of ideologues like Mr. Kihara and his friends in Sakura Channel and Nippon Kaigi, the extension of health care to foreigners with three-month or longer visas has been entirely uncontroversial.-- This screed has been brought to you by Kirk 2017-10-20 20:54 JSTThankfully, this powerfully cyclone is not predicted to make a direct hit on Kumamoto; the eye of the storm is projected to pass to the east of Kyushu. Still, it is very powerful and likely to bring us a lot of rain and some strong winds. The storm is a category 2 now but TropicalStormRisk.com predicts that it will reach its peak strength of category 4 by tomorrow evening. http://www.tropicalstormrisk.comAs you can see from the satellite image, it's a very big system with a clear eye, even though it is not yet at peak strength.It is predicted to be closest to Kumamoto on Sunday. I heard on the news that parts of Amakusa will hold their elections tomorrow (Saturday), a day early, to insure that the storm does not prevent them from delivering ballots on time.-- Kirkhttp://www.jma.go.jp/jp/gms/index.html?area=0&element=0&time=201710202030 2017-10-20 11:01 JSTNotwithstanding World War Two, war-wise, Kumamoto is most noted as the point where Saigo Takamori's Satsuma army was turned back by government forces between February and April, 1877 during the Seinan Senso (aka Satsuma Rebellion). Saigo's hope to easily seize Kumamoto Castle had deteriorated into a winter siege when, in March, government forces attacked and routed Satsuma forces guarding the northern approach to the castle at Tabaruzuka near present-day Ueki. It was all downhill for Saigo from there (figuratively - the Satsuma forces fled back south via Hitoyoshi to avoid government troops which had landed to their rear in Yatsushiro, implying plenty of uphill climbing), and Saigo eventually committed seppuku in August near today's Kagoshima City.Tabaruzaka has a museum displaying artifacts from the war and with a preserved battlefield very much worth visiting, but distance is a problem (say us modern, lazy folk, conveniently ignoring that Satsuma troops hiked there from Kagoshima in the depths of winter). To mark the 140th anniversary of the battle, the museum has organized an exhibition at Kumamoto Shintoshin (that big building near the station) centered on contemporary clothing: government uniforms were modeled on those used by France, and the Satsuma forces wore a mixture of western and Japanese items. The exhibition is free and will run through October 27. The museum director noted the purpose to draw attention to Tabaruzaka as the "Genkan of Kumamoto" and attract more visitors to the museum. (The below painting from 1877 shows the Battle of Tabaruzaka with government troops on the left and Satsuma troops on the right.) - Williamhttps://this.kiji.is/293700784796402785?c=92619697908483575
