The Minamata Disease Exhibition will be held from Nov. 16 to Dec. 10. -- Kirk
2017-11-10 09:48 JST 2017 The Minamata Disease Exhibition will be held from Nov. 16 to Dec. 10. -- Kirk Minamata exhibition to be held in KumamotoAn exhibition on the 60-year history of Minamata disease will open Nov. 16 in the city of Kumamoto https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2017/10/fe6b2d35244d-mina … 📅 Event details Event:Minamata Disease ExhibitionDate:2017-11-16 – 2017-12-10 ↗ View original post on Facebook For a link to the original post on Facebook, open this page on a computer. Reactions: 12 · Comments: 1 · Shares: 0 ← 2017-11-09 12:16 JST 2017-11-10 14:39 JST → Around this time … 2017-11-13 14:44 JSTA note regarding the planned new JR Kumamoto Station: JR and the city government released plans for a 12-floor building with a single basement floor (which would make 13, I guess). The facility is slated to be occupied by retailers, a hotel, a wedding venue, and a movie theater. Exterior facade is planned to mimic the austere sense of the castle, though part will be glass-clad with a third-floor entrance to the railway set with trees and spaces to take in the views of the city and space for performances and other activities. Expansion will be aided by moving the existing railroad car service facility underground.The area is hamstrung by the hills behind it and, according to my wife (who somehow seems to know this!), has a dark history of prostitution. Still, it's nice that some people in the planning department have been busy, and perhaps new buildings will bring a new atmosphere. A schematic is available at the link. - William熊本駅ビルと駅前広場の概要発表 にぎわい、防災拠点に - 熊本日日新聞 2017-11-12 19:03 JSTFollowing up on William's post from the 4th of November about Kumamoto Castle repairs, I wanted to share some info about another extremely important regional site damaged in the earthquake - Aso Shrine. Aso Shrine is one of the oldest remaining Shinto shrines in the entire country, and as such many of its structures suffered heavy damage in the quake. The romon (the big tower gate that you pass through to access the main areas of the shrine) completely collapsed.The website for Aso Shrine provides a lot of information in English, and also provides a monthly progress report to explain what's been going on with repair efforts (though as far as I can tell the progress reports are only available in Japanese). The reports give a small amount of information about the repair efforts undertaken in the given month and also include pictures, so I think they're worth looking at even if you don't read Japanese.While it's natural that repair efforts would proceed slowly, it makes me happy that so many people are working so hard to help protect and repair such a beautiful and important site.-GraceThe Aso Shrine Restoration Project 2017-11-11 17:23 JSTCats. Their murderous intent is clear to dog-lovers ー yet how long must we continue under the guise of feline innocence? (Note: I may not be entirely unbiased on this matter.) Here, a cat in Mifune has left clues to their nefarious ways. / sarcasm. Best wishes to Matsumoto-san for a speedy recovery. - WilliamStray cat a suspect in 'attempted murder' 2017-11-11 15:13 JSTResults on Kumamoto tourism are in, clarifying that earthquakes are not a big draw. The blue bar indicates day-trippers and the brown over-nighters (left axis, unit 10,000) while the polygonal graph shows the number of foreign visitors (right axis, unit 10,000). In total, the number of visitors fell to a level not seen since 1997 (the year my daughter was born - and she's in college now!), with the Aso region seeing a 37% drop.Of interest but not reported in the article is the "Kumamon effect." Our cuddly character was unveiled in 2010. This may have contributed to the steep increase in foreign visitors from 2011. So 2016 was not a good year for Kumamoto tourism, but considering the increased transportation links (air, sea), 2017 should see a return to the Kumamon curve. - William熊本県内の16年観光客、1100万人減 地震影響、阿蘇37%減 - 熊本日日新聞 2017-11-10 14:39 JSTA long time ago (936, to be precise), there was a war between the nascent Japanese state and pirates that stretched along the Seto Inland Sea through pretty much all land points adjoining, from Kyoto to Fukuoka.The nascent Japanese state won this war (called the Fujiwara no Sumitomo no Ran 藤原純友の乱 ーGoogle it; kinda interesting as the location of the seat of government - Fukuoka? Kyoto? - was still unsettled) and then set about building a bunch of shrines to glorify their victory. This war's glorification is the origin of Kumamoto's main shrine, Fujiskai Hachuman Gu (藤崎八旛宮).Kagoshima's Shimizu clan were of course vital to the victory, and the clan used an emblem "Fujisaki" ("wisteria point") to indicate a horse's whip which from which buds, branches and leaves grew (or it might refer to a place - sources differ, but this explanation is cooler). There are several such shrines throughout Japan, and they tend to deify militaristic gods that oversaw the unification of Japan.The current location of the shrine dates only from 1877, when its previous iteration behind what is now the baseball stadium was obliterated during the Seinan War. So now you know more about Fujisaki Hachiman Gu than your average Kumamotoite. Our friend Frank Lamosa has provided us with this lovely photo of the shrine. - William 2017-11-10 09:48 JSTThe Minamata Disease Exhibition will be held from Nov. 16 …Minamata exhibition to be held in Kumamoto (this post) 2017-11-09 12:16 JSTKumamon in Hong Kong. -- KirkAnthropomorphised bear Kumamon introduces 12 days of buffets at The Mira Hotel. Obviously. 2017-11-08 14:19 JSTOne day, Katsuyuki Kitagawa, head of Aso Farm Land, was inspired by his work in the Japanese sweets industry to design a house in the shape of a "manju," that dome-shaped confectionery filled with red bean paste. Probably a good idea he wasn't daydreaming about taiyaki (たい焼き), that fish-shaped confectionery filled with red bean paste. - WilliamJapan's quirky, quake-resistant dome houses prove a big draw 2017-11-07 21:32 JSTLong ago, the oosumo Kumamoto basho was held at the prefectural gymnasium, which was cool for me as I'd often return after the matches to "hang" (this being a regional event, the sumotori can relax and tend to depart to more salubrious, uh ... pubs ... quickly after the final bout) and once found Takanohana's cast-off yukata in a hallway corner (we apparently have the same arm length, while I lack the girth). This year's event will be held at the far-more-inconvenient Aquadome on December 9. Tickets top out at 17,800 yen for a ringside seat ("Oh, but they're sold out!" you can truthfully tell your date) to 5,000 yen for the nosebleeder seats. Doors open at 8:00 while makuuchi and all of the good stuff starts at 13:30, continuing until 15:00.Pro advice: Find "the" entrance and play paparrazi (bring a pen and a few "shikishi" autograph boards - and ask which pub they're headed to!) so as to have more fun for free. ー Williamhttps://kumamotobasho.jp/ 2017-11-06 20:20 JSTPlease support the 2017 熊本クリスマス トイ ドライブ・KUMAMOTO Christmas TOY DRIVE - This is their 31st year bringing toy-joy to kids (0~18 years old) who spend Christmas at institutions and baby homes in Kumamoto 🎁✨🎄 **Monetary donations are most useful, though brand new gifts/toys are accepted. Bank/PO transfer info below. There are many ways to help... See below💡 Manpower and (social) media shares are also much appreciated - December 17th is the day assigned for sorting all the gifts so many things need to happen before then to get everything ready** Contact Yasuyo Koga at [email protected] ぜひシェアしてください 🙏 熊本クリスマス トイ ドライブ - Ruth 2017-11-06 17:41 JSTI enjoyed reading this account of a visit to Kumamoto.-- KirkFrom shrine to shore: A trip to southern Japan