http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201803120017.html
2018-03-17 08:30 JST 2018 http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201803120017.html Movie inspired by Kumamoto quakes tops bill at city’s filmfest：The Asahi ShimbunKUMAMOTO--The Kumamoto Reconstruction Film Festival, inaugurated last year to benefit people affecte https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201803120017.html?utm_i … ↗ View original post on Facebook For a link to the original post on Facebook, open this page on a computer. Reactions: 21 · Comments: 0 · Shares: 2 ← 2018-03-16 20:40 JST 2018-03-17 09:42 JST → Around this time … 2018-03-20 09:57 JSTWe have few consecutive rainy days this week. My Japanese friend says that when we have rainy days, that's time when Sakura blooms. Take a stroll at some random Parks, rivers, slow down our pace, and enjoy the beauty. Take pictures with your phone or even with your professional cameras. If you have scenic spots that you wanna share with others, please feel free to write in comments below 🙂-Olivia- 2018-03-18 18:43 JSTI first came to Japan on a cargo ship from Taiwan with $800 and a phone number of a friend in Kyoto, and spent my first two weeks on Japanese soil in Okinawa. With language ability and cultural understanding both hovering around non-existent, all was inscrutable. Why, for example, did almost every shop have a yellow sign with a black cat out front? Was it some kind of religion? Turns out it was of course the logo for Yamato Delivery (lotsa omiyage in Okinawa), but with no language skills and no one to ask, that black cat remained a mystery for quite some time.A black cat again unfamiliar in a Kumanichi ad caught my eye, but this time I'm better able to handle it. Turns out the little guy's name is Kineko (the "ki" is likely from "kinematos," Greek for "cinema"), and he's the mascot for the non-profit Kineko International Children’s Film Festival (link below). On April 15, the show comes to Kumamoto. Sponsored by the FOR KUMAMOTO PROJECT, the Kumanichi, and the Kumamoto Prefectural Theater (where it will be held in the main concert hall), the show is split into morning and evening sections (choose one). Tickets are free (2,400 available) and are intended for parents with children, though non-Japanese adults might also benefit from language immersion (I learned much of my Japanese by watching children's TV with my kids). Below is the bill. Morning (doors open 10:45; show starts 11:30)Thomas the Tank Engine "Harbour Hide and Seek" [UK / 8 minutes] ★Pingu in the City "Now Under Construction!" [Japan · America / 7 minutes]Zebra [Germany / 4 minutes] Shimajiro's Wow! "Hana and Baby" [Japan / 8 minutes]Teddy and Annie [UK / 8 minutes] ★Afternoon (doors open 13:45; show starts 14:30)Peanuts Snoopy - short animation [France / 7 minutes]Komaneko "The First Step" [Japan / 5 minutes]The Chocolate Soldier [USA / 12 minutes] ★Lila's Sketchbook [Argentina · Spain / 9 minutes]Julian [Australia / 13 minutes] ★The movies will be dubbed in Japanese. In the case of those marked with ★, the dubbing will be conducted live by two special guests, actresses Keiko Toda and Rika Matsumoto (戸田恵子さんや松本梨香さん). Questions can be directed to the Kumanichi "Kumamon & Kineko Film Festival," 096-361-3343 (weekdays 9: 30 ~ 17: 30, likely Japanese only). Registration for tickets is done online via the below link (definitely Japanese only; message us for help if needed. I just completed ours and it's quite easy.)If you have children, they will certainly love this. If you're just starting out with the Japanese language, you will certainly benefit. Please let us know if you have any questions. - Williamくまモン＆キネコ映画祭 KUMAMON×KINEKO FILM FESTIVAL 参加者募集 | 主催事業 | 熊本日日新聞社 2018-03-17 21:41 JSTFrom the Kumamoto International Desk of Unusual Metrics: Sandwiched between Tsuboi and Shira Rivers directly to the east of Tasaki Market lies Furu-machi, unremarkable in all respects except one. The Kumamoto branch of the Japan Meteorological Agency announced this morning the commencement of the someiyoshino-variety cherry blossom season. As scientists, this is not something they do all willy-nilly. They require a metric, and that metric has been since time immemorial based on a particular tree rooted at Furu-machi Elementary School. Should five to six buds on this tree have blossomed, the season is declared open. (The Agency doesn't keep it under round-the-clock surveillance or anything; it's not like they're zealots. They simply send a couple of officials round each morning to tabulate blossomed bud number.)Anyway, this morning, the count reached EIGHT! - and this the two officials duly reported after rushing back to headquarters, the information then being disseminated through the ranks and broadcast both to local citizenry and the nation as a whole: Cherry blossom season in Kumamoto has officially begun.So Furu-machi's got that going for it. Sunday should be meteorologically eponymous, but unfortunately rain is forecast Monday to Wednesday. Since the season start is official, perhaps tomorrow is the day to stake out a spot under a tree, drink a bit of sake, lie back, and count the blossomed buds. - William熊本の桜、開花宣言 平年より６日早く - 熊本日日新聞 2018-03-17 21:19 JSTUpdate: Though it became possible to view the Aso crater for a few days, it closed again soon after. Thanks to Jennifer for pointing this out. The current status of the crater can be found here:http://www.aso.ne.jp/~volcano/info/======================== This is old news but, in case you missed other announcements we made about it, the volcano has reopened. -- Kirkhttps://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/02/28/national/tourism-mount-asos-crater-area-resumes-volcanic-activity-diminishes/#.Wq0Gn2aB2u4Mount Aso's crater area reopened to tourists after volcanic activity calms | The Japan Times 2018-03-17 09:42 JSTHi all, there is job vacancy for those who are looking for one, Maple Tree International School is looking for full time starting in April![***Full time position*****]*School Location: Nagamineminami, Higashi-ku, Kumamoto city*Class type: English-immersion preschool/kindergarten & eikaiwa classes*Monday-Friday,:9:00-18:00 or 19:00(1 hour or longer lunch break)*Monthly Salary: Depending on teaching experience*Days off: According to the school calendar*Qualifications: Native English speaker/ Teaching experience preferably at preschools, kindergartens, eikaiwa schools and International schools/ TESOL or any teaching certificates/PC skills(Word/Excel/Power point) /Conversational Japanese skill*Candidates must-love working with very young children-be hardworking and punctual-be friendly and energetic-be passionate about teaching-work as a team player-have respect for the students, parents, other teachers and staff-have an understanding of the Japanese culture, manners and customs**Hiring process****1: Applicant screening2: Face-to-face interview (*Please note that we conduct our job interview in Kumamoto city. For those who are living outside of Kumamoto, we’d like you to come to Kumamoto for the interview.)If you are interested and would like to know more information, please send your resume and cover letter. Please don’t forget to attach a recent photo of you.Thank you.Maple Tree International [email protected]-Olivia- 2018-03-17 08:30 JSTMovie inspired by Kumamoto quakes tops bill at city’s … (this post) 2018-03-16 20:40 JST"Aso-Kuju National Park, which had struggled to boost visitor numbers in 2016 due to the Kumamoto earthquake and the eruption of Mount Aso that occurred the same year, experienced a 37.2 percent increase.'The disasters had a huge negative impact on local tourism businesses around the park,' said Aso-Kuju Park administrator Yuji Morita.'In fact, the number of Japanese tourists is still below the level before the Kumamoto disasters,' Morita added. 'However, we have seen many returning foreign tourists from South Korea and other Southeast Asian nations who love exploring the mountainside hot spring spas.'"Estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan's national parks hit record 6 million in 2017 | The Japan Times 2018-03-16 15:26 JSTWeather has been gloomy these days because of the rain. I do wish for bright and sunny days for a nice Hanami with friends and family. This Sakura Matsuri will be held in Ozu on March 31th - April 1st. I might go and check it out. Address is given in the website (Japanese only)http://www.town.ozu.kumamoto.jp/product/kanko/sakura.htmlIf you know more about this event, please feel free to write in comments below.-Olivia- 2018-03-16 10:00 JSTJoe Tomei here. For this Funky Places Friday, we will go way way back to when life was simpler. I think this was the first restaurant I went to for lunch from my university, 20 years ago, in Bocca al Lupo. It is a sad fact that in Kumamoto, restaurants pop up and disappear with surprising frequency. I was told that Kumamoto people like new things, but in my old age, I'm appreciating things that stay the same. The phrase "in Bocca al Lupo" is the Italian equivalent of 'break a leg' and means 'into the wolf's mouth', since one never wants to say "good luck" before someone goes on stage. The master has made trips to Italy to study cooking and take photographs. The lunch is usually a choice of 2 or 3 freshly made pasta dishes and I love his bacon and ginnan (ginko) pasta. There used to be parking across the street, but that is now a 7-11. However, there is coin parking just down the street.One of the neat things about doing this is finding extra information, and I just discovered that the restaurant has it's own facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/boccalupo.kumamoto/All the Funky Friday places are on this maphttps://drive.google.com/open?id=1qUH94Bac7Hr939b7_8gtvebaJZffGRsX&usp=sharingand if you have any places you'd like me to write about or places that have moved or gone out of business, please send me a message thru Kumamoto-i. 2018-03-15 21:37 JSTHere's an article from the Telegraph on the recent changes I've already described. -- KirkJapan council bans 'non-members' from meetings after politician brings baby to work 2018-03-15 20:16 JSTI must admit having mixed feelings about solar power being used to mine Bitcoin. The reason is that, before Bitcoin, there was no need for such "mining" so I get the feeling that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are canceling out progress that's being made in renewable energy. On the other hand, I guess it's better than building or restarting nuclear power plants for the same purpose.-- KirkJapanese to use solar power for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining - AMBCrypto
