A news article from about 4 hours ago, when the rain was really coming down hard. -- Kirk
2021-05-20 18:50 JST 2021 A news article from about 4 hours ago, when the rain was really coming down hard. -- Kirk Downpours in SW Japan prompt evacuation directives for 4 municipalities in Kumamoto - The MainichiKITAKYUSHU, Fukuoka -- Localized downpours caused by warm moist air flowing into a rainy season front in southwest Japan have hit the southern Kyushu https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210520/p2a/00m/0na/00 … ↗ View original post on Facebook For a link to the original post on Facebook, open this page on a computer. Reactions: 6 · Comments: 0 · Shares: 0 ← 2021-05-20 18:48 JST 2021-05-20 20:30 JST → Around this time … 2021-05-21 09:00 JSTJoe Tomei here with another Funky Friday place. Just across from the previously introduced Cure seikotsuin near the Kumamoto Suizenji Station is Ikkyuhonpo Suizenji. Honpo means main store, so I guess that means that there are branches. Now you might say "Joe, how can a place that is respectable enough to have a main store and branches gain the coveted Funky Friday Place status?" Well, the store has been around for half a century and the main store has a pretty funky menu. The main store really gives off a Showa era vibe. You can buy manju to go, but it gets Funky Friday place status by offering a mean zenzai (mochi in a hot sweet bean soup) and these huge takoyaki balls. A sign in the store says something to the effect of 'please allow 15-20 minutes for takoyaki' cause they cook it up fresh. Also, if you are an impatient person like myself, you will want to have a glass of cold water there when you burn the inside of your mouth because you can't wait for the takoyaki to cool down.Their website is herehttp://www.ikkyuuhonpo.com/and they are on the FFP google maphttps://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1qUH94Bac7Hr939b7_8gtvebaJZffGRsX&usp=sharing一休本舗 公式ウェブサイト 2021-05-21 01:06 JSTHello friends.It was heavy rain yesterday.I was at Kengun elementary school on that time. School might have sent parents some messages that we didn't make students go back home because of heavy rain.Usually, lots public schools keep students at school safely in case emergency. Yesterday was so. Lots students had to stay until their family picking up them or the rain has stopped, calm.I met one international father and I think school notice by 安心メール might not work well for non Japanese speakers, unfortunately because all announcement is written in Japanese.待機 means students wait together at classroom.緊急引き渡し means the system teachers pass students to their parents directly, certainly in emergency.徒歩 by footお迎え picking up小康状態in the situation rain has stopped, has abated, calm down.下校 means going back to home.一斉下校 means students starts to go back to home together, once.In case emergency, parents can pick up their kids and go back together. We, schools are worried about heavy rain makes students have any trouble during they go back alone.When you can pick up your kids, you can come to school and visit your kids' classroom. You should greet your kids' teacher and tell you'll go back together.Yesterday evening, we got heavy rain, I met lots papa and mama. After the rain stopped, all students went back by themselves. My young daughter, she goes different school, she has gone back with her best friend and her father. Her school called me and made sure if she can go back with the father. Teacher and school want to make sure, so if you want to pick up your kids, please come to school and meet your kids' teacher.Anyway, Please ask teachers if you need any help, anytime freely, especially emergency.Hoping heavy rain gone away and come back blue sky again soon.Please stay safe together!ーAtsuko(*Ü*) 2021-05-20 22:33 JSTNot done raining yet. By the way, caption on the picture says "Kumamoto City, Central Ward."https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210520_30/-- KirkHeavy rain forecast for western, eastern Japan | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News 2021-05-20 22:10 JSTThis is a follow up to a post I made earlier today about evacuation notices:https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/5392672060806182First of all, as you can see in the following image of a Google translation of the Yahoo page, the number of communities labeled "evacuation instructions" has increased. By the way, "evacuation instructions" is the translation of "hinan shiji" (避難指示) which I think is closer to "evacuation order" because it means "do this," not "this is how you do it." (As far as I know, however, it is not a legally binding "order.") To get a better idea about what you need to do in your particular location, you may want to click on your community name and read the fine print. For example, I live in Kumamoto City and my part of town is in red (高齢者等避難; the elderly and others with special needs should evacuate). However, if you click on the link and read the explanation you'll find that it only applies to people who live close to a steep incline or cliff, etc. In other words, even if you are in the designated category of people, you might not be in a place where you were actually advised to evacuate. On the other hand, some areas are asking everyone to evacuate. My advice is threefold: 1) if at all possible, check with people who live near you to see how they are interpreting the evacuation orders; 2) read the details on the Yahoo page to see if the order only applies to people whose home are in particularly vulnerable locations or if it applies to everyone; and 3) when in doubt, evacuate. Better safe than sorry.Also, note that if you click on the community name in the Yahoo! page linked to above you can find a link to a map showing evacuation sites.Stay safe!-- Kirk 2021-05-20 20:30 JSTThanks to Kuma Visit for posting this! 2021-05-20 18:50 JSTA news article from about 4 hours ago, when the rain was …Downpours in SW Japan prompt evacuation directives for 4 municipalities in Kumamoto - The Mainichi (this post) 2021-05-20 18:48 JSTThis is an image from the following page on Kumamoto Prefecture's site:http://www.bousai.pref.kumamoto.jp/GmnDsp.exe?M100A0S0N1P0R0The Japanese text is built in to the graphics so I don't know of a good way to translate it but the colors, which show the level of danger, may be enough to give you a sense of whether or not you need to change your behavior. Currently in the prefecture, the situation seems to be worst in Minamata. I'm a bit late in sharing this with you today but if you hold on to the URL, you can use it to check the warning levels from time to time. If your area has become a bit colorful, you can check for evacuation notices via the links I shared in my previous post:https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/5392672060806182-- Kirk 2021-05-20 18:37 JSTJust in time for today's heavy rain, Japan has a new warning scale:https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210520_11/The best place I know of to find information about such warnings that have been issued for Kumamoto is on the following Yahoo page:https://crisis.yahoo.co.jp/evacuation/43/The information in Japanese so, if you don't read Japanese, you'll probably want to run it thought some sort of translation too. On a computer, I find that the Google translated extension works well on the Chrome browser. On an iPhone, I just learned how to install and use Microsoft Translator in Safari:https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-translate-a-page-on-iphoneI think it works quite well. I haven't tried it yet but as Android is Google OS, it seems that they have good options for translating web pages on the fly there too.I just expect to be able to warn people about the need to evacuate in advance. If you are in a vulnerable area, you'll need to develop your how method of monitoring things. I'll post again with another tool from Kumamoto Prefecture in a few minutes. -- KirkJapan starts new evacuation scale for heavy rain | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News 2021-05-20 13:58 JSTDay Two following my first Pfizer shot.Good day everyone, such as it is with a 3 week early rainy season dogging us.This is just to provide some closure to my post from yesterday, and to let you all know that I’m feeling fine with no noticeable side or after effects from my vaccination.When I went to bed last night my shoulder was fairly sore and stiff so, as I would after a workout at the gym, I took one Advil (American brand of ibuprofen) before retiring in anticipation of its soothing prowess. I slept very peacefully.Upon awakening, I felt fine, about 90% fit, and 100% able to resume without the slightest impediment my stay-at-home sedentary Covid-19 lifestyle bathed in the blue light of a computer screen. This has been augmented as well by the curtains of rain opening and closing since before sunrise. As I live in a relatively high altitude location I’m not troubled by the threat of flooding and landslides, so I earnestly hope that others reading this will not be inconvenienced or endangered by such things over the next 2 days.All of my acquaintances named Noah have been seized by an uncontrollable urge to start boat building and collecting things in pairs. Stay safe everyone. —CM 2021-05-19 16:07 JSTFrom the front lines of the Covid-19 skirmish I can report that I have been shot.As a member of the over-65 club, I was eligible for my first Pfizer vaccination and was lucky enough to get an appointment for one this morning of the first day of inoculation in Kumamoto for those similarly qualified. Eschewing the taxi coupons I had and expecting a possible crowded parking lot at the ear, nose, and throat clinic that was the vaccination site, I drove over 30 minutes early. My apprehensions were not justified. There were but a few cars already there, and when I walked into the clinic and saw about a dozen people seated and socially distanced I noticed that many of them appeared to be aging a whole lot better than me. That’s because most of them were in their 20s-40s and there with ear, nose, and throat problems waiting to see the doctor. There were only 3 other people appearing to be well into the 2nd half of their respective centuries waiting to get vaccinated. And only 2 more arrived while I was there. I had my temperature taken and presented the necessary paperwork—photo ID, vaccination “coupon”, and pre-vaccination medical history questionnaire—and was directed to take a seat and wait.Patients were called in one by one as in any medical waiting room in a normal sequence except it appeared that the “vaxxers” like me were being admitted within the 15 minute time frames of our respective appointments. Mine was for 10-10:15am and I was called at 10:13 (my birth date). I was directed to an empty anteroom where I took a seat but then was immediately ushered into the doctor’s examination room, also empty except for him and 2 nurses.The doctor, a graduate of the University of Michigan medical school in my home state, greeted me in fluent English, and asked if I had any questions in advance and if I understood what was happening. I did not, and I did, and we chatted briefly about Michigan before getting down to brass jabs. Following previous advice I wore a short sleeve shirt, and in about 10 seconds I was injected by the doctor. It was so fast and so painless I wasn’t aware that it had happened apart from alcohol being rubbed on a spot on my shoulder. I was then escorted back to the waiting room and asked to stay for 15 minutes to observe if I suffered any reaction to the shot. I did not, and after 15 minutes a nurse returned and presented me with the follow-up paperwork necessary for presentation at the time of my 2nd shot and confirmed the date and time exactly 3 weeks hence. Then I was free to leave.It’s now 5 hours since I received the injection and my shoulder feels a bit sore (I’d say naturally after having been stabbed by a relatively long but thin needle), but otherwise I’m feeling fine. My brother in the US, who was fully vaccinated in March, told me to expect this. There is no rash or swelling. So everyone, the first thing I’ll say is that the program has begun but with very little fanfare or sense of urgency. At the clinic I went to I don’t believe they had more than 10 vaxxers scheduled, and they were not going to continue in the afternoon. Then again, citywide I understand there were only 4200 doses available for today and the next 3 days or so. From May 24 when the next time for inoculations begins, there are supposedly 10 times more doses to be distributed. For those who might be nervous about getting the vaccination, if your experience is like mine, you have nothing to fear. It’s easier and faster and (so far) more comfortable than the flu shot you may have been getting every year. Good luck! 2021-05-19 10:59 JSTAs a Scotsman, I feel at home during the rainy season! Nothing like getting out on a rainy day and seeing Kumamoto's ancient heritage blend with nature. I guess it is the connection between the Celtic and Shinto beliefs in animism that are involved.Here is a link to a short video from the Rokuden shrine, in the rain, that Megumi and I (Douglas) put together yesterday.Rain At the Rokuden Shrine
