Yesterday was the SL Aso Boy's last hurrah, after 18 years. -- Kirk
2023-09-23 17:40 JST 2023 Yesterday was the SL Aso Boy's last hurrah, after 18 years. -- Kirk ＳＬあそＢＯＹ１８年ぶりに豊肥線走る 沿道には多くの鉄道ファン【熊本】 (23/09/22 18:45)来年３月での引退が決まっているＳＬ人吉の蒸気機関車が１８年ぶりにＳＬあそＢＯＹとして豊肥線を走りました。２２日は、その雄姿を一目見ようと沿道に多くの鉄道ファンが訪れました。多くの鉄道ファンが見守る中、... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X8dqe1j4gE ↗ View original post on Facebook For a link to the original post on Facebook, open this page on a computer. Reactions: 8 · Comments: 5 · Shares: 0 ← 2023-09-23 14:36 JST 2023-09-23 21:27 JST → Around this time … 2023-09-24 15:03 JSTWilliam Our friend Patrick Ijima-Washburn has provided this wonderful photo of Mt Unzen, on the Shimabara peninsula across from Kumamoto, taken from Aso. Unzen is a dormant (for the moment) volcano, part of the arc which stretches from Okinawa up through Hokkaido and then around the Aleutian Islands down through the Americas - what is known as "the ring of fire."Unzen is famous for an eruption in 1991 which generated a pyroclastic flow that killed 43 people.Shimabara is easily accessible from Kumamoto via ferry (and the ferry is cheap and fun - bring bread for the seagulls). The town itself is very walkable. It is particularly famous for its "武家屋敷" (samurai house district). Multiple historic residences are on a street lined with canals filled with koi. Note the residences' entrances, which were designed to prevent unwanted intrusion from ninja.Panoramic photo courtesy of Patrick. Koi photo ripped from the Web. 2023-09-24 12:36 JSTKirk here with some Yamaga school lunch news.Cockroach, Slug Found in School Lunches in Kumamoto Pref. 2023-09-24 07:59 JSTAtsuko here.Yesterday was the autumnal equinox and the weather was crisp and autumnal.This is the autumn share of the countryside in Kumamoto, my home town of Nagomi machi. I love the white higanbana. Kumamoto is now in the season of delicious persimmons and chestnuts. I also made o-hagi (rice cakes).How to make Ohagihttps://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=4290988224307910&id=123734781033296 2023-09-24 07:36 JSTSean here - Teen Powered could use one maybe two more teens leaders who are energetic, intelligent and not afraid of thinking differently. Would really prefer a girl/women as we have enough boys/men at this time. This is an A list group of teens who are planning the 3rd annual Ezuko 2023 Trick or Trash Halloween PartyA great opportunity for the right young adult. Massage me, or Yuri, our volunteer [email protected]@gmail.comArt by Haru 2023-09-23 21:27 JSTKirk here. This post is not specific to Kumamoto. It's about the difficulty of unsubscribing from mailing lists in Japan vs. the U.S. Here's what I've noticed: Unsubscribing from mailing lists (that is, promotional e-mails you don't want) is harder in Japan than in the U.S. The reason is that, in Japan, you have to be able to log in to your account with that company just to say "don't send me any more stuff." I first noticed this with Yahoo!Japan (which, by the way, is a particularly egregious spammer) but have since noticed that quite a few other companies follow this "spam-will-continue-until-you-are-able-to-log-in" policy too. Today I noticed it with AU (cell phone company). I no longer have an account and don't remember my log in information so the only way to stop the e-mails seems to be to call the company. This will be my second time to make such a phone call just to get e-mails to stop coming.In the States, by contrast, I haven't had difficulty canceling similar promotional e-mail services. Basically, they seem to be set up so that they automatically know that the link you clicked on to cancel is actually from your e-mail address and that's enough proof for them. A world of difference!Of course, in slightly different ways, American companies also employ a sort of "make-staring-easy-but-quitting-hard" technique to increase profits. Amazon is one such example:Amazon Prime is too damn hard to cancel, says FTC lawsuithttps://www.fastcompany.com/90913194/amazon-prime-lawsuit-too-hard-cancel-easy-signup-ftcGenerally, I would agree the commonly-voiced opinion that service in Japan tends to be very good. Clerks are usually friendly and helpful. I would have to say that I prefer typical Japanese retail service to that of my own country, the U.S. But, Japan's vaunted service has it's limits. One example is the kind of thing we see with this smiling tanuki from AU. It looks friendly and nice and everything but the effect is to make customers suffer though a tedious cancelation process unnecessarily. If AU and similar companies were truly interested in providing good service, they'd make it easier to quit! 2023-09-23 17:40 JSTYesterday was the SL Aso Boy's last hurrah, after 18 years. …ＳＬあそＢＯＹ１８年ぶりに豊肥線走る 沿道には多くの鉄道ファン【熊本】 (23/09/22 18:45) (this post) 2023-09-23 14:36 JSTWilliam There are few choices for international schools in Kumamoto, but as a Lutheran school (which is about as undogmatic as Christian sects go - their main dogma is "'Sup?," ) Kyushu Gakuin is about as good as it gets. It is a very old school, one of the first in Japan to be based on English. It also has a pretty good baseball team that, most years, get your hopes up by qualifying for Koshien and then quickly dashing them.A fundamental force at the school, Isao Kotegawa (or "Kote-chan," as he's known) published a photo of a group of Kyugaku students in San Francisco back in 1979. It must have been a shock for all involved! (And another photo - this is how old the school is!) The church is still there, but the classroom building is now modern.If you are raising an international child, Kyugaku would be a good consideration for JHS and HS.https://www.facebook.com/isao.kotegawa.3 2023-09-23 09:06 JSTWilliam Addiction - whether to alcohol, drugs, or even sex! - can happen to anyone. Kumamoto is fortunate to host Kikuyo Byoin, which focuses on treating these issues. Its spacious grounds are located in a secluded, wooded area - more like a resort than a hospital. The staff are kind and professional, and the food is very good. Days are spent with meetings on experiencing addiction and how to manage it. The hospital accepts national health insurance, which means it is probably cheaper to stay there than at home. PM me if you have any questions. https://www.kikuyouhp.jp/?fbclid=IwAR0Gscy96HzsQnKvzOH8_rkO7ThXZA32ZOdi2413-ZsnuiK49nvpgwWKs-I 2023-09-23 07:49 JSTRed spider lilies from Kuma Visit there. These flowers have two Japanese names: manjushage (曼珠沙華) and higanbana (彼岸花). One theory about the etymology of manjushage is that it's part of a Buddhist sutra with origins in Sanskrit. According to the theory, in the sutra, the sound of the Sanskrit word for "red" was translated into Chinese characters and that was then brought into Japanese. No wonder Japanese can seem pretty darn difficult at times! https://www.otani.ac.jp/yomu_page/b_yougo/nab3mq0000000rnh.htmlThe other word, "higanbana," means "the flower that blooms around the time of the Autumnal Equinox" which is September 23 this year. That's today! Right on time!https://www.facebook.com/kumavisit/posts/693189695601412:693189695601412 2023-09-22 20:55 JSTKirk here reporting that Hiromi Chida, founder of Kuma Visit, got written up in Kumanichi Spice. Congratulations Hiromi! The article mentions her Facebook page, which I hope most of you already know about:https://www.facebook.com/kumavisitIt also mentions her multilingual radio program The Kuma Post, which is broadcast on Kumamoto City FM from 12:50 to 1:00 PM on Sundays. https://fm791.jp/program/105I must confess that I haven't listened to it yet but I will soon!!P.S. Hiromi, please let us know when the program will be in English for the most part. 2023-09-22 08:00 JSTKirk here. More air service between Taiwan in Kumamoto.China Airlines launches flights between Taipei and Kumamoto
