Kurokawa Onsen. Atsuko⸜(ˊᗜˋ)⸝ https://www.facebook.com/share/vD4yaDhrA3zLm5Mo/
2024-02-09 22:50 JST 2024 Kurokawa Onsen. Atsuko⸜(ˊᗜˋ)⸝ https://www.facebook.com/share/vD4yaDhrA3zLm5Mo/ ↗ View original post on Facebook For a link to the original post on Facebook, open this page on a computer. Reactions: 8 · Comments: 1 · Shares: 0 ← 2024-02-09 14:59 JST 2024-02-12 20:45 JST → Around this time … 2024-02-14 07:43 JSTThe marathon is coming up this weekend. -- KirkMarathon Overview | Kumamoto Castle Marathon 2024 2024-02-13 18:02 JSTAccording to the article, in the Kumamoto quakes, 52 of the 186 who died held disability certificates. Disasters, both natural and man-made, hit people who are already already vulnerable the hardest. -- KirkDisabled account for over 20% of 2010s Japan disaster-linked deaths 2024-02-13 14:29 JSTKumamoto Driving School (KDS) is going to host the "International Traffic Safety Workshop" for foreign residents in Kumamoto, Japan! Join them on March 3rd, Sunday, from 10 AM to 12 PM at Kumamoto Driving School. Parents and children are welcome! Check out the details below: -Date & Time-March 3rd (Sunday) | 10 AM - 12 PM -Location-Kumamoto Driving School -Target Audience-Foreign residents in Kumamoto, parents, and children Registration: https://ws.formzu.net/sfgen/S261160935/Posted by: Hari Devkota 2024-02-13 12:15 JSTWilliam Teaching English at JHS or HS level in Japan oft requires instilling motivation as students do not understand the utility of the subject. This could be a good motivator: Kyushu Gakuin High School graduate Yoshihiro Sonoda (46) has been appointed exclusive interpreter for MLB Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. (Disclaimer: the alma mater of my two children) Prior to this, Sonoda had been working as a lighting engineer at a film company in New York. "Maybe you, too, could someday be an interpreter - or work in the film industry," you can tell your students.Kumanichi has the full story:ドジャース山本投手の通訳に園田さん（熊本・九学高出身） 日本のエース支える｜熊本日日新聞社 2024-02-12 20:45 JSTKirk here. This came to me in a feed for "Kumamoto" because it includes a picture from Kumamoto but the issue is national. The article includes the following sentence."Asked whether they want a higher percentage of foreigners in their community, 54.5 percent said they do not, with many citing concerns about increased friction or deterioration of the social order."Of course, friction can occur, particularly when it is assumed that it's somehow "natural" to treat foreigns as second-class entities, but I'm afraid that many of the nay-sayers are basing their opinions on stereotypes that have little to do with reality. :(Many Japanese outside major urban areas do not engage with foreigners - The Mainichi 2024-02-09 22:50 JSTKurokawa Onsen. (this post) 2024-02-09 14:59 JSTKirk here. A while back I posted about how Kumamon is not allowed to enjoy cake because "he" is supposed to be male and "real" men don't go for sweets (at least that's the theory). You can find that post here:https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid02yCZvZY2MevZLKAtPF7MFmKX23nGKQ5kstTCBrpmW3UTAtHYJpEB5Mb1aawMyW1PTlThis post is a follow-up to that. The same "men don't eat sweats" mentality is a topic of discussion in Alan Rosen's thoroughly enjoyable memoir: "Tales of Old Zen." Unfortunately for English speakers, the book is only available in Japanese:https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%83%89%E3%83%BB%E3%82%BC%E3%83%B3%E3%81%AE%E7%89%A9%E8%AA%9E-%E3%82%A2%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E3%83%AD%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BC%E3%83%B3/dp/4877556435Alan describes his first meal in Kumamoto after which his chain-smoking colleagues from Kumadai poo-pooed his request for desert, explaining that men like alcohol and cigarettes, not sweets.P.S. This and all the other illustrations in Alan's book have been done by his highly talented daughters. 2024-02-08 15:59 JSTWilliam The Kumamoto District CourtWikipedia notes, "Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_architecture Its austereness was contrary to the baroque popular at the time. "Georgian architecture is characterized by its proportion and balance; simple mathematical ratios were used to determine the height of a window in relation to its width or the shape of a room as a double cube." Sounds like law. With spring approaching and a desire to stretch your legs, head out a bit behind Ninomaru, a bit up the road, and you will find the former Kumamoto District Court Building (熊本地方裁判所旧庁舎, Kumamoto chihōsaibansho kyū chōsha), which was constructed in 1908 and in use until being replaced in 1978. Currently, it is used as a museum and is certainly worth a visit. Call first for reservations. https://www.courts.go.jp/kumamoto/kengaku/mogitaiken/siryokan_syokai/index.htmlI once lived in Taiwan, a former Japanese colony. Many Georgian revival buildings from the Japanese colonial era remain. Below are two photos, one a former Japanese colonial building in Taipei, the other the former Kumamoto district court. Can you tell which is which? 2024-02-07 21:28 JSTKirk here. It's official: a second TSMC plant will be built in Kumamoto.TSMC to build second Japan chip factory, raising investment to $20 bln 2024-02-07 20:24 JSTWilliam Zoos excite in me mixed emotions. On one hand, when done well, they provide a wonderful discovery experience, particularly for children (drive-through parks, such as https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/animal-kingdom/#/sort=alpha/ , at least provide a semblance of the creature's natural habitat); when done poorly, the are sense-killing life sentences for sentient creatures (see Kumamoto Zoo - or, actually, don't). I'd heard of Aso's "Cuddly Dominion" but hadn't given it much thought until I came across this article: https://travel.gaijinpot.com/aso-cuddly-dominion/ The word "cuddly" should have been a tip-off: the last thing even a domestic animal wants to do is be "cuddled" all day by strangers, which apparently is what this park encourages (and fortunately, they are mostly domestic). The ultimate curse I devised when my kids were young was "May you be reborn as a kindergarten hamster."I'd like to know if any of our readers have been there and, if so, what your impressions are. 2024-02-07 17:25 JSTWilliam Every city in Japan has its signature department store: Fukuoka = Daimaru; Osaka = Hankyu; Kyoto =Takashimaya; Tokyo = Mitsukoshi (this is all according to my daughter, whom you do not want to argue with). And, of course, Kumamoto = Tsuruya.Established in 1951 as a joint investment by Chiebuya Kimono Store and Furusho Honten, it opened its present location in 1952 with three floors above ground and one below, and has expanded since. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%B6%B4%E5%B1%8B%E7%99%BE%E8%B2%A8%E5%BA%97A thing about Tsuruya is their paper bags. It is de rigueur when giving a gift in Kumamoto to enclose it in a Tsuruya paper shopping bag, no matter where the gift was purchased. A problem is that customers would accrue as many bags as possible on each visit, costing the company money and creating potential waste (though the bags tend to be reused multiple times).In an attempt to reign in cost and waste, the company has announced that it will now be charging for paper shopping bags under the attached schedule. They're still cheap and probably worth it, particularly if you're giving a gift. https://www.tsuruya-dept.co.jp/information/info/bag.html