I didn't know that there was such an event in Hong Kong. :) -- Kirk
2024-03-09 15:01 JST 2024 I didn't know that there was such an event in Hong Kong. :) -- Kirk Gear up for the return of Kumamon Run in Hong Kong this AprilAn exciting sports event is happening in Hong Kong this April 14. The Kumamon Run will return at the Hong Kong Science Park. https://www.lifestyleasia.com/hk/whats-on/events-whats-on/ku … ↗ View original post on Facebook For a link to the original post on Facebook, open this page on a computer. Reactions: 5 · Comments: 0 · Shares: 1 ← 2024-03-08 21:38 JST 2024-03-09 15:16 JST → Around this time … 2024-03-10 12:44 JSTFor Kumamon fans who might need to rent a car in Kumamoto. -- KirkExplore Kumamoto in a Kumamon Rental Car! | Kumamoto Scoop 2024-03-09 17:00 JSTWon't be long until the cherry blossoms start to pop! :) -- KirkLatest Japan Cherry Blossom 2024 Forecast: When & Where to See Sakura in Japan (Updated 2/29) | LIVE JAPAN travel guide 2024-03-09 15:35 JSTWilliam Kumanichi notes that the new library `annex "Children's Book Forest Kumamoto" (Honnomori, 本の森 - "Book Forest" in Japanese), designed by architect Tadao Ando, will open with a ceremony to be held on April 7th. The library is a two-story building of reinforced concrete and wood and a design featuring an atrium structure with tall bookshelves lining one wall containing about 10,000 books, mainly for children.General admission will begin at 1:30 pm on the 8th. In order to enable comfortable usage, participant numbers will initially be limited to 50 for admission up to 100 minutes, and reservations will be required which can be made on the Honnomori website from March 25th (probably a good idea to wait a few weeks for the hype to die down): https://kodomohonnomori.kumamoto.jp/This looks to be an incredible asset to Kumamoto. https://kumanichi.com/articles/1349236 2024-03-09 15:27 JSTPostscript: Atsuko posted a useful Google-translate link that makes this site pretty intelligible, even if you don't read Japanese:https://kumamoto--guide-jp.translate.goog/oshiromatsuri/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&fbclid=IwAR3EZGvP7NKk4L1OLjT9Vh9l5CY1_5oYQSUeXgrxZ7DYoFLdyrVDxsKMlxoThanks Atsuko!--- original post ---Kirk here with a bit about the Oshiro Matsuri ("castle festival") that's starting today. A large number of events is planned but, alas, nobody seems to have thought about how to share information about the events with people who don't read Japanese. Even though I can read Japanese pretty easily, I still find it to be a bit of a pain in the *** to look through events by clicking on all of the buttons they have used to segregate the information. If they would just give us one page with all of the events and brief explanations listed in chronological order, in text that can be copied, I could then copy the text, use AI to translate it, and share it here. :(Perhaps someday I'll have an opportunity to tell the mayor that the city's event promotion could be greatly improved by a few simple changes to their approach. In the meantime, if you know of any good source of information about the festival in English, please let me know in a comment. I haven't been able to find anything yet. 2024-03-09 15:16 JSTAtsuko here with an introduction to the spring festival in Kawashiri, which will be held tomorrow, March 10.Kawashiri is an interesting town. It is full of old streets with many temples and rice warehouses, old stores such as cutlery and sake breweries, Japanese sweets, delicious bread and ramen shops. The remains of the oldest public toilet in Japan is also located near the Kasegawa River. Last week I went to Kawashiri Elementary School for an exchange program, and the third graders taught me about it.Please enjoy the spring festival in such an interesting town with new sake, Japanese sweets, and various other delicious foods.ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーMarch 10, 2024 [Kawashiri Kuramae Street Festival]is finally being held!This year, a section of Kuramae Street will become a pedestrian paradise.You can relax and enjoy Kawashiri in spring.https://kawashiri--sui-com.translate.goog/infomation/%e5%b7%9d%e5%b0%bb%e8%94%b5%e5%89%8d%e9%80%9a%e3%82%8a%e7%a5%ad%e3%81%ae%e3%81%8a%e7%9f%a5%e3%82%89%e3%81%9b%e3%81%a7%e3%81%99/?fbclid=IwAR3xia2shMKl-2eEXW2meN1gAnQdDmh0uQyFdxVNTfY4lvlsjCmPm19YXkw&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en 2024-03-09 15:01 JSTI didn't know that there was such an event in Hong Kong. :) …Gear up for the return of Kumamon Run in Hong Kong this April (this post) 2024-03-08 21:38 JSTKirk here with some geothermal news.Construction completed for Oguni geothermal power plant, Kumamoto, Japan 2024-03-08 16:38 JSTFor Fortnite fans. -- KirkKumamon Island Custom Map Heading to Fortnite 2024-03-08 10:00 JSTJoe Tomei here. In response to the almost audible cry for Funky Friday Finds, we will be dusting off the FFF desk and scheduling those posts. The next two months will be places in and around Ezuko and Kengun Jinja.The first Funky Friday Find is the ramen shop Mensho Kinoe (麺処 きのゑ the shop sign uses the hentaigana for we). It is located where the old 2nd Sunny Place hamburger shop was, just down the street from the Jinja and the shop has 2 parking spots just behind it. I highly recommend the miso ramen, made with 3 different types of Kumamoto miso, with an added softboiled egg (ajitama) and a second order of noodles (kaedama). I've not gotten past that to order the special gentei ramen. It's a tiny place and can often be busy around lunch time. The Funky Friday Finds map is here (new sports are going to marked with a red pin)https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1qUH94Bac7Hr939b7_8gtvebaJZffGRsX&usp=sharingThe tabelog page is herehttps://tabelog.com/en/kumamoto/A4301/A430101/43016158/dtlphotolst/?smp=sI'm working my way through the old spots and marking the ones have sadly passed. If you find a place that has closed (or a place you want to suggest), feel free to let us know. 2024-03-07 23:17 JSTLetting students nap for a short time during the day strikes me as a very good idea. This enlightened approach is being practiced at Uto Junior and Senior High School. -- KirkSchool where falling asleep in the classroom is encouraged | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis 2024-03-07 14:07 JSTKirk here recommending that you check out this NHK World interview with Andrew Mitchell. NHK World videos don't usually stay up forever so take a look before it's taken down.Good work, Andrew!!!P.S. Here's the the Facebook page of the KEEP project:https://www.facebook.com/kumadaiquake/KEEP stands for Kumamto Earthquake Experience Project#22: Things I learned from the Kumamoto Quakes - Chatroom Japan | NHK WORLD-JAPAN On Demand
