Kirk here. This has been rumored but now it's official: Second TSMC plant to be built in Kumamoto.
2024-04-09 23:20 JST 2024 Kirk here. This has been rumored but now it's official: Second TSMC plant to be built in Kumamoto. CEO: TSMC to Build Another Plant in Kumamoto Pref.KIKUYO, Kumamoto (Jiji Press) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. will build its second factory in Japan in the town of Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, its CEO said Saturday. https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/business/companies/20240408- … ↗ View original post on Facebook For a link to the original post on Facebook, open this page on a computer. Reactions: 18 · Comments: 2 · Shares: 5 ← 2024-04-07 18:00 JST 2024-04-10 17:04 JST → Around this time … 2024-04-13 11:34 JSTKirk here. In keeping with the anniversary of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes (the first of which was on the 14th), an article has been in published in Japanese about Andrew Mitchell and the Kumamoto Earthquake Experience Project - KEEP. Even if you don't read Japanese, those of you who know the people involved may enjoy the photos.https://www.nhk.or.jp/fukuoka/lreport/article/001/82/The Facebook page of the project is here:https://www.facebook.com/kumadaiquake/ 2024-04-12 23:53 JSTKirk here. The new children's library has opened! Has anyone checked out the collection of books in English?Children’s Book Forest Kumamoto, a Library Built and Donated by Tadao Ando, Opens 2024-04-12 10:00 JSTFunky Friday Finds leaves Kengun and heads towards Kami Ezuko. Hop off the tram headed to the Kengun terminus at Kuwamizu kosaten and head south down Higashi bypass. The road will branch off after 100 meters, follow that road down about a half a kilometer and you'll be at one of the parking lots for Kami Ezuko. Another 200 meters down on the side where Higashi bypass runs is Yard, one of those hard to describe stores that Japan seems to specialize in. The reason I recommend it is they have a cafe with lunch dishes, coffee and deserts. More info is at their websitehttps://www.com-project.jp/com/They hold events in the area next to store and have a few small jungle gyms for the kids, when the weather is nice, there is a terrace to sit on.It's marked on the FFF Google map, located herehttps://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1qUH94Bac7Hr939b7_8gtvebaJZffGRsX&usp=sharingI should also note that across Higashi bypass and next to the downtown tram stop is the Ishikawa bakery, and FFF find from 2018https://maps.app.goo.gl/u3JbHTWhbVBhZRwi7A little more about the area. Lake Ezu is divided into Kami and Shimo, with Kami in this case meaning closer to the castle. The -ko in Ezuko means lake, so you probably want to avoid saying the tautological Lake Ezuko, which is Lake Ezu Lake. There are a few other places we'll talk about this month, but the area is quite nice, with small parking lots around the area and some bridges which allow you to walk from the Densha dori to the far side. A walk I like is to go from the City library/prefectural taikukan and walk behind the library to area. You can also walk down to the lake from the Haccho baba or Kuwamizu Kosaten tram stops. Kami Ezu always has a few people fishing (something that seems especially popular in Kumamoto) as well as photographers set up to take wild life photos. There are also the 'suwan bo-to' and other boats to rent, something which I regretfully put off until my daughters were no longer interested, so we never did it. Not being a fisherman, photographer, or a sailor, if anyone has any info on doing any of this, please share in the comments. There is also a path under Higashi bypass that goes to behind the zoo and past the Pho Time restaurant, (https://www.instagram.com/pho___time/) and goes on to Shimo Ezu, a large open park. There are parking lots around both Kami and Shimo Ezu, so if you don't live next door (like I do) you can still get there and have a nice walk and a meal.YARD｜熊本のカフェ＆インテリア by com-haus 2024-04-11 22:13 JSTKirk here with a Claude (AI assistant from Anthropic) translation of the article I'm linking to. (If you are interested in AI and why I'm using Clause instead of ChatGPT, please scroll down to the bottom.)--- start translation ---Kumamoto University to Establish Japan's First "International Class" with New School Building for Affiliated Elementary and Junior High Schools by 2026, in Response to TSMC's ExpansionApril 10, 2024 (Wednesday) 19:00Domestic News, Life & MoneyKumamoto University has announced that it will construct a new school building for its affiliated elementary and junior high schools in conjunction with the establishment of an international class.Hisao Ogawa, President of Kumamoto University, stated, "The international class at a national university's affiliated school is the first of its kind in Japan. We have decided to implement this and will proceed in that direction."In anticipation of an increase in foreign residents due to TSMC's expansion and other factors, Kumamoto University plans to establish an international class at its affiliated elementary and junior high schools in April 2026.Accordingly, the university announced today (April 10) that it will construct a new school building within the premises of the affiliated schools.Reporter: "The new school building will be constructed within the premises of the affiliated elementary and junior high schools."Construction siteThe new three-story school building, which is expected to be used by a total of nine classes from the first grade of elementary school to the third grade of junior high school, is scheduled to be completed in January 2026. Demolition of the existing buildings will begin in June of this year.Classes will be conducted mainly in English, and the school plans to accept not only foreign students but also Japanese students who wish to attend.--- end translation ---https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/rkk/1106985?display=1Regarding Claude vs ChatGPT, I'm subscribed to the paid services of both. For some sorts of tasks I find that ChatGPT does better. But, Claude is getting a lot of attention for being better than ChatGPT according to various scores. In regard to this task, I went with ChatGPT first but parts of the translation were clunky and I found myself going back to the Japanese text to figure out what went wrong. Then, I let Claude take a crack at it and found the translation to be MUCH better. As I say, it's a task by task sort of thing; I still need ChatGPT to do certain kinds of tasks that Claude has trouble with. But, when it comes to translation, I think Claude is a step above.全国初の『国際クラス新設』 TSMC進出などを受け “熊本大学附属小・中学校” に新校舎 2026年竣工予定 | 熊本のニュース｜RKK熊本放送 2024-04-10 17:04 JSTKirk here with some news for art lovers.--- start quote from article ---This is a two-phase exhibition that comprehensively introduces the Hosokawa Collection held by the Eiseibunko Foundation and the collection of the Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art, which houses a wide variety of art objects from the East and West.The first phase of the exhibition features the Hosokawa Collection, which includes armor and tools of the Hosokawa family, feudal lords who once ruled Kumamoto, as well as modern paintings collected by the 16th head of the family, Moritatsu Hosokawa, who was known as a collector of art objects. In addition, the museum will introduce art related to Kumamoto and modern French paintings from the museum's collection.First period: April 9 (Tue) - May 26 (Sun)Second period: May 28 (Tue) - June 23 (Sun)--- end quote ---It's interesting that we need to rely on "Tokyo Art Beat" for information about art in Kumamoto. One problem is that the machine translation service provided by the prefecture on the official website is objectively terrible. Here's the URL of the Japanese site:https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/site/museum/If you'd like to view the contents of the site with the help of machine translation, I recommend that you go to Google translation and paste the URL in there.https://www.tokyoartbeat.com/en/events/-/Kumamoto-Prefectural-Museum-of-Art-Museum-Collection-I/E11749E6/2024-04-09Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art Museum Collection I （Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art） 2024-04-09 23:20 JSTKirk here. This has been rumored but now it's official: …CEO: TSMC to Build Another Plant in Kumamoto Pref. (this post) 2024-04-07 18:00 JSTKirk here. I had not realized that Luther was starting an English-language "international" school. The girl you see pictured is reciting a prepared statement in English.https://news.goo.ne.jp/article/kab/region/kab-20240406-00009372.html 2024-04-07 14:33 JSTKirk here. This news article says the government will spend 1.2 trillion yen or $7.9 billion to support TSMC in Kumamoto. I asked AI (I'm using "Claude" lately) to calculate how much that would be per person if distributed to everyone in Kumamoto and the answer was 690,055 yen or $4,542 per person. Sure hope I get that level of benefit! ;)Japan PM Kishida visits TSMC's Kumamoto chip plant 2024-04-06 15:10 JSTInformation about Suizenji Park guide tour in English.Hoping lots foreigners also enjoy it⸜(*ˊᗜˋ*)⸝Atsuko.ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーStarting in April, Discovery Kumamoto will be available on Thursdays and Fridays as a sightseeing guide at Yusui-Tei. Today was the first day.The guides will mainly guide visitors around Suizenji Seishuen.Guided tours will start at9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, and 45 minutes.Capacity: 8 peopleGuide fee (English, Japanese)1,000 yen per person (tax included)5,000 yen (tax included) for 6 to 8 peopleReceptionYusui-tei (on the approach to Suizenji Seishuen)We hope to see many visitors.As in the past, free guided tours are available on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. from in front of the coin lockers near the entrance of Suizenji Seishuen (Please note that we cannot guarantee the availability of guides for free guided tours, as they may not be available.)For inquiries, please contact Discovery Kumamoto at the following website.https://www.dis-kuma.org/https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551401303602https://www.dis-kuma.org/?fbclid=IwAR26LNQ85VF-vWH8BVO2ZRBXaUvGkzAr_PjLlIO2hLCDAzFFoyLu5rzX1vkホーム | NPO法人 ディスカバリーくまもと 2024-04-05 16:04 JSTFor classic car fans. :) -- Kirk"On April 6, the vintage automobiles will start and finish their journey at Hanabata Hiroba Square near Kumamoto Castle."Classic car rally to raise spirits, cash in quake-hit Kumamoto | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis 2024-04-05 09:30 JSTJoe with Funky Friday Finds. I realize that I said that we were leaving Kengun, but with the posts about Hanami, I thought that I should tell you about the bakeries in Kengun, all of which are nice to pick up a lunch for your explorations of Kami and Shimo Ezu parks and beyond.So let's do the equivalent of a pub crawl (a bakery bender?) for these spots. All are on the FFF map as well.The first one is just up from the Higashi Yuubin Kyouku and is called Dal Forno. https://dalforno.site/ (first pic)It is a panetteria, so you get more Italian style breads, which are a bit heavier and tend to be on the savoury side, rather than the usual French style. There are some seats and an espresso machine and parking in the front, so if you'd like to eat one of your purchases there, go for it! You can also go to the next door Nishigaoka park, which has some picnic tables on one corner and a walking track.The next one is pretty new, next to the Jietai base, called Kengun Bakery. https://kengunbakery.com/ (next two pics)They are smaller, with a few parking spaces in the back, with no provision for eating in the store. More the French style, the cinnamon rolls are really nice and the sandwiches are good too.The third one is Gochiso3 (get it?) is pictures 4 and 5 and they use a modified container shipping box for their store. They don't have a website, but it is roughly between Del Forno and the Higashi Post Office, and you can find it on the FFF google map. https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1qUH94Bac7Hr939b7_8gtvebaJZffGRsX&usp=sharingThe 4th one is really brand-spanking new, called Dai-ichi to pan and is on the back street just down from the A-price. It's in an apartment block (Japanese zoning laws are a lot more relaxed, it seems) and they have a great selection. They also sell day old items at half-price, which was a first for me. Last 4 picsI'll mention again Ishikawa Bakeryhttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063792870481which is just off the Kuwamizu kosaten tram stop away from downtown.I imagine that other neighborhoods in Kumamoto have a rich selection as well, drop a comment if there is one you want to recommend!
