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William Japan Today reports on Aso, noting that projectiles may fly as far as two kilometers from the crater.
Alert level raised for Mt Aso with high eruption possibility
The weather agency said Thursday it raised its volcanic alert to level 3 out of 5 for Mt.Aso in southwestern Japan as there was a "high possibility" of an eruption, warning people not to approach due to the danger of possible falling rocks and pyroclastic flows. The Japan Meteorological Ag...

Kirk here with some plum pics from the campus of Kumamoto Gakuen University that I took today. It's still a bit chilly but the combination of the bright sun and the plum blossoms made me feel like spring is on its way. The other day in response to a plum blossum picture I posted there was a little discussion about good viewing spots. If you're interested, you can find the recommendations in the comments:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/6910050179068355
Personally, I'm happy to just walk around in a residential area and see what I can see. Lot's of people have plum trees and they are often in spots that make them easy enough for passers-by to enjoy. :)

William Seems that Aso is burping again. Kumanichi reports that the danger level has been raised from 2 (which means don't approach the peak) to 3 (which means stay the hell away from the whole mountain, as those in the photo are clearly not doing - projectiles are a thing and can travel several kilometers). Don't try to win a Darwin Award. We will update as events unfold. https://kumanichi.com/articles/569000

William There's this thing called "ekiden" which is rather unique to Japan and of quite importance to Higo, being quite distant from the capital. The term means "station running," and might be similar to the early American west stagecoach system - except that humans, rather than horses, were used for locomotion. A common approach was to cross from Higo to Oita, and hence by ship to Edo. Thus, a dedicated path was created. It still exists, and the Higo line of JR traverses it. (I know this as I have run it several times, much to the dismay of my knees.) Email has kinda eliminated the need for such communication, but memory remains.
Kumamoto has thus become world-renowned for long-distance runners. Kumanichi has an article on the Pearl Line Marathon, but better would be to go to the start: Kanakuri Shisou (金栗 四三). The major marathon in Kumamoto bears his name.
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%87%91%E6%A0%97%E5%9B%9B%E4%B8%89
https://search.yahoo.co.jp/image/search?ei=UTF-8&fr=mcafeess1&p=%E8%82%A5%E5%BE%8C%E5%A4%A7%E5%88%86%E9%81%93%E8%B7%AF#4b65da2d3c0b94c9f3bca03ee2f5794a

Hi Atsuko here.
It's still cold today.
This is a stone baked sweet potato shop.
He often comes to 刈草公園 Karikusa Park on weekend and holidays. This is the voice and taste of winter in Japan.
If you want to get stone-roasted potatoes when you want to eat, you may go to 植木市 Ueki-ichi the planting market to have them.
https://kuma-uekiichi.com/
https://m.facebook.com/%E3%81%8F%E3%81%BE%E3%82%82%E3%81%A8%E6%98%A5%E3%81%AE%E6%A4%8D%E6%9C%A8%E5%B8%82-409271709146485/
The medium size one was 300yen.
So sweet and tasty(๑˃ᴗ˂)و♡

Kirk here with more information for cat lovers. Last night I posted about how yesterday's 2022/2/22 reminds Japanese people of cats because of all the "n" sounds in 2 (ni) and the idea that cats say "nya." Well, Liz kindly responded with information about a "Winter Cat Festival" at Tsuruya. Here's what she wrote: "There is also a 'Cat Festa' event till the 27th on the basement floor of TSUTAYA downtown. A portion of the proceeds go to medical care for the stray(?) cats (on Nekojima in Amakusa , if I am mistaken please correct me). All kinds of catty things , from pottery to postcards, eco bags , etc."
https://www.tsuruya-dept.co.jp/saiji/nekofes/index.html

Kirk here with some observations about the date 2022/2/22 (yesterday). National Public Radio in the U.S. referred to it as Twosday. That makes sense in English but in Japanese, the number 2 is "ni," which is kinda similar to "nya," which is what Japanese-speaking cats say. So, Tuesday was cat day. Several local news programs I saw shared cat-related stories.
TKU aired this story about Catton in Arao that takes care of homeless cats until a suitable home (yours?) can be found:
https://www.fnn.jp/articles/-/319540
And, since this is the internet and the topics is cats, here's a compilation of cut cat videos from your viewing pleasure:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1673352106012921

William Huy Tran says that everything must go. This would be a good chance for a budding English school owner. ("No price is too high" - ha ha!)

William TSMC, the Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer, will open a major facility in Kikuyo. This will provide hundreds of much-needed jobs for engineering graduates and likely move the economic center of Kumamoto to that area (the Hikarinomori shopping mall is already there, JR provides excellent transportation, and it is near the airport). Kumanichi reports on how local businesses are gearing up to handle the influx.
ＴＳＭＣ熊本進出「チャンス」に　県内企業や団体、波及効果の情報収集・分析を強化｜熊本日日新聞社
　半導体受託生産最大手の台湾積体電路製造（ＴＳＭＣ）の熊本県菊陽町進出を受け、県内企業や経済団体が情報収集や分析をする部署を相次いで立ち上げている。進出の波及効果が製造業だけでなく、サービスや小売りな...

William Our sister page, I ❤️ Fukuoka, has an interesting discussion regarding dual nationality. I noted, "It's a "don't ask, don't tell" situation. My kids, both in their 30s, vote in both countries. They leave Japan on their Japanese passports and enter the US on their American ones. Just don't show both passports at the same time."
Experiences from our readers would be welcome.

Kirk here with an article by Jake Adelstein on Japan's xenophobic approach to border control during the pandemic. It's filled with lots of interesting information, including the observation that the Nikkei Shimbun has used the term "cruel Japan" (a play on "cool Japan") to describe recent policy. I think it's an apt description. For the students who have put their lives on hold, sometimes quiting jobs in anticipation of travel to Japan for study, the policy really has been cruel. And, a version of the "cool Japan" mentality (Japan=good; foreign=bad) may be at the heart of the unscientific exclusion of foreign students.
In addition to the "Kumamoto-is-part-of-Japan" rationalization for posting this here, it occurs to me as I write this that the "Japanese = good; foreign = bad" mentality also has a lot to do with the false labeling of clams (asari) raised outside of Japan as being from Kumamoto. The issue was that good-quality asari from outside Japan just wouldn't sell when labeled correctly. The TBS program "Hodo Tokushu" ran a follow-up segment to the clam (asari) scandal on Saturday and reported that, now that imported asari are labeled correctly as coming from China or Korea, sales have plummeted. They are, however, the same clams that people have been eating quite happily (and that have passed import inspection) over the past couple of decades.
I'm all in favor of recognizing and valuing aspects of ones own culture that are cool. But, at the same time, I think we all need to be careful not to let healthy cultural pride devolve into cultural narcissim and irrational xenophobia. Some issues that have been in the news recently may be object lessons in how cultural pride can go awry.
https://asiatimes.com/2022/02/travel-bans-turn-cool-japan-into-cruel-japan/?fbclid=IwAR2V6pNR0mNdalO9FzHdVvsDlVUTEk6YeZNy6BIRK-HHw9z4qie-lcjF8S4
P.S. Here's a link to a Nikkei article in Japanese that talks about "「残酷日本」鎖国" (zankoku Nihon sakoku). It's behind a paywall but the first couple of paragraphs are available.
https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOGM029ER0S2A200C2000000/
Travel bans turn ‘Cool Japan’ into ‘Cruel Japan’
TOKYO – In recent years, Japan has promoted itself as “Cool Japan,” seeking to lure tourists with its futuristic trappings, its appealing traditional culture and the modern draws of manga, anime an…

William Sometimes what is on my mind, Google inquires, is "Wait - do you seriously want to even consider this?" Kind of a funny thing is that Kumamoto was an initial target for the atomic bomb. Fortunately for us, things did not work out that way. But what could have been might be.
The Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Damage Records | Part1 | Chapter1
1. Invasion by the Atomic Bombing Unit 2. Situation at the Time of the Atomic Bombing 　(1). Records of Nagasaki City 　(2) Records from Other Cities and Prefectures

Kirk here with a little photo I took of the "shidare ume" (weeping plum blossoms) in Suizenji Jojuen today. My wife and I paid a thousand yen each to get free entry for a whole year -- a pretty good deal, I think, if you live in the area. It was cold today but still worth visiting.
Reading signs here and there and then following that with some reading on the web after I got home, I learned the following:
* There was a temple called "Suizenji" ("temple before the water") in the same location in the Heian Period (794 - 1185) but it burned down toward the end of that era. I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that "Suizenji" may have survived as a place name even after the original temple had been destroyed.
* In 1636 when Hosokawa Tadatoshi built "Suizenji Tea House" (Suizenji Ochaya) at the site of the current garden, he invited the zen monk Gentaku to come and build a temple on there. That was called "Suizenji" (Suizen Temple) but it didn't last long.
* Tadatoshi's grandson, Tsunatoshi is the guy who put the Japanese garden in the form we know today with the enlarged pond, the artificial mountain (tsukiyama), and the path that encircles the pond. It seems that the temple would get in the way of the planned expansion of the garden so it was moved to its current location (near the bowling alley -- which probably wasn't there at the time ;) ) and renamed Gentakuji (Gentaku Temple) for the zen monk who had come a generation or two earlier.
* Jojuen (as in "Suizenji Jojuen," the formal name for the garden) was taken from an ancient Chinese poem.
This little summary is what I have been able to cobble together from a number of sources about how it is that "Suizenji" is a major place name and the name of Kumamoto's most famous garden, even though we no longer have a temple of that name. If I've gotten something wrong, please let me know.

William One method of determining Japanese origin is by ramen type. I learned that, in my hometown of Los Angeles, ramen type is of Kumamoto. Apparently, many Higo-ko immigrated there during the famines of the '30s, as did Mexicans - so yeah, we've got a lot of great food. Assimilation was difficult but ultimately successful. Of note: If you eat ramen in LA, it's likely of the Kumamoto variety.
Biden vows 'never again' in marking 80 years since Japanese Americans' internment
U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged to tackle racism as the nation marks 80 years since the signing of a presidential order that led to the incarceration of some 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. Upholding the U.S. government's apology to Japanese Americans who were unjustly sent to i...

William This guy one might emulate the kind guy I imagined myself while walking my kids to school through elementary but never like this. (He's Kenichi Muraeda, from Ashikita, to where you've not been but should - and the dude is in his late 50s!.)
https://kumanichi.com/articles/564601

William "You lay in the futon that you've, uh, laid" a Japanese Franklin might have said. Kumanichi notes that catches of the asari clam mostly come from other East Asian countries, subsequently replanted and claimed to be native.
Surely, Ariake Sea is a difficult environment to manage. I suggest that authorities look at how the US managed the Chesapeake Bay, a similarly vast area over multiple jurisdictions.
Bring back the health to the bay.
天然アサリ、漁場復活めざす　漁獲ゼロ続く大浜漁協（玉名市）　育成法模索、出荷へ光も｜熊本日日新聞社
　輸入アサリを熊本県産と偽る大規模な産地偽装疑惑では、県北の干潟も偽装に使われたとみられているが、漁業者は地元産アサリの回復を目指して地道な取り組みを続けてきた。玉名市の大浜漁協も水揚げゼロの年が続く...

William A "travel alert" from the US Embassy just alighted (if you're not registered, you should be - they're mostly entertaining but occasionally important): "The Government of Japan announced that, as of February 18, the quarantine period for all travelers arriving in Japan from the United States has been reduced to seven days, the first three of which must be in a government-designated facility. Currently, Japan’s quarantine duration does not take travelers’ vaccination status into account."
The accompanying map is interesting. Many US troops are affected by this, and many now occupy territories seized from Spain in the Spanish-American war, a period of history one must read up on.

William Kenmotsu Yagura (戌亥櫓) was that turret leaning precariously on a single leg of cornerstones after the quakes. Yikes. Kumanichi reports that it will be rebuilt with traditional architectural techniques. This is nice not only for aesthetical and historical reasons but in that it gives local craftsmen a way to apply their skills, thus passing them on. https://kumanichi.com/articles/563400

William Our friend Stuart Iles shared a post regarding dual nationality. I noted that my kids have encountered no problems - they present Japanese immigration officials with their Japanese passports and US officials with their US passports and none have questioned why there are only exit/entrance stamps for that single country, not others. JUST DO NOT SHOW BOTH AT ONCE. Japan really tipped its hand with the case of former Peruvian president Fujimori: He had to have Peruvian nationality to assume the office but later claimed Japanese nationality when push came to shove. This was accepted by a Japanese court, thus acknowledging dual nationality.
Hearing of experiences from our readers would be of interest.

William Our friend Hiromitsu Yagi at the International Center (or "Centre," if you're so inclined) informs the availability of five kilograms of free rice. PM us if you have any questions.