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Kirk here with information about a recently unveiled One Piece statue:
One Piece Zoro Statue Unveiled in Kumamoto
A new bronze statue of Zoro from One Piece has been unveiled in Kumamoto Prefecture, as part of its ongoing revitalization efforts.

William We had planned a series of posts on out-of-the-way beaches closer to summer, but a Kumanichi article has forced our fingertips to start a tad early. Just over the first Amakusa bridge is a large natural port named Kushi (串, or "shish ka bob", perhaps due to its linked shape), which harbors both fishing boats and yachts. Its beach is likely the closest swimmable to Kumamoto, though the water quality is marginal. The crescent-shaped beach of good-quality sand lies at the base of a steep bluff accessible by stairway; the sea, always waveless and quite warm, is covered with smooth stones and dotted with octopus pots, making it attractive for snorkelers. Better, though, is taking in its magnificent views by hiking. A trafficless road skirts the bay, and a path rounds the steep hill of the western peninsula. Some good swimming may be found just at the harbor entrance, if you manage to find your way down. As a small town, one may park pretty much anywhere - a hint is to find the road that heads up to the shrine on the peninsula and parking there, thus eliminating one climb. There is an onsen called Yumigahama onsen (弓ヶ浜温泉 - google for photos).
As new roads are built, the area is finally growing more accessible to town. Kumanichi writes about a man named Fujikawa Moriaki born in Kushi and a Kyushu Gakuin high school graduate, who plans to build ten cottages on the bluff overlooking the sea. The two-story cottages, to open in October, are intended as shared workspace as the pandemic leads more to work from home, a phenomenon which may outlast the pandemic itself. The plan sounds quite interesting - inspiring views from workplace windows, contemplative walks a step outside the door. An asset unique to Japan it may well become. We'll report more as information becomes available.
Kumanichi article: https://kumanichi.com/articles/539171
Onsen: https://hikyou.jp/report/dayuse/51283/
More about Mr. Fujikawa: https://kumamoto-cen.or.jp/member/515/

William Speakers of Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese who are interested in translation between those languages and Japanese, please PM me at my Facebook page, William Baerg for a discussion.
Thank you.

Kirk here feeling both surprised and pleased to learn about a way in which schools in Kumamoto are actually quite progressive:
"The city of Kumamoto has made student participation in the establishment and change of school rules compulsory under its school management regulations for municipal elementary, junior high and high schools."
Kyushu drives changes to school rules to ensure freedoms are respected
A substantial number of prefecture-run schools in the region are only now lifting restrictions on the color of students' underwear.

Kirk here, reporting that there were at least 1018 positives today in Kumamoto Prefecture -- a new high, of course. Even if Omicron is generally less severe than Delta, high numbers of new infections means that there is an increased risk of hospitals being overwhelmed. Yesterday, RKK reported that two hospitals, the National Hospital Organization Kumamoto Medical Center (国立病院機構 熊本医療センター) and Kumamoto Central Hospital (熊本中央病院) had begun refusing to accept patients from other hospitals or limiting the number of such patients (links below). That's just two hospitals and I think there are plenty of hospitals who are currently able to take up the slack. But, nonetheless, it's not a good sign, especially as the daily number of people who test positive continues to increase.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ULs8zHl9z4
https://rkk.jp/news/backno_page.php?id=NS003202201251431520111

William Sign of the times: the number of non-Japanese entering Kyushu via its only international airport, Fukuoka, fell from a tad over 5,000,000 in 2018 to 6,119 in 2021. Considering the population of Kyushu is 13 million, that's about 0.0004 foreign visitors per native. Many shops which depend on visitors are likely feeling pain.
https://kumanichi.com/articles/539199

Kirk here with the news that 901 people tested positive today for COVID-19, a new high. The Kumanichi article I found that news in linked to the following site with various statistics:
https://kumanichi.com/theme/covid19/visualization
The graph shows the number of positives per 100,000 in various parts of Japan. Okinawa is the highest, followed by Osaka, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Fukuoka, Hyogo and then Kumamoto. That makes us 8th.
By the way, as has happened to me before, Facebook lost the part of this post after the URL, so I had to try to remember what I had posted and type it in again. :(

William Kumamoto agriculture relies heavily on foreign labor. As this Kumanichi article points out, "Due to the influence of the new coronavirus, foreign technical intern trainees have been unable to come to Japan. The government has extended border measures to prohibit new foreigners from entering the country until the end of February. Even in Kumamoto Prefecture, where many trainees work in the agricultural field, prospective immigrants have been stalled, while trainees who have reached their working deadlines are returning home one after another, and labor shortages are becoming more serious. Farmers are wondering if they can get the effort they need during the spring farming season." (That's pure Google Translate, BTW.) So now, on top of it all, we may face food shortages this spring.
迫る農繁期、技能実習生来れず　水際対策の入国禁止、２月末まで延長　人手不足が深刻化｜熊本日日新聞社
　新型コロナウイルスの影響で、外国人技能実習生が来日できない状態が続いている。政府は、外国人の新規入国を原則禁止する水際対策を２月末まで延長。農業分野で多くの実習生が働く熊本県内でも入国予定者が足止め...

Kirk here, back from a long walk in the nice weather. I didn't take this photo (Hiromi Chida did) but I enjoyed similar scenes today. :)
P.S. These are plum blossoms (ume no hana), in case you didn't recognize them.

Kirk with some skateboarding news:
". . . the city of Kumamoto opened up a section of a parking area at an indoor pool for skateboarders."
Now that they've opened up a spot where it's officially OK to skateboard, they're planning to crack down on practice in unauthorized locations -- so skateboarders beware. ;)
Municipalities set up skate parks amid post-Olympics popularity
Local governments are looking to offer environments for people to skateboard safely and keep good manners, as the population of skateboarders is expected to increase.

Kirk here with a break from our doom-and-gloom series of current events. You can see this if you go to Amu Plaza Kumamoto, near Kumamoto Station. It was made by studeents at Kyushu Gakuin Lutheran High School.
High school students' Kumamoto Castle artwork made with 110,000 toothpicks goes on display - The Mainichi
KUMAMOTO -- A group of high school students' artwork of Kumamoto Castle made using some 110,000 toothpicks has been attracting the attention of locals

Kirk here with an update on the quake. Check out this Engish video put out by NHK.
By the way, the news reader warns viewers to "stay alert for loose ground." This rather comical expression is an English translation of 地盤が緩む (jiban ga yurumu) meaning that landslides are more likely. Japan's Meteorological Anency uses this term on its website, apparently oblivous to the fact that the collocation doesn't have the same nuance in English. Sometimes, translations become conventional in Japan and people stop checking to see if they really make sense as English. :(
Well, at any rate, stay alert for loose ground! ;)
Strong earthquake hits western Japan | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News
A powerful earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 6.6 hit western Japan early on Saturday. Strong jolts were felt in Oita, Miyazaki, Kumamoto and Kochi prefectures. There was no tsunami.

Hi Atsuko here, sharing amazing photos from 産山村 Ubuyama mura.
I don't like cold weather but so beautiful!
Hoping you stay warm at home.ଘ(੭ˊ꒳​ˋ)੭✧
～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～
Ice Art in the Cold
It was "Daikan" on 20th January, one of the 24 solar terms.
It is said to be the coldest day of the year.
As usual, the temperature in Ubuyama Village was minus 6 degrees Celsius in the morning.
It was so cold that it was hard to get out of the futon.
Here are some of the shots that were taken in the midst of it all!
Crystals on the window, reflecting the morning glow. Perhaps it was because the outside air was so cold, but each of the crystals grew large and sharp, catching the light and shining brightly.
Beautiful art created by the severe cold. This is a view of Ubuyama Village that can only be enjoyed now.
～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～

Kirk here with a little more information about last night's earthquake. Though it was big, there was relatively little damage, thankfully. It seems that a few people were hurt but that there were no fatalities.
The following article (in English) has a summary of what happened:
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/01/8ffee7f69134-urgent-m64-quake-hits-southwestern-japan-no-fear-of-tsunami.html
The end of this article talks about how damage from an earthquake in the Nankai Trough could far exceed damage from recent earthquakes, including the 2016 Kumamoto quake. But, it doesn't explain what the Nankai Trough is or how it relates to what we felt last night. That made me curious so I did a little searching and found some information. Here are two points:
1. You can learn about where the Nankai Trough is and why it is so feared here:
https://www.nippon.com/en/news/fnn20190524001/a-disaster-to-dwarf-311-the-predicted-nankai-quake.html
2. Last night's quake was in the area of the Nankai Trough but the moving and shaking was caused by a deeper plate, not the one that people are most worried about. I learned this from the following article in Japanese:
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/01/8ffee7f69134-urgent-m64-quake-hits-southwestern-japan-no-fear-of-tsunami.html
A Disaster to Dwarf 3/11? The Predicted Nankai Quake
Experts believe there is a 70% to 80% probability of a severe Nankai Trough earthquake within 30 years. More than 70 years have passed since the previous such quake in this region, which sees a major shake every 100 to 150 years.

William That quake you felt had an epicenter on the eastern side of the island, just offshore of Oita Prefecture, and was a M6.4 (ours years back was a 6.2). I suspect they are having some trouble over there now, but at least it's not raining. Stay alert nonetheless.

Kirk here, hoping that we've past the peak in Kumamoto.

Fiona here, sharing some information on how to make donations to help with disaster relief work in Tonga.

Kirk here with a note about a local company that produces biodegradable straws from bamboo fibers -- a great alternative to plastic straws.
In the short term they are durable, flexible, and don't dissolve in your drink -- even if left in it for days. In the long term, however, they are consumed by micro-organisms and return to nature in about six months if left outside. Pretty cool! I saw this on RKK today but they didn't share a video so I wrote this up instead.
Here's a web page about the company:
https://amica-terra.com/2021/09/28/国内初のmodo-cellストロー製造工場を益城町で稼働/
P.S. This is the second time Ithis week I had to write my summary all over again because Facebook "lost" it (it disappeared when I hit save :( ). I'd better write on a text editor and then copy and paste to Facebook.

Reihoku is a speck of a hill, rising abruptly from the tip of an 80s-necktie-thin peninsula at the northwestern corner of the main island of Amakusa, roughly equidistant across the sea from Nagasaki's Shimabara and Nomozaki peninsulas, which once formed a corner of the Christian activity that eventually resulted in the Shimabara Rebellion due to its isolated position. Its beaches will be introduced in a later post. In the meantime, Kumanichi reports that the Kōtsufukae Yasakajinja held a festival this morning called the "Naked Festival" (裸まつり hadaka matsuri - though, as they're wearing loincloths, or fundoshi, they're not technically naked) during which participants carried a mikoshi, housing gods no doubt equally shivering, out to sea to pray for aid against illness and disaster in the coming year. Not sure if bathing in the sea midwinter is a good way to aim for that, but let's all hope it works.
https://kumanichi.com/articles/534031

Kirk with an update on Ms. Linh's case. A verdict was rendered in her appeal. The judge threw out the "abandonment of corpses" verdict issued in Kumamoto but found her guilty instead of "hiding corpses" and issued a slightly lighter sentence. Her lawyer said that they would take the case to the supreme court.
You can see RKK's news segment here:
https://rkk.jp/news/index.php?id=NS003202201191747070111
Links to previous posts on this page about Ms. Linh's case are here:
https://www.facebook.com/page/123734781033296/search/?q=Linh
In regard to the second photo, the signs show the numbers of people who signed the online petitions calling for her to be found innocent:
Red is the petition on Change.org.
Blue is a separate petition in Vietnamese.
There were also 7870 handwritten petitions.