Posts
This is how they did takkyubin during the day, ^ William
Rainy season is approaching. Most often, it's just really rainy, but sometimes, it gets REALLY rainy, such that your neighborhood floods. Kumamoto International Center will hold a seminar on this on July 22nd at the International Center. More news is at the link. Tip o' the hat to Luz De Leon. - William
The headline made me think this was a bottle for pets, which would be ridiculous, but most things for pets are. It actually stands for polyethylene terephthalate (this will be on the test). Now on sale is Aso spring water in a PET bottle shaped like the castle. It is available wherever it is sold. - William
熊本城が天然水ペットボトルに！ 重厚感あるデザイン好評、販路拡大 ｜ 熊本日日新聞
飲料水販売のハイコムウォーター（熊本県菊陽町）が手掛ける、熊本城を模したペットボトルの天然水が人気だ...
A special exhibition “ 熊本の風景と工芸 (Scenery and Traditional Crafts of Kumamoto)” is held at Kumamoto Prefectural Traditional Crafts Centre (熊本伝統工芸館) until August 29th.
This exhibition is a collaboration between photographs taken by Ryoichi Nagano (長野良市) who is from Aso and traditional crafts made in Kumamoto. Both works are decorated by regions. This exhibition enables us to travel the birthplace of those works and get the picture of the regions. For further information, check the link below.
- Chieko
Some 90% of igusa, the reed used to make tatami, are grown in Yatsushiro. Harvest season has begun. This is what is under your feet. - William
https://kumanichi.com/articles/296037
This article is EXTREMELY vague on the technology used, but a store in Kamikumamoto, Trial, has introduced an automatic pay system where shoppers can register, toss their stuff in the cart, and exit the store without going through the hassle of a line. I suppose it's based on RFID chips, which are now down to a couple yen apiece, cheaper than paying a cashier, particularly in Japan's labor-starved economy. Drop by and check it out - you can use the densha, which also has the same system for cashless payments. - William
セルフレジ付きカートで簡単決済 熊本市にトライアル上熊本店開店 ｜ 熊本日日新聞
ＩＴ技術を活用したディスカウント店を全国展開しているトライアルカンパニー（福岡市）は３０日、熊本市西...
Retail is a tough business - long hours, low pay, and low profit margins. The former Parco on Shimotori has been dismantled, causing a sinkhole 3 meters wide and 2.6 meters deep to run along its boarder with the shopping street. Reports are that it is easily repairable, but it might be interesting to drop by and see. The envisioned future for the site, a mixture of office and retail space, is shown below.(Notice that all are social distancing.) ーWilliam https://nordot.app/782978175271337984?c=92
Several words exist in Japanese for "lotus," such as スイレン and ハス(蓮), but the edible root is most commonly known as 蓮根 - "renkon," or "connected root". Kumamoto is quite famous for its cultivation, particularly on marginal land near Ariake Sea. It's said that the Hosokawa family crest is derived from the shape of its root. It's also associated with Buddhism as it rises through the muck to flower beautifully. Now is the time when it blossoms. Photographers, get out there. - William
Hi everyone, Joe Tomei here, and sorry for multiple postings, when it rains, it pours! Mathew is in Fukuoka but is on this list and a friend of mine. I believe we have some people from the nationalities he is looking for, so if you can help him out, or know someone who could, please do. Basically, he needs people who have had experiences with the Japanese medical system. Thanks!
Joe Tomei here with a Kumamoto Coronavirus Update from the JET program Prefectural Advisors, Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland. The last paragraph may be of interest to people who are hoping to travel in August. As always, thank you!.
====
Hi Kumamoto,
Yesterday, the Prefectural Government announced the end of the "Period of Strengthened Actions for the Protection of Our Health Care System" (医療を守る行動強化期間, iryō wo mamoru kōdō kyōka kikan). This comes three days earlier than expected, as it was originally scheduled to last until the end of the month.
Please read on for more information about the most recent measures/requests from the prefecture and some more updates.
End of "Strengthened Actions for the Protection of Our Health Care System"
The special designation, which replaced the Quasi-Emergency measures, was ended three days early, on 27 June. Kumamoto Prefecture's independent Risk Level remains set at Level 5, the highest level.
The public health measures and requests are now as follows:
① Basic Infection Prevention Measures
Continue the thorough implementation of measures to prevent the spread of infection when leaving the home such as mask wearing (even in the absence of symptoms), physical distancing, regular hand washing and hand sanitizing, and taking time off work when you have a fever, and immediately contacting a medical clinic or the Kumamoto Prefecture Consultation Center for COVID-19. Continued co-operation with the implementation of the "New Lifestyle" measures such as hand-washing and bathing immediately after returning home and installing the COCOA app is also requested.
② Travel
Avoid all unnecessary and non-urgent movement to and from prefectures for which there is currently a State of Emergency or if Quasi-Emergency Measures are in place. (Relaxed from all prefectures. The prefectures to which this request now include Okinawa, which remains under a full-fledged State of Emergency, and Hokkaido, Chiba, Saitama, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Aichi, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Fukuoka, to which Quasi-Emergency measures now apply until 11 July.)
③ Eating out
Do not visit establishments which are not implementing measures to prevent the spread of infection. As much as possible, eat only with others who you usually already spend time with. Eat with as few people as possible, and follow the "4 steps" for avoiding risks when eating meals (https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/93983.html)
(You can see all current requests on the prefectural website here: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/99410.html)
Establishment of a Kumamoto Vaccination Center (August) and Vaccine Passports (in July)
Vaccine distribution is underway. Kumamoto Prefecture announced that it is hoping that all residents who wish to be vaccinated should be able to complete all vaccinations by the end of November of this year. As we mentioned previously, each municipality is responsible for running their own vaccine distribution programme, so please ask your tantosha about the rollout schedules and reservation method.
Kumamoto Prefecture will also open a large-scale vaccination center in August, operating from 6pm to 9pm on weekdays and 3pm-9pm on weekends. In addition, workplace vaccinations are also underway at some companies and schools. https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASP6G6SFBP6GTLVB004.html
Currently, documentation received by those who receive the vaccine is in Japanese only, but the national government is planning to have municipalities issue bilingual English-Japanese documentation (aka "Vaccine Passports") that can be used overseas to verify vaccination status. This documentation is expected to be available starting from mid-to late- July (for more information about the planned certificates see: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/10906000/000797973.pdf, Japanese only)
Joe Tomei here, if you are getting a bit stir crazy and want to get out of the city, I'd suggest checking out Shonenji Temple Lodge in Takachiho, which is run by friend of Kumamoto-i, Victoria Yoshimura. More information below.
====
Takachiho is in Miyazaki prefecture but also only a short drive from the Mt.Aso area. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty with gorges, waterfalls and terraced rice fields. We offer a relaxing and luxurious stay in a 5-bedroom lodge which can accommodate up to 11 guests. Guests from both Japan and abroad can enjoy the Japanese-Scandinavian fusion interior. There is a fully-equipped kitchen and a self-serve continental breakfast is included. The Lodge is in the grounds of our family’s 440-year old Buddhist temple. My husband is the 17th generation head priest and we love to share our temple life with our guests.
Please share this post and follow us on Instagram.
#takachiho
#templestaytakachiho
#shonenjitemple
#kyushu
#explorejapan
https://shonenjitemplelodge.com/
https://instagram.com/templestaytakachiho?r=nametag
Walking back from my IBM work on a cold, drizzly night in Osaka's Nishinakajimaminamigata (西中島南方 - yes, there is a place called that), I heard a kitten mewing pitifully from an alleyway, so I stuffed her in my coat and took her home. Thin as bones, I named her Bones. She lived with me for a few years, never having lost her feral instincts, until one day she didn't come home. (I had to leave my screen door open or she'd bounce of it like a trampoline.) Japanese has the cutest of phrases, "neko no hitai" ( 猫の額) meaning a cat's forehead but indicating a small area. It is a useful phrase to remember If you choose to adopt an animal (which you should), visit the Kumamoto Doubutsu Aigo Center, which cares for abandoned pets. http://doubutsuaigo.hinokuni-net.jp/ - William http://noriko-sensei.com/blog/what-do-japanese-mean-by-cat-s-forehead
What do Japanese mean by ‘cat’s forehead’ ??
This cute expression ねこのひたい (neko no hitai) is commonly used in Japan.ねこ (neko) means « cat », ひたい (hitai) means « forehead ». Joining these two words...
Kumamoto will host the soccer teams for the Olympics, so Kumamon donned a soccer jersey. He'd probably be a good goalie. - William
Cool photo of the castle from the keep, courtesy of Kumanichi. - William
https://kumanichi.com/articles/290190
One builds a castle in the hope that its simple existence will act as a deterrent. Turns out this didn't happen when the Satsuma forces determined to march on Edo, which took them through Kumamoto, controlled at the time by the Edo government. Events got, shall we say, out of hand as the Satsuma forces fired on the castle from a nearby hill. The event is famously portrayed in the movie, The Last Samurai. Attached is an ukiyoe of the battle, which resulted in the destruction of the original structure. -
Kumamoto Castle got a write-up in Japan Today. Apparently, its donjon is open again for visitors. - William
https://japantoday.com/category/national/kumamoto-castle-main-tower-damaged-by-2016-quake-reopens-to-public
Remember that incident where two guys threatened a guy in a local supermarket parking lot with a knife: "Give us your weed or we'll cut your throat?" Well, in their infinite wisdom the prosecutors have dropped this case. I saw a report about this on TV (RKK) and no explanation was given.
In Japan, the decisions that prosecutors make can be more important than those that judges make. If the prosecutors decide to pursue your case, you have a 99% chance of being found guilty. Then, in the rare instance where the judge finds you innocent, the prosecutors can appeal.
Moreover, judges publish decisions regarding why they decided as they did but prosecutors need not offer any explanation of their decisions to drop cases. So, as in this case, we are left wondering "What the ***?"
And, of course, this may lead to racial profiling. "Throw the book at that foreigner but give that Japanese guy another chance." I don't know how often that sort of thing happens. It's sort of a black box. :(
-- Kirk
駐車場で強盗容疑の２人を不起訴処分 熊本地検 | 熊本日日新聞社
熊本地検は１４日、強盗の疑いで逮捕、送検された熊本市中央区の建設作業員の男（２３）＝恐喝罪、大麻取締法違反罪などで公判中＝と合志市の建設作...
