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(Fiona) Costa coffee has landed in Kumamoto! The UK coffee chain, which is Europe's leading coffee house brand, now has a branch at Sakuramachi.
https://sakuramachi-kumamoto.jp/17045
And if you happen to be going for a drive in Aso as the weather cools, there is also a branch serving coffee and ice creams in the parking area by the new Aso bridge. There are also viewing platforms where you can see the progress made in post-earthquake reconstruction.
Shinasoohashitenbojo Yo Mule Parking Lot
https://maps.app.goo.gl/aAgmyyekhh6ijESdA

Kirk here. The following page is only in Japanese but, nonetheless, presents a nice visual overview of recent numbers of COVID-19 positive test results:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/special/coronavirus/data/pref/kumamoto.html

William. I know this has nothing to do with Kumamoto, but who doesn't like pandas? I checked the stats and found that a panda in the wild lives 14-20 years, but they can live up to 30 years in captivity. A panda in Wakayama recently celebrated her 21st birthday. おめでとう！https://kumanichi.com/articles/384799

Kirk here with a follow up to the post I made earlier today about needing to drive home from Narita due to quarantine rules.
Summary of two key points: 1) Document written in English orders foreigners in CAPS while Japanese version is relatively polite and subdued. 2) Return to Japan Support Group may be supporting business interests of Metroresidences (conflict of interest)
After posting about my experience (https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/5916917411714975), I thought I should double check the manual I was given at the airport to see if it says anything about what to do if one is in the process of driving home. It doesn't. It just says "You MUST answer incoming HCO video call." Since it doesn't say anything about extenuating circumstances such as driving to your pre-approved place of quarantine, the impression given is that you are supposed to answer while driving. You can find that manual here:
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/000806890.pdf
It's also interesting to compare this with the Japanese version, which you can find here:
https://www.hco.mhlw.go.jp/pdf/20210831-2-jp.pdf
It says "着信があったら必ず 応答してください。" (If you get a call, please be sure to answer.)
Do I detect a difference in tone? Sounds like foreigners need to be ordered around in capital letters while Japanese people (or people reading Japanese) get polite requests (notwithstanding the presence of the word 必ず [definitely, without fail, etc.]).
By the way, I've detected what I find to be an interesting twist in the Tokyo vs. regional areas dimension of this issue. The "support group" I introduced in my earlier post is sponsored by (run by?) Metroresidences:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/returntojapan
It seems that the page combines support with a little marketing: "If you need accommodation, Metroresidences is a fully licensed serviced apartment company providing over 600 weekly and monthly apartments in Tokyo. They have 14 days Ride & Stay packages starting from JPY 99,800"
Low and behold, the group also has an official policy of discouraging long-distance travel (in favor of two-week stays with Metroresidences?). I got a comment from the manager of the page implying that I should have known in advance that it wasn't a good idea to drive from Narita to Kumamoto. Please read my response there. You may find it to be entertaining (but you'll need to join the group in order to view it).
https://www.facebook.com/groups/returntojapan/posts/1208080356356483/

Kirk here with some notes about my quarantine experience. Main point: Being far away from Japan's biggest hub airports makes international travel significantly harder for those of us in Kumamoto.
Secondary point: The app we must use (MySOS) doesn't seem to take the need to travel back to Kumamoto by car into account.
First of all, the rules:
"From January 8,2021, all those who enter, re-enter or return to Japan (including Japanese nationals) are also subject to conducting of COVID-19 test upon arrival no matter whether arriving from the countries/regions designated as an area subject to denial of permission to enter Japan or not until further notice. Then they are required to stay 14 days at a location designated by the quarantine station chief (own residence etc.) and to refrain from using public transportation."
https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001053.html
This means that we can't take a connecting flight, or a bus, or even a taxi. The only means I'm aware of for getting back to Kumamoto once we have landed in Japan are 1) having a family member come to pick us up or 2) arranging to rent a car. If there's another method I'm forgetting or unaware of, please let me know.
I'm not sure if they can respond in English but you can call the following number to get confirmation from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Kouseishou) as to what you need to do:
0120-565653
Also, you can get support and read about the experiences of other people here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/returntojapan/
My flight arrived in Narita. I looked for flights into Kansai and Fukuoka but couldn't find anything. Since I was pretty sure that I would get out of customs after the rental agency closed, I planned to stay in the capsule hotel in Narita Airport (9 Hours). When I tried to check in, however, I was told that they don't accept travelers returning from (or coming from) abroad and that something about that was on the Booking.com website. I said that it may have been there but it was not prominent and that there was not any interface that made me confirm that I was not traveling from abroad. The man at the hotel was nice and acknowledged that the interface needs to be improved and said he would refund my money. Fortunately, I was able to get another hotel near the airport. That hotel would not pick me up because I had come in from abroad (government rules -- no "public transportation") but it was close enough to walk to (in the rain 😞 ).
The next day I walked to the Budget Rental office. It was not an easy walk and I could have gotten a ride in the shuttle if I had returned to the airport but I wanted to be there at 9 AM sharp (opening time) to get an early start. Also, even though they said they would come and pick me up it seemed kind of odd to me that a shuttle to the car rental would be OK but a shuttle to a hotel would not.
At the car rental agency I asked why it was so damn expensive (close to 100,000 for the basic fee to Kumamoto, not including tolls and gas). I was told that someone would actually drive the car back to Narita!! Well, that explains the expense.
During the drive back, I became a bit irritated by the "MySOS" app I was compelled to use. My irritation stems from the failure of the people who built it to recognize that it would take me two days to drive back to Kumamoto. This plan was submitted to and approved by the officials at the airport but, apparently, the MySOS app didn't get the memo. The attached image of my possible violation came up on the morning of the 3rd. I was scheduled to arrive in Kumamoto that evening but, according to plan, was still traveling. The app was saying "You should be in Kumamoto today. What the hell are you doing?" My only choice was to tap on OK and continue my trip home. In my view, it shouldn't be rocket science to program travel plans (not just a daily location) into the app.
Another source of irritation was the daily calls I received while driving. In Japan, it's ILLEGAL to talk on the phone while driving. Yet, on both the 2nd and the 3rd I was driving all most all day so, naturally, when they called I was driving. Since the plan was to be driving during those two days, they could have had the app call me a night. Or, they could have figured out a system that would allow me to report in from rest areas when I wasn't driving. But no, they called me on the 2nd and 3rd as though I was sitting at home with nothing to do, waiting for a call.
The phone call only records me looking at the camera. I guess someone could hear me saying "hey, I'm driving" but the "call" was not a conversation. In that sense, it's more like a robocall, but the robot doesn't say anything; it just records your image and (I assume) any sounds you make.
I might have declined to answer the call because I was driving. The problem is, though, that I'm not allowed to call them when it's convenient for me; I can only respond when they call me. That put me in a bit of a bind; do I answer while driving (possibly an illegal act) or risk violating my quarantine (another illegal act that, I was informed, might cause me to get kicked out of Japan completely)?
One more thought: "MySOS" is not an appropriate name for this app. "SOS" is a signal that I would send when I'm in trouble. But, as I wrote, the app doesn't let me contact the authorities that be. I think a better name would be "MyLeash." And, to summarize, it's a leash made by people in Tokyo who obviously didn't take into account the circumstances of people who live far away from Narita.
End of rant. Thanks for reading. :)

William. A particular concern with depopulation is abandoned houses, which can quickly become covered by weeds, presenting a hazard. Tomiai Town has instituted an innovative solution: unleashe the goats! And if you've never had feta cheese made from goat milk, you haven't lived. https://kumanichi.com/articles/382845

Hello friends, Atsuko here.
Kumamoto city will accept vaccine reservation from 8:30am 25 September.
https://www.city.kumamoto.jp.e.fm.hp.transer.com/hpkiji/pub/detail.aspx?c_id=5&id=33059
The way how to reserve:
https://www.facebook.com/123734781033296/posts/5874673722606011/
If you want to get the shot more earlier and you can get it anytime, how about make your reservation as '' waiting for cancellation''
https://www.city.kumamoto.jp.e.fm.hp.transer.com/hpkiji/pub/Detail.aspx?c_id=5&id=36593
And if you are a pregnant lady, you can make your reservation by calling directly, soon. It seems easy and sooner but only calling 0963005577.
Please be safe, wear mask with smile(*Ü*)

Kirk here, back from a trip to the U.S. to see family. I'll write about that experience later. (Preview: It's a lot harder to travel abroad from Kumamoto than it would be from Tokyo and the app the government gives you doesn't seem to take that into account.)
The image you see is a bar graph from the Kumamoto Prefecture website showing the daily number of positive test results for COVID-19. You can see that the numbers seem to be subsiding. However, they are still relatively high. The graph is from the following page:
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/92000.html
I'd like to carp a bit about how the prefecture publishes information on its website. My complaint is "pre-English." By that I mean that presenting information in English would be nice but the first thing that needs to be done is to make sure that information is easily accessible in Japanese. If the Japanese is a mess or hard for the general public to access, merely translating that won't do much good.
The problem is that the prefecture's main COVID-19 page doesn't have any graphs of the sort I'm sharing in this post. Here's the URL of that page:
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/site/kumamotoken-covid-19/
The main way in which information is published is via PDF files. Those files only have text -- no graphs or images. At this writing, the latest pdf is for September 3rd. If you open it up, you can see that Kumamoto City had 87 positives and that areas outside of the city had 43, making the total 130 on that day. This is OK but it's just one tree in the forest. To get a look at the whole forest you need to look at the "simplified" (簡易) page (first URL in this post). However, a link to that page is not featured prominently. If you scroll down and look at "People who viewed this page also viewed these pages" (このページを見ている人はこんなページも見ています) you see the "simplified" page at the top of the list. Well, of course it's at the top of the list! It's a much better source of information for the general public!
Before I left the country I called the office in the prefecture that is in change of this page and said that I thought they needed to put a link on the page (that can be found easily) to take users to the simplified page. Unless the "People who viewed this page . . . " feature is new, I don't think anything has changed.
I'd like to close with a comment about pdfs. The pdf format is convenient for the workers at the prefecture (and, of course, other governmental offices) -- not for the general public. In other words, since they make A4 (regular paper size) documents all of the time and it's very simple to convert such documents to pdf files, throwing pdf files up on the web is pretty easy. I think those of you who are reading this post of mine on a smartphone will agree, however, that it's not so convenient for smartphone (or even computer) users, especially when you have to view multiple files to try to get the big picture.
This lack of concern for ease of access to public information and a preference for whatever is easy for officials as a problem that has bothered me for almost as long as I have been publishing information on this page and via the mailing list that preceded it. Needing to translate Japanese to English is one problem but why should I have to struggle with badly organized Japanese information in order to do so?
End of rant. Have a nice day and wear a mask. :)

William. Being Californian, I'm a fan of chili peppers (トウガラシ) of whatever type - I do not discriminate. Thus, it was with sadness that I learned that the unseasonal rains have wiped out the majority of the Amakusa chili harvest. How heartbreaking it must be to tend a crop for a season to see it suddenly destroyed.
トウガラシ「朱次郎」苦境　上天草特産、大雨などで収量減 | 熊本日日新聞社
　特産ブランド化して本格生産を始めて丸２０年を迎えた熊本県上天草市松島町のトウガラシ「朱次郎［あかじろう］」が今季、苦境に立たされている。８月中旬の大雨などが生育や品質を低下させ、収穫と天日干し作業に...

William. I studied Chinese before Japanese, and the difference between traditional and simplified Chinese characters make Japanese a piece of cake (it's mostly simplified).『軽』is the traditional character for "light, while 「圣」 is the vastly move commonly used character in Japan. So some in Kumamoto when a parking lot assigned 『軽』 to indicate light cars were confused - many could not read it. So if you feel illiterate, do not feel separate from your Japanese friends.

William. Kumanichi reports on the fourth straight day of temperatures exceeding 35°, and with the recent precipitation, humidity levels are high. In particular, pay attention to your elderly neighbors. They often do not have or do not use air conditioning and are vulnerable to dehydration and heatstroke.
熊本県内　８月の日照時間半減…異例の夏に　９月は平年並みの暑さか | 熊本日日新聞社
　熊本県内は３１日、高気圧に覆われ、菊池市で３４・７度、熊本市と人吉市で３４・６度を記録する厳しい残暑となった。ただ、８月は長雨の影響で、最高気温３５度以上の猛暑日は熊本市で４日。昨年より１２日少なか...

Fiona here with a local news story. An American English teacher has been convicted of smuggling liquid cannabis into Japan. He was given an 18 month sentence, suspended for three years.
液体大麻を輸入した罪　高校元英会話講師に有罪判決（KAB熊本朝日放送） - Yahoo!ニュース
国際郵便で液体大麻を国内に持ち込んだ罪に問われていた高校の元英会話講師の男に執行猶予付きの有罪判決です。 判決によりますと、アメリカ国籍のルーテル学院高校元英会話講師コリンズ・ブラウン・ジョーダン

Megan here. Wanted to share this beautiful information with you all. I’ve been here before and it truly is a sight to see! Uto has some very magical places that don’t seem to attract many people. I went to the beach early this month and it was beautiful, with a nice BBQ spot. And only 7 people were there the entire time. (Still please use caution and sense — visiting after the current wave has calmed down would probably be a good idea. ☺️)

Good morning, Atsuko here.
If you've not got COVID19 vaccine, you can make reservation from 8:30am today.
Anyone who are Kumamoto city residents, older than 12 years old.
The website has English,and some languages version.
It's very easy. You use your ticket's number written above your name.
You can choose Day, Time, Place.
The system is ''first come, first served''
When you got the first shot reservation, you can get the second shot one automatically, no neet to make reservation.
I've got vaccine twice already.
This reservation period accepts all ages( over 12).
Hoping the information help you.(*Ü*)
https://vaccines.sciseed.jp/kumamotocovid19/login
### For Kumamoto prefecture residents ###
This is English page about Corona vaccination at Grand messe.
Reservation acceptance start additional on Saturday, August 28 from 10:00 a.m.]
　It is share for from Monday, August 30 to Monday, September 20 that accepts reservation.
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp.e.qp.hp.transer.com/soshiki/45/102271.html

William. One year anniversary of the Kumamoto floods.
特集　熊本豪雨１年 | 熊本日日新聞社
河川のはん濫で通行不可能となった人吉市街地。奥が球磨川にかかる大橋＝午前９時２０分ごろ、人吉市寺町

Carlton here. Earlier today Kumamoto City sent out a LINE message which included the link to a cartoon manual explaining about the Delta variant of Covid-19 and how the city and we should cope with it. It is a cute document by a Japanese doctor supposedly and about 30 pages long.
Unfortunately, because of its format, I cannot easily and quickly translate it to English.
I attach the link below for any and all to review. Perhaps someone with language skills far better than mine might be willing to summarize its main points?
I'm posting it because many of us may be familiar with the information and advisories in our home countries. I thought it might be useful to compare that with what Japan is officially paying attention to and acting upon.
< https://www.city.chino.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/20034.pdf >

Megan here 🙏 Wanted to share some news about the Moderna vaccine and contaminants found in a lot from Spain. Lot numbers to check include 3004667, 3004734 and 3004956. As someone who received a Moderna vaccine it gave me some relief to check.
Currently the contaminants are unknown, and the health ministry has said there have been no reports of issues. However they have pulled the doses for safety.
Also important to note, no issues have been found in Kumamoto, but it couldn’t hurt to double check your lot numbers.
From the article, 👇
“The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said foreign substances have been confirmed since Aug. 16 at eight vaccination sites in the prefectures of Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Gifu and Aichi. Takeda reported them to the ministry on Wednesday.”
If more information comes out I’ll try to post an update!
Megan 🐰
Japan halts use of 1.63 mil Moderna vaccine doses over contamination
Japan's health ministry said Thursday foreign materials were found in some portions of unused doses of Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine and the use of around 1.63 million doses manufactured in the same production line has been suspended as a precaution. Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co, whi...

William. Ryonosuke Veterinarian is not the cheapest vet in Kumamoto, as I learned when I used to take my dog there as he grew aged. They have recently launched a plan to care for dogs whose owners are hospitalized for covid at a cost of 3,300 yen per day. For some reason, cats are not welcome. If you're in trouble, I'd be happy to care for either for free.
ペット預けて療養専念を　熊本市の動物病院、コロナ感染者向けサービス提供 ｜ 熊本日日新聞
竜之介動物病院（熊本市中央区）は、新型コロナウイルスに感染した人のペットを有料で預かるサービスを提供...

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William. Kirin is selling beer featuring an image of Kumamoto castle, with proceeds going towards its reconstruction. Keep an eye out for it and give a kanpai knowing it's going to a good purpose.
https://kumanichi.com/articles/367728