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Kirk here with some COVID-19 information from the U.S. embassy in Japan. Some of the information pertains only to the U.S. and U.S. citizens but it's mostly made up of general information about recent developments in Japan, including this: "On August 5, the Government of Japan announced quasi-state of emergency measures for Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Shizuoka, Aichi, Shiga and Kumamoto prefectures. "
Record Number of COVID-19 Cases - U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Japan
Japan continues to see record numbers of COVID-19 cases in multiple prefectures. On Thursday, nationwide, cases exceeded 15,000 (including 5,042 cases in Tokyo), marking a record high for the second day in a row.

Good morning friends, Atsuko here.
It seems to be hot and humid day, today also.Be careful for heat stroke.
I went to 3333 steps at 美里町Misato town last Friday.Such a hot and humid day? Yes, it was.
The path of 3333 steps were in the shade of tree, Summer breeze. We sweated well but so refreshing and felt cool. We met very few people.
While walking, we heard ヒグラシHigurasi sang.( one kind of cicada. They live in forest, more cooler place than country side.We hear Kumazemi's and Aburazemi's songs well in the city.At the country side and end of August, you might hear Tukutukuhoshi's songs.) Their songs made us cool and refresh.
I recommend to go Onsen, 佐俣の湯Samata no yu, near the steps.It might help your muscle pain.
Hoping you can enjoy 2021 Summer challenge with your closely friends.
Trip Minimum but enjoy Maximum.(งᐛ )ง
3333 steps
https://kumamoto.guide/en/spots/detail/12143
Samata no yu, Onsen
https://samatanoyu-misato.jp/

Joe Tomei here with something from Chieko Noriyuki's blog Untapped Kumamoto (with her permission)

Kirk again. This NHK video (in English) gives a bit of information about the new measures, though it doesn't provide a lot of detail. In addition to asking bars and restaurants in certain areas not to serve alcohol and asking ordinary folks like us are being asking to postpone travel. I heard on RKK that Governor Kabashima said that he would designate Kumamoto City as the area to which the alcohol serving restriction would apply.
Panel approves expansion of quasi-emergency | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News
The Japanese government's coronavirus advisory panel has approved a plan to expand the focused anti-virus measures to eight more prefectures amid the nationwide surge in cases.

Kirk here with some COVID-19 news. "Suga on Thursday announced a milder version of the emergency measures in eight prefectures, including Fukushima in the east and Kumamoto in the south, expanding the areas to 13 prefectures. The less-stringent measures allow prefectural heads to target specific towns but cannot order business closures." I was just watching NHK and they showed Kumamoto Prefecture in red, indicating that today's number of new positives, 127, is an all-time high for the prefecture. The Delta variant is nothing to trifle with.
P.S. I don't have details about the new, "less-stringent measures" at my finger tips at this writing. I'll try to follow up when I can. Or, perhaps someone else can help with that.
Tokyo logs record 5,042 cases as infections surge amid Games
Tokyo has reported 5,042 new daily coronavirus cases, hitting a record since the pandemic began as the infections surge in the Japanese capital hosting the Olympics

Kirk here with the weather: "A high of 38 degrees is predicted for Kumamoto City in Kumamoto Prefecture." This is for today, Thursday. 38 degrees Celsius is 100.8 Fahrenheit (a note for those of you who, like me, are from that recalcitrant, we'll-do-it-our-way nation known as the U.S. of A, or a country under its influence).
Heat to continue in Japan | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News
Japan was hit by intense heat again on Wednesday. Authorities are calling for caution against heatstroke as high temperatures are expected to continue.

Good news for Nagasaki: they're finally being connected to the Shinkansen service. If you'd like to visit Nagasaki from Kumamoto, I'd recommend the ferry, which departs from Kumamoto Shinko and arrives in Shimabara - which in itself is a lovely town to visit (it's famous for its streetside canals studded with koi) and then local transportation from there. It's probably cheaper and faster. - William
https://japantoday.com/category/features/travel/new-shinkansen-design-revealed-for-nagasaki-extension

With permission from Tamana's Claire I'm gratefully posting the following:
Claire in Tamana posted this update on vaccination rates on her feed.
Taken from the Kumamoto Prefecture website.
Kumamoto prefecture now has over half its population with at least one vaccination completed 40% have had both jabs. Not bad at all! However we do have over 500,000 people over 65 of which 80% are fully vaccinated so that’s a third of the eligible population right there!
National figures are based on the whole population but these figures only include those above 12 years old.
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/45/102050.html

Joe Tomei here with some information from Robert Remmerswaal, NanKyu JALT chapter treasurer, about joining the JALT. On this one, please feel free to contact me if you are interested and want more info.
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Need to renew your JALT membership? Interested in joining a network of English teachers living throughout Japan? Join/renew with a group membership rate until Aug 10. Send an email to [email protected] if interested and to get more details. The group rate is 8500/year rather than the 13000/year individual rate. This also give you access to the latest online publications as well as allowing you to attend other chapter events (Fukuoka and Oita have chapters) and attend events at the members fees.
For current members, expect to see more events from NanKyu as Covid restrictions start to ease. For more info about JALT, visit
About Us | JALT
The Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) is a nonprofit organisation dedicated to the improvement of language teaching and learning. JALT promotes excellence in language learning, teaching, and research by providing opportunities for those involved in language education to meet, share, and...

"Cicada" (a loan-word from a Mediterranean substrate language - that's when you realize people really look down on you) in Japanese are called "semi." Perhaps they have identity issues: "Are you an insect?" "Well, semi." They kind of have a bummer of a life, living seven years underground to emerge expecting a semi-orgy (never done one of those but I've put it on my list) only to caught by some kid with a net and a plastic box. Just leave them alone and allow them to fulfill their lifespan. - William

Summer is shoe season! Japan offers a wide variety of shoes quite adapted to the season. Attached is a quick guide to traditional Japanese footwear. I generally go with the geta 下駄 - the wood is quite comfortable in the summer heat, and the raised height makes them convenient during deluges. Kokai Shopping Street has several marvelous shops that sell traditional footwear. They're all about the same; just choose a pair of geta that suit you. - William

I was just chatting with Katarina Maria Mantzas about ロバのパン - "donkey bread." So very long ago that it was even before my time, actual donkeys were used to draw the carts; they later became motorized, but the song they broadcast maintained the donkey theme. Sadly, they've all but disappeared; I suppose they could no longer compete with modern convenience stores. But this is what convenience stores were like back in the day. You can enjoy the song at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ck5JKVaGRM - William

Joe Tomei here. If anyone hasn't gotten their jab, the prefecture has opened a vaccination center (Moderna) at Gran Messe (near the airport expressway entrance) for anyone who has a coupon
This is the reservation link
https://www.covid19-vaccine.mrso.jp/kumamoto/VisitNumbers/visitnoAuth/
The hours are weekdays 6pm-9pm and weekends noon- 6.
Mike Rupp, in the comments, writes about the Vaccine Passport
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You go to the Kuyakusho, and they can give it to you at the window where they do Japanese passports. You need to bring your passport, the proof of 2 shots (the sheet with stickers) and you must write down a date for which you plan to travel on the form. It took about 15 minutes for me [Mike] and I was the first foreigner.
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Mike's timeline has a photo of his document but unfortunately, I can't add it to this post ($%&'&$ Facebook) and we've blocked photo comments ($'%&#%& trolls on the Internet), but if you ask him nicely, he may help. If you aren't sure of your Japanese (or even if you are!) having a photo of the object of your desire can really help things along.

Seems like rainy season has finally caught up with us. I'm not sure how my plants feel about it - it's always too little or too much. - William
The Rain Rain Rain (came Down Down Down) English
I dont own anything remotely Disney. This is the English verison of the Rainy day song in the Many Adventures of Winnie the PoohLyrics:the Rain Rain Rain cam...

This is a follow-up to a topic that William posted about the other day. -- Kirk
Kumamoto Prefecture Unveils One Piece Bronze Nami Statue as Part of Revitalization Project
Kumamoto Prefecture has unveiled a new statue of Nami from One Piece, as part of a collaborative effort with Shueisha to revitalize the area.

Congratulations to local author and Kumamoto International participant Sean Michael Wilson on his most recent publication. It's in English and available from Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats:
https://www.amazon.com/Minamata-Story-Sean-Michael-Wilson/dp/1611720567
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/72c464265b666a622d193b0ea4cc2849eed3fc45
-- Kirk
ＭＩＮＡＭＡＴＡに関心を　英語の漫画本、米で出版　原作者・ウィルソンさん「多くの人の目に」（熊本日日新聞） - Yahoo!ニュース
　英国出身で熊本市中央区の漫画原作者、ショーン・マイケル・ウィルソンさん（５１）がこのほど、水俣病をテーマにした中・高校生向けの英語の漫画本を米国で出版した。 　タイトルは「ＴＨＥ　ＭＩＮＡＭＡＴ

Words, created by people, are much like their creators: One never knows how they'll morph or where they'll end up. For example, "monsoon" comes from Dutch monssoen, from Portuguese monçao, from Arabic mawsim "time of year, appropriate season" (for a voyage, pilgrimage, - but not for shopping), according to etymonline. Keep a folding umbrella in your bag at all times just in case, Kumamon says. And check JMA before you go out. http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/index.html - William

I like Nishiharamura. It's a good day trip if you have a car. There's a 道の駅 selling all-local produce directly from the farmers - they have the grower's name on the packaging , which gives it a very personalized feeling. They're having this event now based on the TV show "One Piece," which I was into when it was new and original but quickly lost interest in when it began coasting on its own success (tell me about it!). I also objected to their sexualization of women (once I became the father of a daughter, that is. It's never too late to learn.) The point appears to be to attract more tourists to the area- I don't think there's any other connection. If I'm wrong, please let me know. The link to the event is below. - William
https://kumanichi.com/articles/337432

I knew about Kumamoto's reputation for having excellent water (especially ground water) and I also knew about semiconductors being manufactured in this area. Until I read this sentence, however, I hadn't put the two together.
"Kumamoto is known for having an abundance of water, necessary when manufacturing semiconductors."
-- Kirk
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/07/28/business/corporate-business/tsmc-taiwan-chipmaking-kumamoto/
Another article:
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/07/48a21b9f9c7e-taiwans-tsmc-eyes-kumamoto-as-site-for-1st-japan-chip-plant.html
Taiwan's TSMC considering building first Japan chip plant in Kumamoto Prefecture
The development comes after efforts by Japan's government to persuade the world's largest contract chipmaker to set up a factory in the country.

I think I've posted about this issue before. As before, the City of Minamata doesn't want to support a showing of the film. My take is that it's still too hot to handle in the area where everything happened. -- Kirk
‘Minamata’ film starring Johnny Depp fails to gain city’s support | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
MINAMATA, Kumamoto Prefecture--Municipal authorities here declined to formally back a citizen group’s screening of “Minamata,” a film about the devastating effects of mercury poisoning in the city, mainly out of consideration to the real-life victims.