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Hi Kumamoto-i-ians, Joe Tomei here with some fun travel info. Jason Morgan, owner of the Voyager Bar (just off Daiko bashi, the bridge carrying the street car line into downtown) has the site https://kumamoto.guru/ and and the facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/kumamoto.guru
and I wanted to pass on this tidbit. He's got some great pics of his trip, so like the page if you can!

Hoshino Resort, a Nagano-based company, has announced tentative plans to redevelop the former Parco site with a hotel and a mix of retailers. Parco has said they will reopen their shop in the new building. - William
星野リゾート、パルコ跡地にホテル　熊本初進出、23年春開業　パルコも再出店へ ｜ 熊本日日新聞
星野リゾート（長野県軽井沢町）は７日、熊本市中央区手取本町の熊本パルコ跡地に建設中のビルにホテルを開...

Hi friends.
Sharing lots of ''SUN'' to move away rainy clouds from Kyushu!!!!
Sunflowers at 西原村 Nishihara mura, near 萌の里Moenosato.
They are full bloom this weekend.
I love Kumamoto summer!!! ーAtsuko(๑˃ᴗ˂)و♡

A local market called “ Morning Glory Market at Koraimon Gate (高麗門あさがお市) “ has been held during this weekend. The venue is in Shinmachi (新町), Chuo-ku and it opens from 7:30 am to 1pm.
They exhibit Higo Asagao (肥後朝顔) which is one of the “Higo Rokka (肥後六花)”, means the six kinds of flowers. In the18th century when the Lord Shigekata Hosokawa (細川重賢) ruled Kumamoto, he encouraged his samurai to grow and develop the flowers for educational purposes such as disciplining their minds and cultivating their sensibility.
The refreshing colors of Asagao brings us “Ryo (涼, sense of coolness)” in this humid time of the year.
This market is the origin of the famous Ueki market in Kumamoto City. For further information, check the link below and if you have time tomorrow morning, drop by at the venue!
- Chieko

Floods pretty much are not a good thing unless you're a duck. We had quite a big one last year. Prepare: have a bug-out bag and ensure alternative communication methods with loved ones. - William
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

Another update from the Prefectural JET advisors, Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland. (posted by Joe Tomei)
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Here are your coronavirus updates:
State of Emergency to be called again in Tokyo
Yesterday 920 new cases were reported in Tokyo, following a gradual increase in the numbers of new cases over the past two weeks. The national government has responded by beginning the process of calling a renewed State of Emergency, which was only downgraded to a Quasi-Emergency. Cases of the delta variant have been detected in multiple clusters in Tokyo.
The fourth state of emergency in Tokyo will come into effect July 12, last throughout the Olympics, and end August 22.
The existing State of Emergency in Okinawa will also be extended to August 22. Quasi-Emergencies in China, Saitama, Kanagawa and Osaka will also be extended until August 22. The Quasi-Emergencies in Hokkaido, Aichi, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka will end on schedule, on 11 July.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210708/k10013127821000.html
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/0aa5e028dc1a8dfa60989ebc1d90b00ecfa63207
Risk Level lowered to "Level 3" in Kumamoto
Kumamoto's independent risk level was lowered to "Level 3" earlier this week, but the guidance against travel to areas with a State of Emergency or Quasi-Emergency remain in place.
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/51409.html
Kumamoto City Vaccine Reservation Procedures
Kumamoto City has released a guide with detailed information on the vaccine as well s the procedures for booking it. It also includes an annotated translation of the mandatory medical history form, which is the same across the country. For those of you who live outside Kumamoto City and didn't receive this booklet in the mail, [it can be found at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GKFOh-4iseTC-EXNSAhhoo85nS2arrrq/view?usp=sharing]. The procedures will differ based on your municipality of residence but some of the information may be useful.
By the way, the fifth stage (第５期予約) of Kumamoto City's online vaccine reservations will be open for anyone over 12 years of age, with reservations possible by phone or online on Saturday, 10 July at 8:30 am. For information on how to access the website, see the attached document.
For those of you getting vaccinated, we hope your experiences are going well so far.
All the best and have a great Thursday evening,
Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland
Kumamoto City COVID-19 Vaccination Procedure.pdf

Unfortunately, it's cloudy tonight instead of 七夕(たなばたTanabata, meaning "Evening of the seventh). Tanabata is also known as the Star Festival (星祭り, Hoshi matsuri),a Japanese festival originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival)
I'd like to share Japanese elementary schools' Summer flowers because I can't share beautiful Milky way. The 1st grade students raise 朝顔Asagao, the morning glory. They water them every morning.It's also Japanese summer colors.Hoping you also like it.
Higo Asagao is displayed now at Kumamoto castle for one week from 5 July. If you like them, please check it too.
https://www.facebook.com/944988642193083/posts/6074356822589547/?sfnsn=mo
ーAtsuko.(*Ü*)

Joe Tomei with a a brief report from Sean Benward about an event that that was advertised on Kumamoto-i.
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Thank you everyone at Kumamoto-i for your support.
The event was a success. Mother Nature cooperated.
We were able to raise money for the YWCA, expose and the kids hads ome gaijin time, but in an environment outside a classroom.
But most important, we introduced our kids to the 4 R’s Recycle, Reuse, Reduce and my favorite Refuse. There is a 5th R, - “Rot”, or compost, but we will save that for another day.
It is now up to the kids to make the changes necessary to protect the environment, and hopefully learn from our mistakes while at the same time breaking our addiction to plastic.
After this event, I was extremely optimistic.
Mother nature’s future is in good hands.

Liz here, thanks William Baerg for the compliment. I think my privacy settings prevent the video from being seen, so here it . Hope you all enjoy it.

Liz has a very cool image of the phenomenon known as "hydrophobicity" - literally, "hating water." Plants have evolved a certain leaf shape which directs any moisture to the central stem, and from there, the roots. Look around and see that many plants have adopted this strategy. - William
https://www.facebook.com/100000300213208/videos/306677844477222/

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!.
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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)