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Today on Funky Friday places, it is Hot Diggity Dog day! There are several burger places in town (but there can never be enough burger places imho0, but hot dog places? Well, over by Misotenjin, there is One Five Dog.
https://www.instagram.com/onefivedog/?hl=en
https://tabelog.com/kumamoto/A4301/A430101/43015008/
Hot dogs, some other sandwiches and deserts and hot coffee. It's a cheerful little place and there's a cheap parking lot just across (30 min for 50 yen!) And while Costco will have their hotdogs, you aren't going to get chili cheese or guacamole. Now if some place would only have a Frito chili cheese...
#kumaifunkyfridayplace

Our friend Liz Suenaga, a philanthropist, Kumamoto fixture, and a very talented photographer has provided us with this image of koinobori afloat. (Swimming permitted 09:00 - 29:00). - William

Today is Earth Day. The Financial Express published a collection of photos from all over the world, some of which show the beauty of the natural world and some of which remind us of the ways in which human activity has led to more intense storms and other environmental problems. This picture from the Hitoyoshi area is in the latter category. The caption reads "A view shows damage after floods caused by torrential rain, in Kumamura, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan. (Reuters Photo)."
-- Kirk
https://www.financialexpress.com/photos/entertainment-gallery/2238064/earth-day-images-take-a-look-at-20-stunning-photos-of-our-natural-world/13/

Allan Sutherland provided a very detailed response to my rather snarky previous post on Minamata disease. It deserves to be reposted verbatim. Please see his writing below, and a Wikipedia link to the Minamata disease. - William
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamata_disease
The photographer was W. Eugene Smith, and he used a wide range of cameras, ranging from Rollieflex mid-frame, Nikons, Leicas, and so on. There are photographs of him sporting an array of cameras, although as Liz points out, they would often be fitted with an array of lenses; zoom lenses were not as refined then as now. Some would also have different films installed, to accommodate lighting conditions, slow, mid- or high-speed films. (I commonly carried two film cameras, one for B&W, the other for colour slide, and had two lenses.) In Minamata Smith' camera(s) of choice was the rather unimpressive Minolta SRT-101, not the more commonly used 35 mm Leicas or Nikons, at the time. In the 5 or so years preceding going to Minamata he spent a lot of time in his loft in New York City, where he photographed incessantly, inside and outside of the window: inside was of many jazz musicians who hung out there, performed there, rehearsed there; outside the subject was the views and the passersby on the street 5-floors below. When he went to Minamata his health was not good, he had suffered severe injury as a war photographer during the Battle of Okinawa. In Minamata he was severely beaten up by 'employees' of Chisso, which severely damaged his eyesight. His wife was Japanese-American. One of these pictures is of his photo-equipment from Minamata. I will watch this bio, but expect it will be a typical Hollywood biopic of cinematic and verbal cliche.
No photo description available.

Author Natsume Soseki was similar to the protagonist he's most famous for, 吾輩猫である, a most presumptuous way of referring to oneself as a cat (as cats can't help but doing) - he was equally felinely periplectic. You can't throw a stone without hitting a house in Kumamoto that he'd never lived in. A road in Kumamoto celebrates him, aptly called 吾輩通り。For ailurophiles, it is a must visit. - William

As a neophyte in Kumamoto, I scavenged oysters from the crags of Minamata with my wife, both of us greedily slopping them down - and then learned that maybe that was not a good idea. My hometown of Orange County has a similar, era-spanning issue with dioxin having been dumped in barrels in the sea. Most know that Johnny Depp (whatever your opinion of him) has starred in the eponymous movie. Kumanichi has a writeup about it at the link - but, seriously?! How many cameras do you need?! - I always got by with one, even back in the days of 35mm film. - William https://kumanichi.com/news/id203675

Carp streamers (鯉のぼり)
are symbolic: the fish swims upstream, against the flow, all the time, until they die, symbolizing the eternal struggle of life. (Actually, it's kind of depressing if you think about it in that way.) But on we go.

Our friend Yoshiko-san recently posted a photo of the kindness a shorestop had shown to bees. Be kind to bees. Without them, we would all die. (Look really closely - "bees-knees distance" as it's had - at the sign.- William

So they've got that new Amu Plaza downtown with, apparently, a stunning indoor waterfall. Check out the video to be stunned. - William https://kumanichi.com/news/id202013

A note to those who have lost a pet: legally, you're supposed to go through some facility such as the Kumamoto Aigo center, but there exist many private facilities that will undertake the undertaking. It costs a bit, but from my experience, they were extremely polite and professional. If contact information is needed, please PM us. (Pictured: my dog.) - William
http://doubutsuaigo.hinokuni-net.jp/

Joe Tomei here. After just posting the COVID news, I'm not sure if I should be posting this, but May 7-9, KAB is holding a Festa at the newly fancified Kumamoto Station. Here is the web page
http://www.kab.co.jp/special/ekimaefesta2021/
A colleague of mine here at Gakuen, Akira Sakai, who seems to be involved in more things that one can shake a stick at, has some of his students selling some yaki nikku tare, which has some relationship with the innoshishi summit, which is a collection of farmers, hunters, restaurant owners and others who are dealing with the problem of wild boars, which damage crops and farmland. While the tare doesn't offer an protection from COVID, it is quite tasty, so if you do venture out, check them out.

Joe Tomei here with more a follow up from yesterday's shared email from JET Program Prefectural Advisors Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland. As always, thanks to them for letting me share these with Kumamoto-i.
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Hi Kumamoto,
As we mentioned yesterday, Kumamoto Prefecture announced yesterday that it has raised the Risk Level to Level 4.
The prefecture is acknowledging that this represents the start of a "fourth wave" of COVID-19 in Kumamoto, and has outlined what requests to the public that this Level increase entails. One important change is that the Prefecture is requesting residents specifically avoid travel to Fukuoka Prefecture, regardless of whether it has a State of Emergency/Stronger Measures, or an infection rate of over 15 per 100,000.
Here are all of the updated measures [on attached image] translated into English.
The original information about the Risk Level in Japanese is on the Prefectural website here: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/51409.html
Information is also available in English on the website of the Kumamoto Support Center for Foreign Residents here: http://www.kuma-koku.jp/support-center/page156.html -- it should be updated later today with information from yesterday including the Risk Level change.

Fixing stuff when you're a foreigner in Japan can be tricky - hell, it's difficult even if you're native. I remember arriving home at 9:40 PM after a long day awaiting a wife with two young children who pointed out that the kitchen sink was spouting water and would not stop (I remember the time because Hirose closed at 10:00 - it turned out to be a 50 yen plastic piece - best 50 yen I ever fucking spent). Below is a post I put up on my personal page, but it occurred to me that others might have quickie DIY solutions you've experienced. If so, please share. - William
Our shower nozzlehead was not flowing, resulting in the heater not triggering, so Sawako asked me to do something. (Note for household heads: "Do!" is the easy part; "something!" is where it gets tricky.) Kumamoto water is really hard (lotsa minerals), so I simply spent the time in the bath that I'd normally use staring at the wall cleaning out the showerhead apertures one by one with a safety pin. Saved me thirty bucks and gained me a sideways glance of reluctant admiration from Sawako.

Hi friends.
Amu plaza next to JR Kumamoto station will open on 23rd April.
The webpage has English, Chinese, Korean pages also.
Hoping you to enjoy wonderful Anime world and new shops with wearing mask.ーAtsuko«٩(*´∀`*)۶» https://www.jrkumamotocity.com/en/amu?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=amuopen&fbclid=PAAabBVodmXrJOY9MD7RbV5iIfyOkjU3hkNYhmy4NhPlFHyE64bRvgV_Oxwo0
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W7ByQ1H9qbs&feature=youtu.be
2021年4月23日。アミュプラザくまもとが開業し、熊本駅は生まれ変わります。それはきっと、熊本にとって新しい”夜明け”そんな気持ちを、熊本の人々の生き生きとした朝の様子や笑顔と共に開業への想いとして、この映.....

Kirk here with a share from the Asahi Shimbun. The following URL will take you to previous posts in which we discussed the rock you see in the picutre:
https://www.facebook.com/page/123734781033296/search/?q=men%20no%20ishi
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14330921
VOX POPULI: 5 years after quake, survivors are still hanging tough to rebuild : The Asahi Shimbun
The village of Minamiaso in Kumamoto Prefecture is home to a

An important update from Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland, JET Program Prefectural Advisors
=======
Dear Kumamoto,
This afternoon, Kumamoto Prefecture made a sudden announcement raising the Risk Level to Level 4, which is the second highest on Kumamoto's independent risk level scale (the highest being Level 5). Usually the risk level announcements are made every Friday, but the large number of new cases announced today seems to have triggered the change. This is the first time in 9 weeks that the Risk Level has been elevated (the first time since the last state of emergency lifted). https://kumanichi.com/news/id200594
Since the change was made suddenly there are no new announcements yet about new measures the prefecture will be taking. Here is what we know so far:
43 new cases of COVID-19 in Kumamoto Prefecture today (19 April)
Today, 43 new cases of COVID-19 were announced in Kumamoto Prefecture triggering the risk level announcement.
You can see from the case breakdown here on the Prefecture's website that most of the cases outside of Kumamoto City are in the northern part of the prefecture: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/uploaded/attachment/138574.pdf
Here is the breakdown for Kumamoto Ctiy: https://www.city.kumamoto.jp/corona/common/UploadFileOutput.ashx?c_id=5&id=34783&set_doc=1&set_file_field=1
Among today's bad news was the announcement of the death of a woman in her 80s in Nagasu. 75 people have died from COVID-19 in Kumamoto Prefecture since the start of the pandemic. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210419/k10012983821000.html?utm_int=news-social_contents_list-items_010
How many cases of the 43 announced today are of new variants are unknown.
However, of the 11 new cases announced yesterday (18 April), 8 are suspected to be a variant form of COVID-19. Of the 8 suspected variant cases, 4 are associated with a cluster declared at Arao Municipal Hospital. https://www.nishinippon.co.jp/item/n/725587/
New clusters in Kumamoto
At least three new clusters have been identified in the past few days, one at a private high school in Yamaga
(Johoku Gakuen, https://kumanichi.com/news/id200604), one at Arao Municipal Hospital, and another at an elder-care facility in Higashi-ku Kumamoto City (https://kumanichi.com/news/id199491)
This marks a total of 47 officially-recognised clusters since the start of the pandemic, but only the second to affect a high school. So far 23 students have been confirmed to be positive for COVID-19. The high school in question has been closed until further notice. https://this.kiji.is/756780467553091584?c=92619697908483575
Travel subsidy for ryokan guests suspended
Together with the announcement of the Risk Level being raised to Level 4, new reservations for the 5000 yen/night subsidy available for those staying at ryokan/hotels in Kumamoto Prefecture has been suspended. https://kumanichi.com/news/id200594
Request to avoid travel across prefectural lines to certain prefectures
As we mentioned in previous updates, there is an ongoing request by the Kumamoto Prefectural Government for residents to avoid non-essential and non-urgent travel to other prefectures in which there are more than 15 new positive cases per 100,000 population in the preceeding week. The most recently updated list includes Osaka, Okinawa, Hyoko, Nara, Tokyo, Tokushima, Kyoto, Wakayama, Miyagi, Aichi, Ehime and Shiga prefectures. The full list can be confirmed here: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/78301.html
"Special Measures" applied to parts of Tokyo, neighbouring prefectures
At the beginning of this month we mentioned that Osaka, Hyogo and Miyagi applied for and received designation as a region for which "Stronger Anti-Virus Measures" can apply. Since then, Tokyo Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Okinawa and Aichi Prefectures have received the designation and applied the measures to a restricted number of municipalities in their respective prefectures (Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Okinawa and Aichi Prefectures).
Despite these measures, yesterday in Osaka, 1220 new cases were announced, the highest so far. The Governor of Osaka has officially requested the national government to declare a State of Emergency for Osaka. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210419/k10012982971000.html?utm_int=all_side_ranking-access_001
Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko, while falling short of officially requesting the government for a state of emergency, stated that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is currently making arrangements to request one to be called. Asahi Shimbun reported that Tokyo Metropolitan Government may request a state of emergency as early as 22 April (https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASP4M5KBYP4MUTIL03F.html?iref=comtop_7_01)
東京都も緊急事態宣言を要請へ　早ければ22日にも：朝日新聞デジタル
　東京都は19日、新型コロナウイルス対応の特別措置法に基づく緊急事態宣言を政府に要請する調整に入った。都関係者への取材でわかった。都の専門家の意見を踏まえ、早ければ22日にも要請する方針。「まん延防止…

Luther Kyushu Junior and Senior High School has an outpost in Aso, and our friend, a delightful teacher at the school, Kotegawa-sensei, has provided a photo. There are no international schools in Kumamoto, but if you have a child in search of an international education, Kyushu Gakuin (located in Oe Machi) is as close as you can get. (Both of my children attended there and benefitted greatly.)　－https://kyugaku.ed.jp－ - William

Y'know that place you'd always planned to visit but never have? - 島田美術館 (Shimada Art Museum) is that place for me. But now, they are exhibiting a painting of Miyamoto Masushi said to have been contemporaneous. Urge. Museum and exhibition info at the links. - William
島田美術館: http://www.shimada-museum.net/index.php
Friggin' cool painting: https://kumanichi.com/news/id200300

This screenshot is from the Kumamoto Coamix Inc. (https://kumamoto-coamix.co.jp/) website. The other day I tried to share a "we're looking for non-Japanese to hire" message to the page but something went wrong. Since then, I've added a link to my original share, which is here:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/5228003847273005
If you are into manga, you might want to check it out. Also, please share this with other people who might be interested in the opportunity. -- Kirk

Hi.
It was nice weather today.
Brilliant fresh green Eduko with lots boats and lots ZARIGANI hunters.ーAtsuko.(*ˊ˘ˋ*)♡