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More to this tragic story undoubtedly exists: a woman was enticed by her boyfriend to film and upload images of the female side of some Kumamoto onsen, which is not identified. So sad that such a beautiful aspect of Japanese culture was so defiled. - William
Female teacher, ex-boyfriend arrested for voyeurism and child pornography
Gunma prefectural police have arrested a 28-year-old female high school teacher and her 29-year-old ex-boyfriend on suspicion of violating the child prostitution and pornography law after they took voyeuristic images of girls in the changing room at a hot springs facility in 2016. Police said Shizuk...

Today, the media got to see the inside of the renovated castle. Watch the video (in English) for more. -- Kirk
https://www.nippon.com/en/news/ntv20210406002/
Kumamoto Castle’s repaired tower unveiled
The interior of Kumamoto Castle’s tower, which underwent repairs after sustaining major damage in a powe…

We'd commented recently on the togu lizard gone wild incident in Kuhonji. This time, it's deer. Young males (or "bucks," as they're known) often stray to create their own territory. One, apparently of a literary bent, made his way presumably from the Mashiki mountains through the rice paddies to Ezuko and continued his way up to the City Library. Spotted by a local denizen zoologically astute as to discern between fish and large mammals, he called the local authorities. The deer, though, had vanished by the time they arrived, perhaps realizing he had no library card. A free check-out box for wildlife literature should be created. - William
https://kumanichi.com/news/id181848

What is strangest about this story is unclear: a woman kept as a pet a tegu, which is large lizard native to Argentina. Notable for their unusually high intelligence, they are capable of running at high speeds, can run bipedally for short distances, have heavily built skulls with large teeth, and react aggressively if provoked. (We're talking about the reptile here, not women, and, well, shit, I've gone and got myself into a whole heap of trouble with that....)
This reptile is what this woman chose to carry in her handbag for a stroll on March 27. While perhaps a good deterrence against bag snatchers, the lizard had other ideas: it took its first opportunity to leap for freedom, dashing bipedally into Nishibaru Park in Kuhonji, which, fortunately, is close to Kumamoto University Hospital.
Unfortunately for the mini Godzilla, its escape plan entailed hiding in a concrete ditch from which it could not escape.
A passer-by noticed this and called police, presumably saying "There's an Argentine giant tegu here in need of assistance," so police set a cage and, eight days later (today), the lizard was caught, apparently none the worse for wear. Police commented, "When walking with large animals, please keep an eye on them" - rather a staid statement considering a woman was strolling around Kuhonji with a large, very active reptile in her handbag. - William
「逃走トカゲ」無事保護　熊本市内の公園で捕獲用ケージに ｜ 熊本日日新聞
熊本市中央区九品寺４丁目の西原公園で逃げ出し、行方が分からなくなっていた南米原産のトカゲ「テグー」（...

Kumanichi reports that the newly renovated Hanabata park will reopen today, April 5. Aside from a general cleanup, the old, smelly public toilet has been removed. The park is a remnant of a pleasure house, shown below, built by Kato Kiyomasa and later used by the Hosokawa clan. A Wikipedia entry and the Kumanichi article with photos (Japanese) are at the link. With this and the new shopping buildings, the renewal of that portion of Kumamoto is complete. - William
https://this.kiji.is/751565247376392192?c=92619697908483575
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%8A%B1%E7%95%91%E5%B1%8B%E6%95%B7%E8%B7%A1

I hail from a place called Orange County, California, so called as it was once covered with orange groves (they've since been replaced with condominiums). Legend has it that its first oranges, native as all citrus are to Asia, arrived rotting aboard a sailing vessel from China, and a local farmer, sensing opportunity, bought the slimy mass at a pittance for their seeds. Now is the time of the dekopon. Though the article attributes its origin to Nagasaki, it is actually native to the Uto peninsula- hence, it's also known as "shiranui." Its naming reminds me of the kiwifruit: originally known as the Chinese gooseberry, those who introduced it to the US realized that name wouldn't go over well. Similarly, dekopon are now marketed both as "dekopon" and "sumo citrus" in the US. Let's hope the former sticks. - William
This little-known Japanese fruit now has a cult following
When Jerry Callahan had his first bite of a Sumo Citrus fruit about nine years ago, he knew he'd tried something special. "This is going to go crazy," he thought.

The opening of the JR's "Amu Plaza" near Kumamoto Station is scheduled for the 23rd. "Amu" is short for "amuse" or "amusement" and is pronounced in that way (ah - myu). I don't know if the folks at JR intended this but in Japanese "アミュプラザ," with all that katakana, seems rather foreign and, in English, I imagine that visitors from other countries will think that "Amu" must be some exotic Japanese term because, of course, "amuse" isn't abbreviated in this way in English. -- Kirk
Sneak peak of new west Japan station complex shows grand waterfall amid rich local nature - The Mainichi
KUMAMOTO -- An impressive 10-meter-long indoor waterfall and terrace playground have been set up inside JR Kumamoto Station's terminal building, slate

As the weather gets better, it's getting to be time to think about heading off to the beach. When I think of Fukuoka, images of the city come to mind first but this beach looks very nice. If you following the links you can find more explanation in English and at least one link to a Google map.
Kumamoto has some nice beaches too. More about them later! :) -- Kirk

Have you heard about Zezan Goto (後藤是山)? He was a journalist who worked hard to introduce cultures to Kumamoto and also did research of unclarified histories and stories of Kumamoto.
Newspapers back then played a role as a party organ and most pages were about politics and economics and the space for culture was very limited. Among journalists, culture was disrespected and people like Zezan were considered to be too soft. Zezan faced the huge gap between his dream and the reality.
However, thanks to the CEO of the company who understood him, Zezan could meet and interact with many cultured people in Tokyo and introduced them and their works in Kyushu Nichinichi Newspaper (later it became Kumamoto Nichinichi Newspaper).
There is a house that Zezan used to live in Suizenji, Chuo-ku Kumamoto City. It was built in 1927. This house and the museum is called Goto Zezan memorial hall (後藤是山記念館). Zezan lived in the house until 1986 when he passed away at the age of 99 years old (I heard his birthday of 100 years old was 4 days later!).
This house is well-maintained and you can have a seat and enjoy the view of the lovely garden. I heard that there are some trees which were gifted by his cultured friends from Tokyo. It is amazing that we can feel connected with them by seeing those legacy.
Also, the good thing about the museum is that they have English explanations!!! Sometimes (or often), there is no English explanations and you may got bored not to be able to learn about the place. Visit the memorial hall and get to know Zezan. Then relax in the lovely house. It is close to Suizenji Jojuen Park (about 10 minutes on foot) so you can arrange your plan with it. Goto Zezan memorial hall opens from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. It closes on Mondays and national holidays. And the entrance fee is free! There is a parking lot for 2 cars so you can go there by car, too.
Check the link below and get to know more about his stories!
- Chieko
Google map
https://goo.gl/maps/9qUJJyueX9wu4dEL8
Official website
https://kumamoto-guide.jp/spots/detail/130
#gotozezan
#後藤是山
#徳富蘇峰
#徳冨蘆花
#Kumamoto
#熊本

Wow! The world's first -- right here in Kumamoto! Actually, the Red Cross Hospital is right in my neighborhood!
-- Kirk
P.S. The article misrepresents Kyushu (which is an island, not a prefecture) but the news itself seems to be legit. Here's a Japanese article:
https://car.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1315765.html
https://fleet.ie/picture-of-the-week-toyota-tests-worlds-first-fuel-cell-h2-electric-vehicle-mobile-clinic-by-toyota-with-japanese-red-cross/
PICTURE OF THE WEEK - Toyota tests World’s first fuel cell H2 electric vehicle mobile clinic by Toyota with Japanese Red Cross - Fleet Transport
Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) and the Japanese Red Cross Kumamoto Hospital in central Kyushu prefecture will begin demonstration testing of the world’s first fuel cell electric vehicle mobile clinic (FCEV mobile clinic) by the summer of 2021. The vehicle will use hydrogen (H2) to generate elec...

Joe Tomei here with another COVID update from JET Prefectural Advisors Lily McDermott & Chase Sutherland.
=====
As the peaceful month of March ends and we leave the cherry blossoms behind, we look forward to a season of azaleas, wisteria and unfortunately, it seems, a "fourth-wave" of COVID-19 cases.
The Kumamoto "risk-level" was kept at Level 3 for the month of March, and we have very consistently had very few cases locally, with daily numbers ranging from zero to the single-digits, but news in the rest of the country seems considerably more grim. Here are some new coronavirus updates:
Elderly couple in Mifune possibly infected with new COVID variant
The Kumanichi Newspaper reported that an couple in their 70s living in Mifune were possibly infected by their granddaughter visiting from Osaka last week. Based on the lab results, the grandmother is highly likely to be infected with a variant, although the grandfather's test turned out to have insufficient genetic material for the test to be conclusive. A more complete picture of the results, including which exact variant the elderly couple were infected with, are expected to take 1 to 2 weeks to come through.
https://this.kiji.is/749600680815771648?c=92619697908483575
Highest number of cases in Tokyo since SOE lifted, but even higher numbers in Kansai. Outbreak continues in Sendai
Yesterday Tokyo announced 475 new confirmed cases, the highest number since the state of emergency there was lifted on 21 March (just two weeks ago). The metropolis is asking people to avoid outings and the 3 Cs as much as possible.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210401/k10012950021000.html
The number of cases are even higher in Osaka, which saw 616 new cases (see attached image):
The overall situation in the Kansai area is considerably alarming, with Hyogo Prefecture announcing that its COVID-19 caseload is now predominantly made up of the UK variant. Hyogo Prefecture conducted a randomized test on samples from 70 positive cases in the preceding 1-week period, 56 of which were confirmed to be of the UK variant (80% of tested samples). The percentage the week before was only 52.6%, suggesting that the UK variant is spreading quickly in the region.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210401/k10012950921000.html?utm_int=all_side_ranking-social_004
Sendai City in Miyagi Prefecture is also the center of an outbreak in the Tohoku region. Miyagi Prefecture declared an independent state of emergency over two weeks ago on 18 March. Nevertheless, the total number of cases broke a record yesterday, with 200 new cases in one day, 123 of which were residents of Sendai City. Miyagi currently has the highest number of cases per 100,000 population, at 42.8.
https://kahoku.news/articles/20210401khn000008.html
"Special Measures" to be applied to Osaka, Hyogo and Miyagi from Monday
After experiencing this sharp rebound in new cases described above, Osaka, Hyogo and Miyagi have requested the national government to be designated as needing "Stronger Anti-Virus Measures" (まん延防止等重点措置). This is a new classification that was written into law back in January which enables governments to implement strengthened measures without calling a "State of Emergency".
The national government has agreed and Osaka, Hyogo and Miyagi will be able to implement "Stronger Anti-Virus Measures" as of Monday, 5 April next week.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210401/k10012951071000.html?utm_int=all_side_ranking-social_002
Here are some of the differences between the "State of Emergency" and "Stronger Anti-Virus Measures" are listed in a table attached as an image
Kumamoto Prefecture Q&A about COVID-19 Vaccinations
Kumamoto Prefecture has released a Q&A, which has been translated into English and posted on the homepage for the Kumamoto Support Center for Foreign Residents, covering information such as general information about the vaccine, timeline, eligibility, side effects, and where to contact for additional information.
You can read it here: http://www.kuma-koku.jp/support-center/page281.html
or in Japanese here: https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/88280.html
Travel outside the prefecture
https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/78301.html
Kumamoto Prefecture is still requesting residents to avoid the 3 Cs when making unavoidable outings, and avoid any travel to areas for which a state of emergency has been called or there are more than 15 cases per 100,000 population over the preceding 1-week period.
Although there is no official State of Emergency sanctioned by the national government in place currently, as of 2 April, the prefecture is requesting residents to avoid unnecessary and non-urgent travel to the following prefectures: Miyagi, Okinawa, Osaka, Yamagata, Tokyo, Ehime, Nara and Hyogo. You can keep track of the list on the prefectural website here, which is regularly updated (Japanese only): https://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/soshiki/30/78301.html
That is all for now. Stay well and safe!

Kirk here with something that may come in handy when we have more "yellow dust" (also known as kosa, 黄砂, Asian dust, yellow sand, aeolian dust, or China dust storms).
I should have introduced this a few days ago, when it was actually a problem here in Kumamoto, but I don't think we've seen the last of the dusty yellow stuff this year so I'm putting this up for future reference.
http://www.data.jma.go.jp/gmd/env/kosa/fcst/en/
You can see from the animation that there's no dust coming our way at the moment.
By the way, I'd like to add a note about a problem with how the JMA and other government agencies put out information in English. Even when English is technically correct, it may not be easily understood but the community of English speakers (native and non-native) in Japan. I think this is one such example. As I indicated above, the Japanese kosa (黄砂) can be translated in many ways. One expression that is not found of the Wikipedia page for Asian dust is "aeolian dust." I checked and, though I didn't know the term until today, aeolian dust is atmospheric or wind-borne fugitive dust that "comes from arid and dry regions where high velocity winds are able to remove mostly silt-sized material, deflating susceptible surfaces." (Wikipedia's "dust" article) Apparently, the term is used in scholarly articles but it is clearly far from common knowledge. Yet, this is the only term you find on the Japan Meteorological Agency's web page (URL above). No other explanation or terms help one understand that this is indeed the kosa that has been in the news. Moreover, the lack of such terms make it that much less likely that this page will come up in a Google search for one of the other terms. I found it by searching the JMA's site for "dust."
End of rant.

Kirkland, I mean Kirk here with news of Costco's opening at 6 AM (!!) today:
https://rkk.jp/news/index.php?id=NS003202104011104180111

Kirk here. It's been 400 years since Kato Kiyomasa changed the first character of Kumamoto from 隈 (meaning "corner," "nook," or "recess") to 熊 (meaning "bear"). Now, Kumamoto is about to undergo another name change. In keeping with the growth of Kumamoto's photovoltaic industry and the new importance of Kumamoto as the home of the Self-Defense Force's electronic warfare unit, Governor Kabashima has announced that Kumamoto will be renamed "Voltomoto" (ヴォルト本) and that Kumamon will be replaced with a cute electric eel character called "Voltomon." "I think Kumamon fans may be shocked by Voltomon," chuckled Kabashima to the gaggle of scowling reporters. Then, the governor added, "No seriously. You gotta be careful. If you get too close to this mascot he'll shock you. It's his way of protecting himself from fans who cross the line, so to speak." Asked if his decision had anything to do with to Volkswagen's recent name change, the governor replied "Well, yah, but not just that. I'm also a big fan of our pro basketball team, the Volters, and thought this might be a way to 'spark' some interest in them. Hah, ha, ha."
Happy April 1st! ;)

Our friend Yoshiko Toyama took this stunning photo of an Aso peak, Nekodake. The peak, shown on the map at far right, had been thought to have formed after Aso went kablooee 90,000 years ago, creating the caldera. Turns out its rock is 150,000 years old, making it far older than the mountain we think of as "Aso" today, which formed after that eruption. If you're considering climbing it, its highest point, Tengu Peak, is a steep rock peak, apparently requiring rock climbing skills. - William

This is about a 400-year-old editic from Kumamoto's Tadaoki Hosokawa. The "no drinking" part sounds like pretty good advice for COVID-19, at least if you change it to "no bar hopping." And, of course, "no fighting" is a good rule of thumb in any age. ;) -- Kirk
NO DRINKING! NO FIGHTING! The laws of early Edo Japan to keep the peace
An early Edo period document stipulating the Hosokawa clan code of conduct for vassals dispatched on a national project to rebuild Sunpu Castle has been discovered by Kumamoto University researchers. The thirteen articles from the head of the Hosokawa clan, Tadaoki Hosokawa, delegate full authority....

Kirk with another reintroduction of the "Second-Hand Kumamoto" group.
I was prompted to post today because a friend asked about where he could get a small refrigerator. He knows about Kumamoto International but I thought he may not know about Second-Hand Kumamoto. As my friend is probably not the only person who doesn't know about the group, I thought I'd post about it.
By the way, if anyone has any favorite second-hand shops (besides, Second-Hand Kumamoto, that is), please post a little note in a comment. Also, if you happen to have a small refrigerator that you don't need, I know someone who will probably take it off your hands.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/secondhandkumamoto

Kirk here with a link to an English article on the cyberwarfare unit that William wrote about.
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force unveils new electronic warfare unit in Kumamoto - The Mainichi
KUMAMOTO -- A dedicated Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) electronic warfare unit officially entered service on March 29 with a ceremony at it

"In the aftermath of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes, SoftBank sent communication relay equipment aloft on a balloon." -- Not known until today by Kirk
Major telecoms preparing array of ‘flying base stations’
https://the-japan-news.com/news/article/000726168
ソフトバンク、熊本地震で被災地のSoftBank携帯電話における通信速度制限を4月30日まで撤廃！基地局復旧に加え、気球による無線中継システムを災害に初導入
https://news.livedoor.com/article/image_detail/11426448/?img_id=10238008

To continue with Kirk's Armageddon theme, Kumanichi reports that Kumamoto will be the first site of Japan's planned electronic warfare corps (電子戦部隊, denshisen butai), soon to host a device designed to detect and interefere with enemy radio waves. Kengun is the headquarters of the GFS Western Army, in charge of defense of Kyushu, Okinawa, and all that lies between, so they figured they'd put it there. It's mobile, which is nice as Kengun is now likely a primary target should missiles fly. - William
https://kumanichi.com/news/id170796