Posts

I haven't been to the castle in a while. This made me want to check it out again. -- Kirk
GOOD DESIGN award 2020 good focus award: kumamoto castle reconstruction observation path
NIHON SEKKEI has won the GOOD DESIGN award 2020 good focus award for its work on kumamoto castle's reconstruction and observation path.

I think I heard an interview with Fred Rodgers in which he was asked about how to stay positive when bad things happen. His response was to "look for the helpers." I think this article about the restoration of a piano by volunteers fits in that category. -- Kirk
"The grand piano of Watari Elementary School in Kuma, Kumamoto Prefecture, submerged in muddy waters following torrential rain in the Kyushu region last July, was returned to the village Sunday after being restored in Fukushima Prefecture."
https://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0007245230

Sorry I couldn't tell you about this in advance, but I learned on the news that this train came through Kumamoto. Here's a link to an RKK report about how Buntoku Gakuen welcomed the train:
https://rkk.jp/news/backno_page.php?id=NS003202103151104240111
It looks pretty cool, in my humble opinion.
--Kirk
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210315/p2a/00m/0bu/007000c
'Shooting Star' bullet train runs in southwestern Japan ahead of full-scale launch - The Mainichi
FUKUOKA -- A special

Devo, my whippet of 15 years, is dying. Cancer has eaten away most of the flesh on his right thigh. I took him to the vet, 龍之介動物病院 on Sangyodourou in Honjo, for his opinion, to get some painkillers, and to discuss euthanasia. Apparently, pet euthanasia is strongly discouraged in Japan. The vet gently explained this to me but said he would be willing to conduct the procedure if I desired. The issue is the animal's welfare: to spare unnecessary pain. Fortunately, the vet prescribed a very strong sedative that has put my dog into a comfortable half-sleep so that he may die at home. For any reader facing such a terrible dilemma, I recommend this veterinarian. - William
Putting your pet to sleep in Japan
We have had our cat for 15 years and unfortunately her condition suddenly took a turn for the worse recently. We took her to the vet who confirmed...

In today’s Kumanichi newspaper, there is an article about 3,333 stone steps in Misato Town which is called “日本一の石段(Japan’s No.1 stone steps in Japan)”.
It says it’s been 33 years since 3333 stone steps were built this year. This year is called 令和3年(Reiwa 3-nen) in Japanese calendar.
So how many “3” are there? There are 7!
7 is considered to be a lucky number and I heard that 3 is also considered to be a good number in Buddhism so it’s super lucky!
There is an article from Untapped Kumamoto that introduced this 3333 stone steps and its history and unknown stories.
This stone steps are not just an activity but this is a path to the main hall of Shakain Temple up to the mountain.
The length of the steps is about 2km and the hight from the bottom to the top is 620m.
Check the article below and if you want to get good luck, try this 3333 stone steps this year!!
- Chieko
#日本一の石段
#3333石段
#美里町
#3333stonesteps
#Misatotown
#Kumamoto
https://untappedkumamoto.com/activities/1515

There are two scary things about this article.
1. The Ikata nuclear plant (not all that far away from Kumamoto) will come back on line
2. One point of contention was whether an eruption of Mt. Aso could damage the reactor. If Mt. Aso might blow up in a way that could damage a reactor way off in Shikoku, what would that do to those of us here in Kumamoto?
-- Kirk
High Court drops injunction against Ikata nuclear plant : The Asahi Shimbun
HIROSHIMA--The Hiroshima High Court has revoked an injunction against the Ikata nuclear power plant

Joe shared a Japanese-language link with us about this news. Here's an English article.
As I wrote in response to Joe's post, lack of a unified approach to bus service has been an interest of mine for a number of years. In particular, I've been hoping that it would become possible to use Google maps to figure out how to get around town by bus. This can be done in most cities around the world but not in Kumamoto. I hope this joint venture fixes this problem.
https://www.facebook.com/.../a.12949973.../1378028532270575/
https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2021031900784/
Japan OKs Joint Service by 5 Kumamoto Bus Firms
Tokyo, March 19 (Jiji Press)--Japan's transport ministry gave approval for joint operations to five bus compan…

Revamping of Kumamoto Station has been completed, expanding the public use area by 1.7 times. Aside from an expanded shopping area and an outdoor public performance space, renovations include two fountains and 15 species of plants to emphasize two of Kumamoto's three themes, water and greenery (fire was snubbed).
Kasuga, where the station is located, has long been an ignored part of our city, perhaps as it is in a nook created by Hanaokayama, long a burial ground. Its completion opens way for further rejuvenation of Shinmachi through to the castle. I recommend a walk from the castle along Tsuboi River to the station to see a little-visited side of Kumamoto and its potential. - William

I thought it was interesting that the first I heard of this local artist was from the New York Times. -- Kirk
In Japan, His Disaster Art Saves Lives
The fight to survive lies at the heart of Kyohei Sakaguchi’s world, whether he is writing self-help books, painting, creating a suicide help line, or designing recycled housing.

Good news from Mr. Yagi at the International Center for fans of Vietnamese cuisine. -- Kirk

Here's something from researchers at Kumamoto University. It describes the last days of wine consumption in Kumamoto before the drink was abandoned in the 17th century. If it hadn't been for the persecution of Christians and Christianity, perhaps Kumamoto would have a tradition of wine production to complement the other local delicacies that it's known for today.
-- Kirk
Research finds Japanese winemaking was halted by Christian persecution
A recently discovered document has shed light on the history of winemaking in Japan and it's close connection to Christian persecution.

Here's an RKK news segment about the approaching opening of Costco:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r3kq31VvjM&t=4s
It's planned for April 1st -- no joke.
There's a brief interview in English with the head of Costco Japan, who seems to be an American.
-- Kirk
P.S. They were celebrating the opening of the roads leading to the facility.

Here's a bit of history from last year that I failed to share at the time. The coal mine played an important role in Japan's industrial history and its story is the story of the positive and negative aspects of that history. During the war years, Korean and Chinese people were forced to work there and many did not survive. Here's a link to a Japanese-language article about memorials to those victims that can be found at Shohoji, a temple in Arao:
http://asianews.seesaa.net/article/450517107.html
-- Kirk
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20201110/p2a/00m/0na/017000c
Cenotaph with names of 458 victims of Japan's 1963 coal mine explosion unveiled - The Mainichi
OMUTA, Fukuoka -- People including the families of victims of the 1963 deadly explosion at the Mikawa Pit of the Mitsui Miike Coal Mine attended a cer

Kirk here with news about Kumamoto's own Miyabi Onitsuka -- the snowboarder from Luther High School. I saw a report about this on Japanese TV last night.
The following Japan Times article says that she is the "first Japanese, male or female, to claim a world championships podium finish in the big air event." And she did it growing up in Kumamoto -- a nice place but not ideal for snowboarders. Amazing! Congratulations Miyabi!!
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2021/03/17/more-sports/winter-sports-more-sports/miyabi-onitsuka-bronze-world-championships/

Kirk here, with something from Kuma Visit. When the internet is working well, Google image search and machine translation services may be even more useful that a sheet of this type. On the other hand, disasters often take out electrical power and may even disturb internet service so, if you're worried about your ability to communicate in a pinch, printing something like this out and having it with you might be a good idea. If you have any special medical needs or other concerns you'd like to be able to convey in a disaster, it might also be good to have someone help you translate that into Japanese and print that out too in advance so you can point to it easily in an emergency.

Douglas here again. We have now added 2 new videos and 2 new 360º panoramas shot from our drone.
Just make sure you scan the skies and look for the "drone" buttons.
<iframe width="100%" height="640" style="width: 100%; height: 640px; border: none; max-width: 100%;" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen allow="xr-spatial-tracking; gyroscope; accelerometer" scrolling="no" src="https://kuula.co/share/collection/7Pt2j?fs=1&vr=1&zoom=1&sd=1&initload=0&thumbs=1&info=0&logo=1"></iframe>
Takahashi Inari Jinja
Virtual Tour | 高橋稲荷神社 | Opening image wide

Hi! This post doesn't seem to be getting many eyeballs. So, if any of you have some spare eyeballs, please lend them to this posts for a minute or two. ;) Chuck is looking for people interest in part-time jobs. -- Kirk
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/5063172343756157

Hi! We had an earthquake on the 14th. It was a M4 and the shindo was also 4 (as I'll explain in a minute, the two are different) which is enough to make you think "Oh ***! What's about to happen?" but not enough to cause significant damage. I felt it right away but had some trouble finding the relevant information. It seems that the JMA (Japan Meteorological Agency) has reorganized its website. Now that I've pretty much figured things out, I thought I'd share the link with you all. For both English and Japanese, I recommend starting with the following page:
https://www.data.jma.go.jp/multi/quake/index.html?lang=en
Notice that you can easily select the language you prefer from a large number (including, of course, Japanese) using the dropdown menu on the upper right of the page. Then, when you see the event that looks (judging by time and epicenter) like the one you felt, click on it to get the kind of map I'm showing with this post.
Each map has a link to a nice explanation about shindo, the JMA's seismic intensity scale. It's good to take a look at that before you actually feel a strong earthquake so that you'll know how to interpret the information right away.
Note that magnitude is a measure of the total amount of energy released. It's a very important measure for scholars but I think that shindo (how bad the shaking was) is what ordinary folks like us need to know -- even though people in our home countries may not be familiar with the system of measure.
-- Kirk

NHK aired this beautiful video of Aso the other day and I didn't realize it was three years old, but I suppose Aso hasn't changed much in the interim. It explains the purpose of the field burning (noyaki －野焼): this kills the saplings but leaves the roots of the grass, which immediately rebounds. Without this, Aso would be covered with forest. It's a beautiful video to send to your family and friends; I suppose it was taken by drone. - William
阿蘇 ～1000年続く草原と共に～
http://web-japan.org/

Kumanichi mentioned that the cherry blossoms at the Ichifusa Dam in Mizukamimura (水上村の市房ダム湖畔) have started to blossom. It's a bit of a drive but looks worth the trip. The Net provides the photo. - William