Posts

"Nightingale" in Japanese is ウグイス, but you'll better impress your friends if you memorize the kanji, 鶯, which they likely do not know. Their chicks are trying to figure out this whole "flying" thing at the moment, along with "eating." What Japanese in the know do is to spike a mikan half in a location where you'd like them to gather, for example, outside your window, where you can hang a string of mikan halves on a, uh, string. - William

Kirk here. Something that happened last year was mentioned in a more recent article:
"Last year, the National Sanatorium Kikuchi Keifuen in Koshi, Kumamoto Prefecture, admitted that not less than 389 residents who died there were anatomized over more than half a century."
If you are interested in the sad history of the confinement and abuse of Hansen's disease patient's in Kumamoto and Japan, please check out the following links:
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14204848
Search for "Keifuen":
https://www.facebook.com/page/123734781033296/search/?q=Keifuen
Search for "Hansen's"
https://www.facebook.com/page/123734781033296/search/?q=Hansen%27s
Sanatorium re-examining past dissection cases for properness : The Asahi Shimbun
SETOUCHI, Okayama Prefecture--For 60 years, leprosy patients may have been improperly dissected at a

Joe Tomei here, hearing that a few folks are coming to Kumamoto from April, so this is a thread for suggestions and information. Here's a few things, if I'm wrong, please let me know and I'll edit and if you have anything to add, drop it in the comments and I'll move it up here.
-I think a lot of official services (juminhyo, koseki) are available online IF you have your My Number card
-almost everything is handled at the various ward offices
https://www.kurunavi.jp/en/municipality/43.html
-visas are handled at the Dai 2 Godochosha (map in Japanese here http://houmukyoku.moj.go.jp/kumamoto/table/shikyokutou/all/honkyokutouki.html)
-public transport in Kumamoto city is a bit complicated, though they are merging the 5(!) public transport companies in April because of the decline in passengers due to corona
https://www.sankei.com/region/news/200128/rgn2001280022-n1.html
Any other useful hints? Drop them in the comments!
熊本のバス５社が共同経営へ　運転手不足、人口減…「単独で生き残れぬ」
熊本県を拠点とする熊本都市バスや九州産交バスなど事業者５社が２７日、熊本都市圏で路線バス事業を共同経営することで合意したと発表した。乗客減や運転手不足の対応策と…

Kirk here with a link to a presentation, conducted in Japanese, by Prof. Hari Devkota.
https://www.kumamoto-if.or.jp/kiji003599/index.html?fbclid=IwAR1PE89T0z5oCwmQ4r7m8CLl7t6TyJvkc-cA46puCF88HhrkN4QPW4FcMpU
Hari is a very accomplished person. Today I enjoyed rereading some the posts he has made as an editor of this page. You can find some of them here:
https://www.facebook.com/page/123734781033296/search/?q=Hari
In addition to contributing to this page and to intercultural understanding in Kumamoto, Hari has also conducted research on how matcha can relieve anxiety in mice:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/2887214404685306
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/2832931773446903
Of course, this research is serious and important but I can't help smiling when I think about mice consuming matcha and chilling out. :)

Here is the article about an English-speaking salon, HISAKI FUJITAKE in Kurokami, Chuo-ku Kumamoto City.
When we move to a new place, it always takes time to find the right hair salon, especially if we are in abroad.
The owner and hair dresser, Mr. Fujitake, used to work in London for 3 years as a top stylist, involving in some shows, magazines and also attending celebrity hairs.
At his salon, you can also donate your hair to an organization for making medical wigs to children if you have enough length. One of my friends donated her hair before and I wrote about the process in the article.
Check the article below and I hope you will have a nice conversation and relaxing time with Fujitake-san!
- Chieko
Official website of HISAKI FUJITAKE
http://www.hisaki-fujitake.com/index.html

March 11 marked the 10th anniversary of the Tohoku Earthquake and accompanying tsunami which took the lives of almost 16,000. While Kumamoto does not face the threat of a plate-thrust induced tsunami, it does face a threat from a different cause: the Mt. Fugen volcano on Shimabara Peninsula in Nagasaki Prefecture.
On May 21, 1792, volcanic activity on Mt. Fugen caused a massive landslide of 340 million cubic meters to tumble into Ariake Sea, resulting in a tsunami reaching 22 meters in Kumamoto; a "bathtub effect" of energy reflected back at Shimabara, which, due to its more abrupt shoreline inclination, created a tsunami as massive as 57 meters. These killed some 5,000 in Kumamoto and 10,000 in Shimabara. Remnants of this disaster can be seen in the numerous islets off Shimabara known as Tsukumojima (九十九島). The disaster is known as the "Shimabara Taihen Higo Meiwaku" (島原大変肥後迷惑), which can be translated as "Disastrous for Shimabara, Troublesome for Higo," somewhat downplaying the latter - waters would have ebbed up Kamitori.
Such an event is unlikely to reoccur in our lifetimes, but don't turn your back on Mt. Fugen - its last major eruption, pictured below, was as recent as 1991. - William

A job posting from Greg Howes is below:
Freedom English School is looking for one or more experienced native-English-speaking instructors to teach English to 1st Grade Junior High School students at a number of Kumamoto Seminar cram school branches from mid-April.
The lessons are fifty minutes long, starting at 20:10 on Friday and/or Wednesday evenings. Depending on the branch and lesson scheduling, the English instructor will either teach the lesson individually, or in a team-teaching format with a Japanese English teacher.
The lesson format and materials have been planned to provide the students with conversation-based reinforcement of language the students learn at school, and are part of a wider cram school English curriculum.
The branches are as follows.
Jozan
Nagamine
Mashiki
Shimizu
The payment will be ￥4000 per lesson, plus travel expenses. If they wish, it may be possible for one teacher to teach up to four lessons per month.
If you would like more information, please contact Greg Howes, at [email protected],

Okoshiki Beach is a great place for photographers if you get the timing right. For previous posts on Kumamoto International about this spot, click on the following link:
https://www.facebook.com/page/123734781033296/search/?q=Okoshiki
Kirk
https://www.facebook.com/KUMANICHIs/posts/3750393805047944

Kirk had written about the Aso Ohashi bridge opening. Kumamon seems quite excited about it, if this video is any indication. - William
新阿蘇大橋開通記念！　くまモン動画配信中！

Kirk here with an article about the bridge opening:
New Aso Bridge opens, replacing one knocked out by 2016 quakes : The Asahi Shimbun
MINAMI-ASO, Kumamoto Prefecture--Five years after a series of earthquakes took out the Aso Ohashi br

Kirk here. Yesterday, Atsuko wrote about the following tragedy:
"Last November, a 21-year-old Vietnamese trainee was arrested for leaving the bodies of her baby twins in a cardboard box after giving birth in her dormitory in the town of Ashikita, Kumamoto Prefecture. 'I thought I would be forced to return to Vietnam if the company found out I was pregnant,' police quoted her saying."
The following article also quotes Mr. Nakashima of Kumustaka:
"'The supervising entities are required to inform trainees of their rights but "they are not doing enough,' said Shinichiro Nakashima, head of Kumustaka, a Kumamoto-based nongovernment organization to support immigrants and other foreign workers."
Fear of deportation weighs on pregnant foreign workers in Japan
Unaware of legal rights, some desperate trainees abandon their newborns

Good morning!
Here is the article about Tori-no-koduka Park (or Men-no-ishi observatory) in Minamiaso Village. There are two main attractions there. One is its amazing scenery of southern Aso and the other is Men-no-ishi stone, which fell down after the earthquake but still people enjoy it with different view.
Yesterday, “New Aso Ohashi bridge” was opened to traffic. There used to be Aso Ohashi bridge but it collapsed after the earthquake in 2016. This good news of the bridge is a great hope for people in Kumamoto and makes us feel that we are moving forward.
It seems like it will be sunny this weekend and some of you may be thinking of going for a drive to Minamiaso area to use the new bridge. In this article, I have introduced some other places in Minamiaso area so that you can make a fruitful plan.
Check the article below and enjoy southern Aso at most!
- Chieko
Tori-no-koduka Park (鳥の小塚公園) in Minamiaso Village ~ Untapped place for the great view of southern Aso ~ | Untapped Kumamoto
When it comes to the great view of Aso, which places do you come up with? Maybe Daikambo (大観峰), Sensuikyo Gorge (仙酔峡) or Mt. Tawara Observatory (俵山展望所)? I have introduced those places and all the plac

Aso Ohashi is back! Now all roads in and out of the Aso area that had been closed due to the 2016 quakes are back in service.
-- Kirk
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=248351646842093

Douglas, back again as promised, with a more recent video of the topic of rice.
If you live in the same place for most of your life, you tend to get used to your environment and stop noticing everyday things.
When a stranger comes into your neighbourhood they are likely to notice the things that you no longer see.
Quite often, when a stranger asks a local person, "What is that over there?", a usual answer is likely to be, "I don't know. I haven't really noticed it before."
Even after 20 years in Japan my gaijin-eyes still find interesting things that my Japanese neighbours seldom pay attention to.
Here Megumi and I take a look at some Japanese rice farmers as the till their paddy fields and then plant rice seedlings in the soft muddy bottom.
We have used a mixture of footage taken both from ground level and from above.
Regards,
Douglas and Megumi

Hello friends.
It's Happy Woman Festa, 8th March, tomorrow.
It's a so important issue for foreign ladies what they should do if they got pregnant, especially in case they don't want to do in Japan.
Readers might have lots and various opinions about the problem but it's so sorry if some ladies have lots troubles because of being pregnant, especially for technical intern trainee.
Japanese accepting system and Japanese culture, and also Japanese support system is so weak and poor for them.
You might have heard the news about one of them were arrested because she born her babies secretly and the babies died.
The webpage is shared by コムスタカ
https://www.facebook.com/KumustakaKumamoto/
The webpage tells the place they can consult about pregnancy in Kumamoto and what they should do.
Of course, the page has English and tiếng Việt, Vietnamese version.I attached in comments box below.
Hoping all pregnant ladies can spend their pregnant days healthy and happy even if they don't want, in Japan, in Kumamoto!
Of course, hoping all pregnant ladies can enjoy their happy pregnant life in Kumamoto!!
ーAtsuko(*ˊ˘ˋ*)♡
熊本では熊本県や熊本市の外国人相談窓口や民間団体、また病院などで相談できます。電話やメールでも相談できます。

I am uploading this via Facebook to test how well Facebook can display it. Normally, I only use Vimeo to show my videos.
I shot the material for this video back in 2006 and 2007. Then edited it at the end of 2007.
In 2015, I decided to re-edit the story from scratch. Beginning with capturing from the old tapes and then editing everything together.
I hope the result will prove interesting to viewers.
Later today, I will upload a more recent video on the topic of rice farming. In the newer one, it should be possible to see a difference in image quality. Also, most of it was shot from our drone.

Hi again.
新阿蘇大橋 New Aso Big bridge will open tomorrow, 7th March.
For me, Kumamoto resident since I was born, I was so shocked when I heard 阿蘇大橋Aso big bridge was destroyed by Kumamoto earthquake.
Aso big bridge was so famous as 赤橋 Akahashi, red bridge. I also remembered that red bridge which I watched from my family's car everytime I went to Aso . It was my trip memory from a kid to mother.
Kirk posted the lightning bridge here before. It will open tomorrow. They will have youtube opening live tomorrow.
It's not Akahashi, it's named Shin Aso Oohashi.
It's a reconstructing ceremony for the bridge, for Aso, for us. It's also a memorial ceremony for new Aso history.
Opening ceremony will be broadcast live from 11:30 to 12:40.
Opening countdown live will start 2:30pm tomorrow.
Hoping the new bridge encourages lots Kumamoto residents!!!ーAtsuko«٩(*´∀`*)۶»

St.Patrick's Day☘️2021 will be celebrated in Kumamoto, from tomorrow... Sunday, March 7th to 16th, with a commemorative exhibition of posters, photos, pamphlets, and other Ireland-Kumamoto related panels on the first floor of the Kumamoto International Center downtown ✨💚 https://www.kumamoto-ireland.org/?p=3809&fbclid=IwAR1T9-evoZ3vUj0L4w5wiPFnSHXq8EUfPQ9a2HR12Lm9TvjvaBV8_xt5bak
Exhibition Title: 熊本アイルランド協会創立30周年記念展
Dates: 2021年3月7日(日)～16日(火) **無料です☘️It's free!!**
Location: 熊本市国際交流会館1階 (熊本市中央区花畑町4-18 - Kumamoto International Center)
In fact, as the exhibition title states, this year marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Kumamoto-Ireland Association・熊本アイルランド協会. So, while it's unfortunate that there is no parade once again this year, it is a timely occasion to have this display be the focus as you can safely view it in your own time - ご自由にご覧ください!!
About the Kumamoto-Ireland Association・熊本アイルランド協会... While the annual parade, and after-party, are probably the most publicly well-known, tangible events, over the years there have been numerous seminars, outings, lectures, exhibits, performances and exchanges, including a trip to Greece - the birthplace of the famous writer of Greek-Irish descent, Lafcadio Hearn, who was born on the island of Levkás. It is partly thanks to Hearn's time spent in Kumamoto in 1891, as well as his keen eye and powerful penmanship, that has afforded Kumamoto this unique opportunity to be a living link with Ireland during all these years. 今後とも応援お願い致します 🍀🙏☘️ - Ruth
「熊本アイルランド協会創立30周年記念展」と題し、当協会の主催で展示会を開催します。 当熊本アイルランド協会は…

Tristan Vick here...
Here's a fun article on 'inemuri' that I wrote back in 2013 but decided to spruce up a bit.
'Inemuri' if you don't already know translates to "sleeping while present."
It's essentially the Japanese custom of sleeping on the job -- but the deliberate kind -- like you see with CEOs and politicians on TV, or your boss at work, or the super intendant at your school during opening or closing ceremonies, sports days, or any other day for that matter.
Interesting & Fun Facts About Japan #3 The Sleep @ Work Culture of Japan
Japan is famous for the image of the salary man (i.e., business man) or politician falling asleep at work. Usually at his desk. While western people may find this odd, sleeping while on the job is...

Hi friends.
It's my friend's post about 青井阿蘇神社Aoi Aso Shrine at 人吉市 Hitoyoshi city. Hitoyoshi suffered from flood last summer.
Aoi Aso Shrine was also damaged by heavy flood. The Shrine is National treasure.
Hitoyoshi Machi Akari, lightning festival is held till 20th March and they will hold 復興祭 Hukkousai, reconstructing festival tomorrow.
I went to Aoi Aso Shrine after flood to do volunteer.
I strongly hope their reconstructing and their happy.ーAtsuko╰(*´︶`*)╯
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3918655124864192&id=100001592300037