Posts
I normally don't repost sites, but, no matter how long or short your stay in Kumamoto, I'm sure that many will strike a chord. I look forward to reader feedback. - William
50 Illustrations Showing The Cultural Differences Between Japan And Other Countries - Bihani Khabar
Eva is a comic artist who studied in Tokyo from 2010 to 2014. During her stay in the country, the artist noticed many cultural differences between her home country and Japan. To deal with this sudden cultural shock, Eva started creating funny comics about it. The artist hopes her comics will not onl...
After a major volcanic eruption, the magma chamber empties, collapsing into a cauldera, and there are generally two results. One is that the overlying stratum is so dense that subsequent magma movement is pushed to the side, as is the case with Sakurajima. The other is that the main magma channel remains permeable, and new peaks form within the cauldera, as is the case with Aso.
The Aso cauldera has five peaks: Takadake (高岳, 1592 meters), Nakadake (中岳, 1506 meters), Nekodake (根子岳, 1433 meters), Eboshidake (烏帽子岳, 1337 meters), and Kishimadake (杵島岳, 1326 meters). Now is foliage season. Drives and hiking paths ranging from easy to difficult are available. Kumanichi has a photo of Nekodake, a particularly attractive peak, coated in autumn leaves and bathed in fog. - William
阿蘇根子岳、広がる錦絵巻 天狗岩付近で紅葉ピーク ｜ 熊本日日新聞
阿蘇五岳の一つ、根子岳（１４３３メートル）で紅葉が最盛期を迎えている。主峰に当たる天狗［てんぐ］岩付...
A view to look forward to in Autumn.
The bright golden-yellow ginko trees in front of Kumamoto Prefectural Office.
-Olivia-
Hi again friends.
Sorry, I couldn't add extra pictures in previous post, so I post here again.
The first, but the 20th Anniversary meet up of ''Kumamoto international''was so Great!!
I know Kumamoto-i has started to share international friends' bad working environment and assert their rights. 20 years has passed, it has already, completely changed?! Yes, we, international friends and Japanese readers, should share and think it together still now.
We talked about キンモクセイKINMOKUSEI, Japanese education system, English learning system, sexuality, gender education system, international food ＆Japanese food we made and brought,,,,,.We talked with each other so much.
I know and feel I have lots things I don't know, I should think, I share you more than I've expected.
Anyway it was so wonderful, inspired time we had.
You might think,
OH, I also wanted to join it and talk with together! If you want so, please comment here. Next chance will come soon😁ーAtsuko(*Ü*)
Kumamoto International Facebook Page celebrated its 20th year Anniversary at Kawaramachi Kumamoto today.
We had our get together at Joggle Jog, few doors away from Out of Step cafe.
Thank you Jay Onyskin for thinking of place to gather.
Thank you for all who came and spent time together.
We look forward to contributing more useful articles to readers.
-Olivia-
Kumamoto international first meet up starts!!
Happy 20th Anniversary!
Great works!!
Thank you readers!!ーAtsuko(๑˃ᴗ˂)و♡
A note from the Kumamoto International desk of Virtual Reality (we can pretend that the sink is not full of dishes): It turns out that "virtual reality" in Japanese is 仮想現実, (kasou genjitsu) - kind of an interesting term as 仮想 means "imaginary", with 仮 meaning "temporary" and 想 meaning "thought" - so, yes, those dishes are actually still in the sink.
Anyway, in the runup to the Women's World Handball Tournament, you can play handball against Kumamon using VR headsets at B-Press (across from Tsuruya). Unfortunately, it is only until today, 11/3, so you'd better hurry. - William
競技体感、シュート体験 熊本市で世界女子ハンド応援イベント ｜ 熊本日日新聞
日本郵便は２日、熊本市中央区のびぷれす広場周辺で、３０日に県内５会場で開幕する女子ハンドボール世界選...
Fiona here. This weekend I'm running a contest to win a free escape room experience at International School of Spies. The prize is a free game for one team, with runners-up winning a free game for one player.
GCHQ, the UK's code-breaking intelligence service, is celebrating its centenary in 2019. What was its name when the agency formed in 1919? Send your answer by 19:19 on Monday (send a message via the Escape from Britz page, not to kumamoto-i) and the winning team can play their game anytime in November. Please don't answer in the comments!
A rose by any other name would taste as good as ... what kind of tea? Minamata is holding a festival with 5,000 rose bushes of 800 varieties (who'da thunk?) alongside a tea festival where participants can wander about with a porcelain cup to sample 17 different types of Kyushu tea. I assume they have portable toilets. It's called 「九州和紅茶サミット in みなまた」because "in" in Japanese is for some reason always spelt in romaji. It will be held until 11/17. - William
秋包むバラの香り 水俣市で秋のローズフェスタ ｜ 熊本日日新聞
８００種５千株のバラが咲き誇る熊本県水俣市のエコパーク水俣バラ園で２日、「水俣ローズフェスタ秋」が始...
A quick lunch after my morning class at Minami/South Kumamoto today.
I went to a hand kneaded udon shop.
If you live around Minami area, you should check it out.
-Olivia-
It's been said that dogs can be trained to detect cancer, while cats can be trained to poop in a box.
While walking my dog at the park this morning, I spotted an interesting van and paused (pawsed?) to talk with the driver. His company has trained a dog named Landy to detect termites. Apparently, it's a highly-effective, non-invasive, inexpensive method of figuring out whether your house is being chewed up. Plus, the dog is cute. Landy also serves as a comfort animal for the elderly. Details at the link. - William
https://nisshoukagaku.com/shiroari/tm-dog
A note from the Kumamoto International Polyglot Desk (we speak all languages, but most with terrible accents): To accompany the rising number of foreign residents in Kumamoto, the city government has introduced in all five government ward offices a system which can translate in writing 104 languages (if you speak Kx'a, you're probably out of luck). The user can either download an app via QR code to smartphone which will allow it to synch with the clerk's tablet or use the tablet itself. That Kumamoto is being proactive regarding our international future is good. - William
１０４言語ＯＫ、熊本市の区役所窓口 翻訳ツール導入へ実証実験 ｜ 熊本日日新聞
熊本市は、増加する在留外国人との意思疎通を円滑にしようと、各区役所の窓口での多言語翻訳ツール導入に向...
A long weekend is coming up to celebrate Culture Day in Japan. Why not immerse yourself in the culture of espionage🔎 and detective work🕵 at Kumamoto's only escape room?
Britz, a small English school in the east of the city is rumoured to be the centre of an international spy ring. Your team of covert operatives have one hour to infiltrate the building, search for clues and stop a deadly attack. Using teamwork, logic, deduction and a few hints along the way, it's a fun and frantic adventure unlike any game you've played before.
To experience INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF SPIES please make a reservation for your team of 2-6 players via the Escape from Britz Facebook page. It costs 1000 yen per player (500 yen for children and students) and is suitable for anyone over the age of ten. Teams should have at least one fluent speaker of English. There are no horror elements to the game and you're not actually locked in!
If you've already played the game, please tell your friends about it. If you teach, bring students! If you're a parent, bring your kids! If puzzles are not your thing, bring someone smart!😉😂
Escape from Britz reopens on November 2nd and will be available on weekends and some weekday evenings.
Thanks!
Fiona (Creator/ Game Master)
A note from the Kumamoto International Wha-?! Desk (we facepalm a lot): There will be an international festival on Kengun shopping arcade all day on 11/2. The brochure is only available in Japanese. It lists event running times but not starting times.
Shopping streets such as Kengun are often called "shutter dori" due to the large number of shuttered shops. If this is the best they can do - well, facepalm. Scroll down to enjoy the sole English note from the Kumamoto Foreigner Support Center: double facepalm. - William
Our friend Luz-san has completed the Alter de Muertos. It will b'é on display at the Centro Internacional de Kumamoto until November 3. Pop by for a look! - William
Tristan Vick here with a question . I’m in need of a notary. Does Kumamoto have anybody who can notarize American paperwork?
Mark Twain is said to have written, "Whisky is for drinking; water is for fighting over." Having grown up in the American southwest, I can appreciate the sentiment: one cannot have the former without the latter.
The Daiso Dam (大蘇ダム - not the 100 yen shop - in fact, costs over its 40-year journey from conception to completion ballooned 5.5 times to some 72 billion yen even while the amount of water provided is expected to be a mere 10% of iinitial projections), located in Ubayama Mura, Aso, is slated to open next year, with the reservoir water shared between Kumamoto and Oita (the latter via pipe) and then divided between water-hungry farmers and municipalities. The Aso region was promised 261 hectares (the article doesn't indicate units; in th US, we use water-feet, the amount of water required to fill a cubic feet of space), but infrastructure for just 40 hectares for highland farming and 30 hectares for Aso City has been installed. As usual, Aso is getting screwed.
Let the water fights begin. - Wlliam
大蘇ダム利水、計画の３割 熊本側畑地、受益農家減少で負担増懸念も ｜ 熊本日日新聞
２０２０年４月に供用が始まる国営大蘇ダム（熊本県産山村）を水源とする土地改良事業で、熊本県内では実際...
Attending college in Maine state, where lobstering is huge, I learned that buoys are colored to indicate their owners. Kumanichi just taught me this: Ariake Sea is the largest nori cultivation area in Japan, and now is seeding time along long poles supporting nets which will later be dispursed further out to sea. Just like buoys, the pole colors indicate ownership.
Now is the only time to see all of the nets congregated; work will last through the first week of November. The article's photo is from Uto, but Kawachi is also a good sight for photographers. - William
赤、青、緑…ノリ網鮮やか 宇土市の有明海 ｜ 熊本日日新聞
養殖ノリの種付けが始まった熊本県宇土市の有明海上に、この時季にだけ見ることができるカラフルな“ノリ網...
First frost in Kusasenri. Asked whether they liked it, the majority of horses answered "Neigh!" with only one answering "Aye!" (He was the only guy with a sled.) - William
草千里にうっすらと霜 阿蘇市 ｜ 熊本日日新聞
２８日朝は県内各地で今季一番の冷え込みとなった。熊本地方気象台によると、最も気温が低かった阿蘇市乙姫...
