Posts
Beautiful bright blue sky and the beautiful fresh green of Kumamoto Castle.
Kirk here. I saw something on RKK today about "COST MANIA," a shop that specializes in selling (reselling) COSTCO items. Just opened in Arao, fairly far north for many of us but, if you're in that part of the prefecture or passing through, it may be worth taking a look. Unlike COSTCO, you don't need to be a member and they take things that COSTCO only sells in large quantities and sells them in smaller sizes / quantities.
If you, like me, like to travel by bullet train, you should check this out. -- Kirk
There seems to have been a glider accident in the Aso area. The young pilot (a university student from Fukuoka) is reported to have been injured but not killed, thank goodness. -- Kirk
Fiona here, back from a long Kumamoto-i hiatus to share a recommendation for S'ping, a newly opened book cafe in Kengun. Situated on Densha-dori, it's easy to reach by public transport and is a lovely spot to do some quiet reading or writing. The shelves are lined with books, all in Japanese as far as I could tell, and the menu offers pasta, hot sandwiches, drinks and desserts. I have a feeling this will be a popular place during the rainy season.
Iris Festival with Kumamoto Ramen
Joe Tomei here, and FFF goes downtown to check out some South Indian food! Because of demographics, when we think of Indian cuisine, we think of Northern India. A lot more wheat so naan bread, and the curries are heavier and creamier and almost all of the Indian restaurants in Kumamoto are based on that style. So I was really happy to find Toddy's, (https://www.instagram.com/toddy_shop_kumamoto/)
William Kumamoto deserved a mention in Japan Today as the Japanese city least expensive to bear a child (Tokyo was highest, 605,000 yen and 361,000 yen respectively - so we've basically got two for one here!) https://japantoday.com/category/national/japan-weighs-incentivizing-childbirth-by-fully-covering-expenses
Kirk here with a news article about our new governor. It doesn't really seem to have "legs" in the sense that I haven't seen much media coverage about it after it first came out. I suspect the governor simply failed to recognize the need to be careful when disposing of leftover flowers but, still, avoiding even the appearance of impropriety is import.
The latest edition of The YOKA is out. Have a look! -- Kirk
William Following up on Kirk's wonderful photo of Ezuko is a bit of geological knowledge I picked up from students. Aso has seen several eruptions over the last 50,000 years, the foremost causing a strata of impermeable granite followed later by permeable ash. This is shaped in a wedge-like formation, allowing artesian water to flow downhill until the substrate surfaces at Ezuko as well as Suizenji. (One reason why the zoo is located there is the abundance of water.) Look around there and you'll notice much granite - some of those boulders must have been hurled from a 100 kilometers away! Be glad you were not there when that happened.
Kirk here. I feel fortunate to live close enough to Ezuko to walk there fairly regularly. Today my wife and I saw a grey heron catch a large fish right before our eyes (only a few meters away). Then, as we were returning to the parking lot to head home, we happened upon this scene.
Found this in my news feed this morning. -- Kirk
ANINOVA - Anime Song Event
Joe Tomei here with FFF as we go by the Prefectural University of Kumamoto and introduce two places.
Here's some sad news about a local bonsai artist becoming the victim of a major heist. If you are interested in bonsai, the Japanese name and address should help you find the place:
Kirk here with another helicopter crash update (apologies to those who are not interested).
A possible third TSMC fab (semiconductor fabrication plant) in Kumamoto? -- Kirk
Kirk here with a follow-up to yesterday's post about the helicopter accident. Here's an article in English:
