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Hi! This is not Kumamoto specific but since this is a Facebook page, I think it may be of interest to many readers. I referred to the instructions here to delete about half of the apps I had accumulated over time.
" . . . if you’ve been following the news around Cambridge Analytica, the data consultancy firm hired by the Donald Trump campaign for the 2016 US election that harvested the data of up to 50 million Facebook users without their permission through data collected from third-party apps, you may want to know how to make sure that something similar isn’t happening to you."
-- Kirk
Here’s how to check which apps have access to your Facebook account—and delete them
Even the apps your friends install can be sending information on you to other companies.

Joe Tomei here with a little oya baka (doting parent) action. The Kumamoto Gakuen Fuzoku HS/JHS brass band is having their annual concert on 30 March (Friday) at the Kumamoto Prefectural Theatre (Kenritsu Gekijo). Doors open at 17:30, concert starts at 18:00 and entry is free. This concert is the brassband teacher, Yokoi sensei's, last concert before retiring. Both my daughters will be playing, Lana for the JHS, and Tabatha for the OB/OG.

Three pieces of news about Kumamoto Station, which is in the midst of major redevelopment.
1. Track elevation freed a large amount of space. JR utilized 7,500 square meters of this space to create a new shopping and dining area targeted at travelers called (of course) "Higo Yokamon Shijo (market)" 「肥後よかモン市場」which contains 33 shops selling souvenirs from Kumamoto and 18 restaurants serving local delicacies. It is located beneath the tracks between the local and Shinkansen stations.
2. With track elevation complete, attention is now directed at the station building itself. Changes will include:
A) increased bus and taxi loading areas, all sheltered by covered walkways to the station;
B) a 1.6 times size increase of the outside concourse to provide space for live events;
C) a redesigned interior to ease the flow between local lines and the Shinkansen;
D) improved traffic flow around the area;
E) a new facade which is designed to mimic the curved shape of the castle walls (known as "turn back samurai" (mushagaeshi, 「武者返し」, planned for completion in 2021. The striking design is by renowned architect Ando Tadao (安藤 忠雄).
3. Also planned for completion in 2021 is a 12-story building to the south of the station which will house retail and entertainment space (including a multiplex theater) and a hotel. JR announced recently that it is investigating building a 10-story building to the north of the station that will house office space.
The two images below are of the planned station layout and new station facade, and the links are to the relevant Kumanichi articles which have larger, better images.The changes will be introduced in stages, with the facade expected to be completed in the spring of 2021. I expect it will change the face and flow of the city tremendously and also indirectly have a great effect on Shinmachi, the area between the station and the castle. Exciting times! - William
https://this.kiji.is/347998069536736353?c=92619697908483575
https://this.kiji.is/347561653061993569?c=92619697908483575
https://this.kiji.is/347982959401731169?c=92619697908483575

Happy Vernal Equinox Day to all our Kumamoto International friends!
Here is a GIF showing the Earth rotate on its tilted axis. Kinda surprising we're not all throwing up, isn't it? - this is some carnival ride we all share. The GIF might prove useful when you're asked if your home country has four seasons too, as you eventually will be. - William

This information about Japanese classes came to me in a "'Safe and Secure' Disaster Response/Living Information E-mail Magazine (No.78) 2018/3/10" from the Kumamoto International Foundation. If you would like to receive such e-mails I think you may need to contact them (there's no information about signing up for or unsubscribing from the service in each e-mail).
--- start quote ---
*Nihongo Club
Date and Time:
Tuesdays from 10:00~11:30
Wednesdays from 10:00~12:00, 14:00~16:00, 18:30~20:00
Sundays form 10:00~12:00, 14:00~16:00
Let’s study Japanese for daily life!
Feel free to contact us if you are interested.
Target Audience: international citizens of Kumamoto City
Fee: 100 yen (1 day)
*Japanese class in Musashi-gaoka,Kengun and Higashiku-Nihongo Club
How about joining a Japanese language class right in your own neighborhood?
・Musashi-gaoka: Tuesdays at Kikuyo-macchi Seibu Cho-min Ceter (Near Mikari-no-Mori JrStation) from 10:00a.m. to 11:30a.m.
・Kengun: Tuesdays at Yotte kanne (at the Kengun Shopping Arcade) from 10:00a.m. to 11:30a.m.
・Higashi-ku Kurashi Nihongo Club(Starting NEW!)
1st and 3rd Sunday of every month at East Community Center from 10:00a.m-11:30a.m
If you have any questions, feel free to contact the Multicultural Affairs Office (2F) at Kumamoto City International Foundation (Kumamoto City International Center).
(TEL) 096-359-4995 (9a.m.～8p.m.)
(e-mail）[email protected]
--- end quote ---

We have few consecutive rainy days this week. My Japanese friend says that when we have rainy days, that's time when Sakura blooms.
Take a stroll at some random Parks, rivers, slow down our pace, and enjoy the beauty.
Take pictures with your phone or even with your professional cameras.
If you have scenic spots that you wanna share with others, please feel free to write in comments below 🙂
-Olivia-

I first came to Japan on a cargo ship from Taiwan with $800 and a phone number of a friend in Kyoto, and spent my first two weeks on Japanese soil in Okinawa. With language ability and cultural understanding both hovering around non-existent, all was inscrutable. Why, for example, did almost every shop have a yellow sign with a black cat out front? Was it some kind of religion? Turns out it was of course the logo for Yamato Delivery (lotsa omiyage in Okinawa), but with no language skills and no one to ask, that black cat remained a mystery for quite some time.
A black cat again unfamiliar in a Kumanichi ad caught my eye, but this time I'm better able to handle it. Turns out the little guy's name is Kineko (the "ki" is likely from "kinematos," Greek for "cinema"), and he's the mascot for the non-profit Kineko International Children’s Film Festival (link below).
On April 15, the show comes to Kumamoto. Sponsored by the FOR KUMAMOTO PROJECT, the Kumanichi, and the Kumamoto Prefectural Theater (where it will be held in the main concert hall), the show is split into morning and evening sections (choose one). Tickets are free (2,400 available) and are intended for parents with children, though non-Japanese adults might also benefit from language immersion (I learned much of my Japanese by watching children's TV with my kids). Below is the bill.
Morning (doors open 10:45; show starts 11:30)
Thomas the Tank Engine "Harbour Hide and Seek" [UK / 8 minutes] ★
Pingu in the City "Now Under Construction!" [Japan · America / 7 minutes]
Zebra [Germany / 4 minutes]
Shimajiro's Wow! "Hana and Baby" [Japan / 8 minutes]
Teddy and Annie [UK / 8 minutes] ★
Afternoon (doors open 13:45; show starts 14:30)
Peanuts Snoopy - short animation [France / 7 minutes]
Komaneko "The First Step" [Japan / 5 minutes]
The Chocolate Soldier [USA / 12 minutes] ★
Lila's Sketchbook [Argentina · Spain / 9 minutes]
Julian [Australia / 13 minutes] ★
The movies will be dubbed in Japanese. In the case of those marked with ★, the dubbing will be conducted live by two special guests, actresses Keiko Toda and Rika Matsumoto (戸田恵子さんや松本梨香さん). Questions can be directed to the Kumanichi "Kumamon & Kineko Film Festival," 096-361-3343 (weekdays 9: 30 ~ 17: 30, likely Japanese only). Registration for tickets is done online via the below link (definitely Japanese only; message us for help if needed. I just completed ours and it's quite easy.)
If you have children, they will certainly love this. If you're just starting out with the Japanese language, you will certainly benefit. Please let us know if you have any questions. - William
くまモン＆キネコ映画祭　KUMAMON×KINEKO FILM FESTIVAL　参加者募集 | 主催事業 | 熊本日日新聞社
　くまモンと、映画と旅が大好きな黒猫の「キネコ」がタッグを組んで熊本の子どもたちのために映画祭を開催します。特別ゲストに女優の戸田恵子さんや松本梨香さん（『ポケットモンスター』サトシ役など）をお招きし...

From the Kumamoto International Desk of Unusual Metrics: Sandwiched between Tsuboi and Shira Rivers directly to the east of Tasaki Market lies Furu-machi, unremarkable in all respects except one. The Kumamoto branch of the Japan Meteorological Agency announced this morning the commencement of the someiyoshino-variety cherry blossom season. As scientists, this is not something they do all willy-nilly. They require a metric, and that metric has been since time immemorial based on a particular tree rooted at Furu-machi Elementary School. Should five to six buds on this tree have blossomed, the season is declared open. (The Agency doesn't keep it under round-the-clock surveillance or anything; it's not like they're zealots. They simply send a couple of officials round each morning to tabulate blossomed bud number.)
Anyway, this morning, the count reached EIGHT! - and this the two officials duly reported after rushing back to headquarters, the information then being disseminated through the ranks and broadcast both to local citizenry and the nation as a whole: Cherry blossom season in Kumamoto has officially begun.
So Furu-machi's got that going for it. Sunday should be meteorologically eponymous, but unfortunately rain is forecast Monday to Wednesday. Since the season start is official, perhaps tomorrow is the day to stake out a spot under a tree, drink a bit of sake, lie back, and count the blossomed buds. - William
熊本の桜、開花宣言　平年より６日早く - 熊本日日新聞
坪井川沿いの長塀通りで淡いピンク色の花を咲かせ始めたソメイヨシノ。右奥は行幸橋＝１７日午後、熊本市中央区（小野宏明）　熊本地方気象台は１７日午後、桜（ソメイヨシノ）の開花を宣言した。平年より６日早く、...

Update: Though it became possible to view the Aso crater for a few days, it closed again soon after. Thanks to Jennifer for pointing this out. The current status of the crater can be found here:
http://www.aso.ne.jp/~volcano/info/
========================
This is old news but, in case you missed other announcements we made about it, the volcano has reopened. -- Kirk
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/02/28/national/tourism-mount-asos-crater-area-resumes-volcanic-activity-diminishes/#.Wq0Gn2aB2u4
Mount Aso's crater area reopened to tourists after volcanic activity calms | The Japan Times
Local authorities reopened a crater area of Mount Aso on Wednesday to tourists for the first time in over three years following diminished volcanic activit

Hi all, there is job vacancy for those who are looking for one,
Maple Tree International School is looking for full time starting in April!
[***Full time position*****]
*School Location: Nagamineminami, Higashi-ku, Kumamoto city
*Class type: English-immersion preschool/kindergarten & eikaiwa classes
*Monday-Friday,:9:00-18:00 or 19:00(1 hour or longer lunch break)
*Monthly Salary: Depending on teaching experience
*Days off: According to the school calendar
*Qualifications: Native English speaker/ Teaching experience preferably at preschools, kindergartens, eikaiwa schools and International schools/ TESOL or any teaching certificates/PC skills(Word/Excel/Power point) /Conversational Japanese skill
*Candidates must
-love working with very young children
-be hardworking and punctual
-be friendly and energetic
-be passionate about teaching
-work as a team player
-have respect for the students, parents, other teachers and staff
-have an understanding of the Japanese culture, manners and customs
**Hiring process****
1: Applicant screening
2: Face-to-face interview (*Please note that we conduct our job interview in Kumamoto city. For those who are living outside of Kumamoto, we’d like you to come to Kumamoto for the interview.)
If you are interested and would like to know more information, please send your resume and cover letter. Please don’t forget to attach a recent photo of you.
Thank you.
Maple Tree International [email protected]
-Olivia-

Movie inspired by Kumamoto quakes tops bill at city’s filmfest：The Asahi Shimbun
KUMAMOTO--The Kumamoto Reconstruction Film Festival, inaugurated last year to benefit people affecte

"Aso-Kuju National Park, which had struggled to boost visitor numbers in 2016 due to the Kumamoto earthquake and the eruption of Mount Aso that occurred the same year, experienced a 37.2 percent increase.
'The disasters had a huge negative impact on local tourism businesses around the park,' said Aso-Kuju Park administrator Yuji Morita.
'In fact, the number of Japanese tourists is still below the level before the Kumamoto disasters,' Morita added. 'However, we have seen many returning foreign tourists from South Korea and other Southeast Asian nations who love exploring the mountainside hot spring spas.'"
Estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan's national parks hit record 6 million in 2017 | The Japan Times
The estimated number of foreign visitors to the nation's national parks increased to a new record of 6 million last year, with a park in Kumamoto Prefectur

Weather has been gloomy these days because of the rain.
I do wish for bright and sunny days for a nice Hanami with friends and family.
This Sakura Matsuri will be held in Ozu on March 31th - April 1st.
I might go and check it out.
Address is given in the website (Japanese only)
http://www.town.ozu.kumamoto.jp/product/kanko/sakura.html
If you know more about this event, please feel free to write in comments below.
-Olivia-

Joe Tomei here. For this Funky Places Friday, we will go way way back to when life was simpler. I think this was the first restaurant I went to for lunch from my university, 20 years ago, in Bocca al Lupo. It is a sad fact that in Kumamoto, restaurants pop up and disappear with surprising frequency. I was told that Kumamoto people like new things, but in my old age, I'm appreciating things that stay the same.
The phrase "in Bocca al Lupo" is the Italian equivalent of 'break a leg' and means 'into the wolf's mouth', since one never wants to say "good luck" before someone goes on stage. The master has made trips to Italy to study cooking and take photographs. The lunch is usually a choice of 2 or 3 freshly made pasta dishes and I love his bacon and ginnan (ginko) pasta. There used to be parking across the street, but that is now a 7-11. However, there is coin parking just down the street.
One of the neat things about doing this is finding extra information, and I just discovered that the restaurant has it's own facebook page at
https://www.facebook.com/boccalupo.kumamoto/
All the Funky Friday places are on this map
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qUH94Bac7Hr939b7_8gtvebaJZffGRsX&usp=sharing
and if you have any places you'd like me to write about or places that have moved or gone out of business, please send me a message thru Kumamoto-i.

Here's an article from the Telegraph on the recent changes I've already described. -- Kirk
Japan council bans 'non-members' from meetings after politician brings baby to work
Japanese politician Yuka Ogata had intended to change old fashioned attitudes towards working mothers when she brought her baby to a local council meeting last year.

I must admit having mixed feelings about solar power being used to mine Bitcoin. The reason is that, before Bitcoin, there was no need for such "mining" so I get the feeling that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are canceling out progress that's being made in renewable energy. On the other hand, I guess it's better than building or restarting nuclear power plants for the same purpose.
-- Kirk
Japanese to use solar power for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining - AMBCrypto
The local power producer and supplier from Japan’s Kumamoto City, Kumamoto-Energy has recently announced that they will be utilizing solar power for mining cryptocurrencies. This opens up the new array of possibilities on how cryptocurrency can be mined in a clean, green and renewable way. On 20th...

Joe Tomei here. As Kirk noted, things are heating up on the tourist front at Aso (perhaps not the best metaphor, but I trust you understand) and on 14 April, there is a program featuring a talk by Austrian Japanologist Josef Kreiner, emeritus professor from Bonn University. Attached is a flyer for the event. The talk is free and will be in Japanese, and his topic is "The study of regional Japanese culture from Kunio Yanagita onwards" (apologies for my poor translation)
Kunio Yanagita was a famous Japanese scholar who founded the field of minzokugaku, or Japanese folklore studies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunio_Yanagita
There is also an exhibition of photos from Aso that will be open from 14-20 April.

The other day, I wrote about how the Kumamoto City Council took steps to tighten, rather than relax, restrictions that make balancing childrearing and work difficult for female members:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/1798732196866871
This YouTube video was recorded from a monitor that displayed, with sound, the proceedings of a committee meeting at which the new policy was discussed. Two points are worth noting: (1) No political constituency that was formally allowed to participate in the meeting, not even the left-wing Communist Party, objected to the crack down; (2) When Ms. Ogata, seated with her back to the camera raised her hand requesting to speak, no one voiced approval so she was not allowed to speak. She attended the meeting as an observer so she could not demand that she be allowed to speak but the committee could easily have granted her request to do so. I think their unwillingness to even listen to her speaks volumes about their attitude.
-- Kirk
P.S. Please share if you feel so inclined. If enough people take an interest, it may help Ms. Ogata and others in their efforts to push the pendulum back in a more humane direction.
2018年3月9日熊本市議会議会運営委員会で、自民党熊本市議団提出の議会会議規則改正案ならびに議会運営に関する申し合わせ改正案について、各会派からの意見を聞くところ。市民連合の西岡誠也委員、公明党の浜田大介委...

From the Hope This Doesn't Happen Soon at Aso Desk: Volcanic lightning is the production of lightning in a volcanic plume. Electrical charges are generated when rock fragments and ash in a volcanic plume collide and produce static charges. Unlike regular thunderstorms, though, this type of lightning doesn’t descend from storm clouds to the ground; instead, it remains within the plume (first photo) or sometimes follows the plume up from the crater (second - kinda like upside-down lightning). Little is known about this phenomenon as, obviously, up-close study is a tad difficult. Both of these photos are from the recent Shinmoedake eruption (130km south of Kumamoto on the Kagoshima/Miyazaki border). - William

Funky Friday places time with Joe Tomei. This is another new place, Suplica, that is sort of behind the Aeon (formerly Daiei) at Kuhonji Kosaten. The business card gives the map. The owner purchases goods from around SE Asia, a business model that I've seen in other places. Their website is asiakirakira.com
Also made a map for these places that you can find at
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qUH94Bac7Hr939b7_8gtvebaJZffGRsX&usp=sharing
If you have any suggestions for Funky Friday places (or if you find that one of the places has moved or gone out of business) please let me know thru Kumamoto-i.