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Scoring a job as a miko (巫女, shrine maiden) for the New Year's rush is highly coveted among upper-grade high school and college students; not only does the position add prestige, it also supplements the otoshidama (お年玉、New Year's cash gift - which, at their age, tends to fall off precipitously, if not in amount, in accordance with need). Here, Kumanichi reports on young women attending an orientation at Kato Shrine, learning how to don their hakama. One woman was quoted as saying, "The traditional dress awakened me to the solemn atmosphere."
http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20161205001.xhtml

It's the most magical time of the year - Yes! Almost time for dried mullet roe (からすみ)! Kumanichi reports on preparation for this New Year's delicacy; the roe is set on a roof to enjoy two to three weeks of Ushibuka weather before being sold for some 6,000 yen per hundred grams (this being Sunday, I don't feel like doing the math, but off the top of my head, I'd figure that's about one yen per fish egg). On a related note, dried squid (スルメ) is also available now at many stores, including Cosmos. If you buy a small hibachi, surume makes a great party. - William
http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20161204002.xhtml
ツヤツヤ「からすみ」天日干し　天草市牛深町－熊本のニュース│ くまにちコム
熊本日日新聞社が取材した熊本のニュース。新聞紙面に掲載前の記事もお伝えします。

Exhibition of manga art supporting Kumamoto
KUMAMOTO — A special exhibition is being held at two museums in two towns in Kumamoto Prefecture, showcasing popular manga artists’ illustrations supporting the prefecture hit by the Kumamoto Earthquake in April.

Hi! I have a Japanese student who has begun studying Indonesian. He is particularly interested in becoming friends with people from Indonesia who would be willing to help him learn the language in exchange for help with Japanese. If you are interested, please send a message to this page with your e-mail address. I will give him any e-mail addresses that we receive and he will contact you directly. Terima kasih banyak!
-- Kirk

Hi, Joe Tomei here. We have a kenkyukai at Kumamoto Gakuen on the recent presidential election and the TPP this Saturday. We planned this before the election, with a much different political landscape. While the meeting will be in Japanese, it will give you a chance to hear Japanese opinions on the incoming administration and other related issues.

This is not directly related to Kumamoto but to Japan in general and the use of nuclear power when operators go "Whoops!" The sarcophagus covering the Chernobyl disaster site has been moved into place. The article states, "Ukraine’s president, Petro Poroshenko, speaks at a ceremony celebrating the construction of the shelter" - though "celebrate" may be an inappropriate word here. The Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in Kagoshima, just south of Kuamamoto, is currently the only operative nuclear facility in Japan.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/29/chernobyl-nuclear-disaster-site-covered-with-shelter-prevent-radiation-leaks-ukraine
Chernobyl disaster site enclosed by shelter to prevent radiation leaks
Ukraine plant reactor, scene of worst nuclear accident in history in 1986, covered with airtight structure after years of work

Amakusa is famed for, among other things, its five bridges, the first of which connects Misumi and Oyano towns. It is that type of bridge that you hope will still be there by the time you reached the other side.
As part of a major roadworks project to connect a planned new interchange on the Kyushu Expressway between Ueki and Kumamoto ICs with Hondo, a new bridge is being built to supplement the No. 1 bridge. Its arch was completed yesterday, as can be seen in the below photograph.
More information on the new and very-welcomed route can be found at the link. I'll write more on this topic later. - William
http://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/amakusa/kiji_1911.html

Joe Tomei here. Not only not as erudite as William or Kirk, but also about Oita, not Kumamoto. But I have to note that the mayor of Beppu is promising to create a 'Spamusement Park' with 1 million views of this Youtube video.
100万再生で実現！別府市・湯～園地計画！ “1 Million Views Make it a Reality!” Beppu City Spamusement Park Project
人が入れる温泉として世界一の湧出量を誇る大分県別府市では、 この度温泉都市別府の魅力を国内外にむけて幅広く発信すべく、 新たな都市ビジョンとして“遊べる温泉都市構想”を策定。 構想実現にむけた取り組みの第一弾として、 「湯～園地」計画公約ムービーを別府市内で開催中のイベントONSENアカデミアにて発表、 同日We...

There are times when one eats makizushi, and during those times, one might be dissatisfied with its length (insufficient for sushi aficionados, perhaps excessive for those not) - but, here, in Tamana, the longest makizushi ever recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records (those guys must have a lot of free time!) of ２,８４４.６１ meters (presumably, the last 0.61 meter was due to deceleration issues) was created. So there is that. - William
http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20161121001.xhtml
高校生300人で巻き寿司2844メートル　ギネスに認定－熊本のニュース│ くまにちコム
熊本日日新聞社が取材した熊本のニュース。新聞紙面に掲載前の記事もお伝えします。

Our friend Billy Bento captured this magical image of lanterns afloat on Shirakawa from behind some tanabata-style decorations (dreams inscribed on slips of paper and hung on slender bamboo) tonight at the "Light of Hope" festival. Hope - and certainty that you will enjoy this photograph. - William

I suspect that many of you who live in Kumamoto City woke up to the sound of heavy rain and thunder this morning. I didn't realize it at the time but on NHK's national news broadcast this evening I learned that there had been tornado warnings and that the South Ward (Minami Ku) of Kumamoto City had experienced very strong gusts of wind -- strong enough to damage roofs and TV antennas and break a school window. I'm not aware of any English news articles about this but you can see NHK's Japanese-language report here:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20161119/k10010775401000.html
-- Kirk

Joe Tomei here, I'd like to let everyone know about a coming TED talk for students. Since the event will be in Japanese, I'll just post the flyer I received. Unfortunately, I'll be in Tokyo that day, but I'm hoping that the event is a success, and if anyone is interested, I encourage them to attend

Attached are some very dramatic photos showing how New Zealand's recent 7.8 quake thrust the seafloor up two meters. Our thoughts go out to our fellow Kiwis. - William
http://www.9news.com.au/world/2016/11/17/11/28/new-zealand-quake-lifted-seabed-by-2m
New Zealand quake lifted seabed by 2m
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit New Zealand’s South Island lifted up the seabed by two metres, pushing it above the ocean’s surface.

Our friend Arthur Charron had written below about the discrepancy between the two days the Guardian had claimed the Fukuoka sinkhole had been repaired and the longer time frame he had personally witnessed. The timelapse video attached certainly indicates that repairs took at least four days. (Remember, this video is not displayed at actual speed; the only humans capable of moving so quickly are those of us juiced on coffee at 7:00 AM and late for work.) - William
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FkXsZ9Wkh
Timelapse captures Japanese sinkhole repair
Fukuoka Sinkhole Road Repair In 7 Days. A giant sinkhole swallowed a five-lane street in the centre of one of Japan's biggest cities on Tuesday morning. The ...

The minimum year requirement to qualify for nenkin was just changed from 25 years to 10 years. Article (in Japanese) here:
受給資格を10年に短縮＝改正年金機能強化法が成立（時事通信） - Yahoo!ニュース http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20161116-00000054-jij-pol
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20161116-00000054-jij-pol
受給資格を10年に短縮＝改正年金機能強化法が成立（... http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20161116-00000054-jij-pol 年金を受け取れない人を減らすため、年金の受給に必要な保険料の納付期間を25年から10 - Yahoo!ニュース(時事通信)
(via a colleague from Iwate)
受給資格を10年に短縮＝改正年金機能強化法が成立（時事通信） - Yahoo!ニュース
年金を受け取れない人を減らすため、年金の受給に必要な保険料の納付期間を25年から10 - Yahoo!ニュース(時事通信)

Ishihara Shintaro is a Japanese politician and author who, in 2000, told the Ground Self-Defense Forces that, in the event of a major earthquake, they should be prepared to subdue rioting foreigners. In doing so, he used the term "sangokujin," a pejorative term for foreigners, particularly from neighboring Asian countries. This comment didn't come to mind immediately after the quakes here but I was reminded of it recently. Ironically, the aftermath of the earthquake in Kumamoto was notable in part for the almost complete absence of the kind of anti-foreign sentiment that Ishihara went out of his way to express. Ishihara is a politician who rose to prominence in part by giving voice to a rather extreme brand of nationalism and bigotry. Now, however, Governor Koike (the first female to break the glass ceiling and become governor of Japan's largest city) is cleaning up a major mess made under his administration:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/10/06/national/ishihara-refuses-attend-metro-government-hearing-toyosu-market-soil-woes/
-- Kirk
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/2000/04/11/announcements/ishihara-warns-that-foreigners-likely-to-riot-after-big-quake/
Ishihara warns that foreigners likely to riot after big quake
Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara has stirred up another controversy by remarking that foreigners in Japan could stage a riot following a major earthquake and urging the Self-Defense Forces to maintain ...

The other day, I asked for opinions about Trump's victory:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/photos/a.129499733790134.25925.123734781033296/1193724320700998/
I said that I hoped RKK would use some of the reactions as an indication of what the foreign community in Kumamoto thought about the election results. Alas, RKK didn't use the Facebook comments. They did, however, broadcast an interview with me. I talked about the simplicity (simplisticness?) of the language Mr. Trump used. See the following article to get the gist of the phenomenon I was trying to describe:
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a39031/trump-fourth-grade-level/
It might be interesting to readers of this page to know that an informal survey of people in downtown Kumamoto resulted in a clear victory for Clinton (see board with blue and red dots). Unfortunately for Mrs. Clinton, popular opinion in Kumamoto didn't seem to have much influence on the election. :)
-- Kirk

Our neighbor to the north, Fukuoka, has received well-deserved praise for its response to a sudden, gaping sinkhole. The photo at left below shows the giant pit and, at right, its appearance (disappearance?) two days later. Some have mentioned the influence financial loss has had; others, the glacial pace of many more road projects in Japan - these sentiments are understandable yet do not detract from the astounding rapidity of this recovery.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/15/japan-fixes-vast-fukuoka-city-sinkhole-repaired-two-days
Japan fixes vast Fukuoka city sinkhole – in two days
The 30 metre hole was repaired in 48 hours, although health and safety checks delayed the reopening

All 4,300 temporary homes completed in quake-hit Kumamoto | The Japan Times
Construction of all temporary housing units in Kumamoto Prefecture was completed Monday, paving the way for people forced from their homes by last April's

A note from the Kumamoto International Roadways & Funk Music desk: Many are aware that Higashi Bypass (commonly referred to in Kumamoto as "Higabai") was built in the 1970s to allow southwest-northeast traffic to transverse the city while avoiding its center; Kita Bypass (commonly called "Kitabai") was completed just five years ago, enabling north-south movement by connecting back to Route 3. Both routes are notoriously crowded. A fact of which many readers are likely unaware, however, is that both "Higabai" and "Kitabai" jell perfectly with the rift from the Commodores' classic, "Brick House" (audible in the attachment from the 2:10 mark).
It is our suggestion that, when you're next stuck in traffic on either road (which, if you drive in Kumamoto, will happen), you simply sing to yourself "Higabai, Higabai, Higabai now, Kitabai, Kitabai, Kitabai now, Higabai, Higabai, Higabai now, Kitabai, Higabai - shake it!" Professionals recommend this as a method of alleviating driving stress. - William
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK4af03OUQc
Commodores - Brick house 1978