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This was the first professional baseball game held in Kumamoto's Fujisakidai Stadium since the quakes last year. --Kirk
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2017/04/18/baseball/japanese-baseball/sugano-outduels-local-favorite-yamanaka-series-opener/
Sugano outduels local favorite Yamanaka in series opener | The Japan Times
A little more than a year after earthquakes rocked Kumamoto, Tomoyuki Sugano had local fans rocking as he pitched the Yomiuri Giants to a 3-0 Central Leagu

A recent image of the northern approach through the Tateno Gap, shown below, can only leave two words: not good. This is particularly so as rainy season approaches. Kumanichi reports that studies into nationalizing rehabilitation of the area have begun.
The article notes that the steep slopes of the inner edges of the caldera make it unique, thus justifying nationalization. What it doesn't say is, as you'll notice from the photograph, that if the hill continues to crumble and fills in Tateno Gap, a very large, unstable lake sitting right above Kumamoto City would be created. This would change "not good" into "very bad."
Nationalizing the problem would bring in more money and personnel to prevent this. Seems like they're finally realizing how serious this situation is.
-- William
https://this.kiji.is/227234572366659587?c=92619697908483575
阿蘇砂防事業、県の負担減めざし国直轄に　国交省検討 - 熊本日日新聞
阿蘇大橋付近の大規模な土砂崩れ現場。１年が経っても見た目は変わらないままだ（小型無人機で撮影）＝１６日、南阿蘇村（高見伸、園田琢磨）　国土交通省が、熊本地震で山腹崩壊や地滑りなどの被害が多発した阿蘇地域を対象に、土砂災害を防ぐ県の砂防事業を...

"Skilled masons are facing the daunting task of identifying where each stone was placed in the wall. They must then put the famed curved stone walls that supported the foundations of the castle back together like a jigsaw puzzle."
Recently, I saw a fascinating NHK documentary about how the design and construction of the curved walls (known as "mushagaeshi" in Japanese) helped many of the original walls remain standing while a larger percent of the the more recent, Meiji-period walls collapsed. More about that later.
-- Kirk
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201704140031.html
Masons work to put Kumamoto Castle walls back together again：The Asahi Shimbun
KUMAMOTO--On the one-year anniversary of the start of the devastating Kumamoto earthquakes, every st

Many readers of this page already know about the video, but I thought I'd share the article about it from Rocket News. -- Kirk
http://en.rocketnews24.com/2017/04/17/u-s-japan-release-collaborative-video-of-support-one-year-after-kumamoto-earthquakes【video】/
U.S.-Japan release collaborative video of support one year after Kumamoto earthquakes【Video】
On the Road to Recovery: The People of America and Kumamoto Join Together is a beautiful clip that encourages the people of Kumamoto to be positive during recovery efforts.

Bamboo, a family of grass, are one of the fastest growing plants on earth due to their rhizomes - a self-sustaining root system - which prepares their shoots (called in Japanese usually "takenoko" and written 竹の子 or 筍 - choose your poison - and toxic if not prepared correctly) so that they can explode upward (the phrase 雨後の筍のように is equivalent to the English "spring up like mushrooms" or "grow like a weed") and solidify to avoid being eaten. The young, soft shoots are cleverly dug up by certain animals, including humans, at this time of year. Humans generally peel, slice, steep, and boil them before adding them to miso soup. This requires much work. Much, much work.
Two pieces of advice regarding bamboo shoots:
1) Do not buy them as gifts for anyone.
2) If you receive them as a gift (and, someday, you will), feel free to re-gift them to whomever you want to be passive-aggressive with.*
More at the link. - William
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_shoot
*Guys - it needn't be said: never, EVER buy these for your wife. It would be like your wife bringing home a block of wood and saying, "Honey, can you make me a desk tomorrow?"
Bamboo shoot - Wikipedia
Bamboo shoots or bamboo sprouts are the edible shoots (new bamboo culms that come out of the ground) of many bamboo species including Bambusa vulgaris and Phyllostachys edulis. They are used in numerous Asian dishes and broths. They are sold in various processed shapes, and are available in fresh, d...

"The facility, which takes in babies who cannot be cared for by their parents, will mark its 10th anniversary next month after obstetrician Hasuda set up the baby hatch in 2007. Since its opening, 125 babies had been left as of March, according to the hospital."
-- Kirk
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/04/15/national/social-issues/aftermath-quakes-kumamoto-baby-hatch-continues-offer-hope/
Kumamoto baby hatch still delivers hope 10 years on | The Japan Times
Early on the morning of April 15 last year, the president of a Kumamoto hospital with Japan's first baby hatch was relieved to hear the facility could cont

"The service, launched April 15, represents a collective effort by a group of 117 manga artists and other supporters who chipped in to help restart full service of Minami-Aso Railway Co.’s Takamori line."
-- Kirk
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201704160023.html
Kumamoto rail line gets colorful lift from top manga artists：The Asahi Shimbun
TAKAMORI, Kumamoto Prefecture--With the support of cartoonists, popular manga characters including D

This article is about people who are still living as evacuees.
-- Kirk
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201704150038.html
Behind the smile, Kumamoto mom has to battle her own family woes：The Asahi Shimbun
MASHIKI, Kumamoto Prefecture--Kayoko Kaizaki always has a ready smile and something humorous to impa

These three images are from an NHK video that can be found on the following page:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20170414/k10010948901000.html
I saw the report on TV a few days ago and was surprised to learn about the extent to which "slow slip" (余効変動) has continued since the quakes first hit. The image you see at the top compares a concrete block wall immediately after the quakes hit (on the left) and this month ( on the right). The wall is situated immediately above a fault and the slow movement since the quakes has caused the distance between the two parts of the wall to expand by 20 centimeters. NHK reports that GPS data confirms similar movement along the fault.
-- Kirk

The Asahi article mentions the “Laputa no Michi” (Road to Laputa), which was damaged in the earthquake. Here's a Rocket News 24 article from December of 2015 that gives you a good idea about what made the place so special:
http://en.rocketnews24.com/2015/12/06/we-visit-one-of-japans-stunning-secret-destinations-the-road-to-laputa-in-kumamoto/
And here are some YouTube videos that show the damage that the quake did:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnz0VDQXEAE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ht1vfN0TLI
-- Kirk
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201704160019.html
Religious leaders offer prayers to Kumamoto quake victims：The Asahi Shimbun
ASO, Kumamoto Prefecture--In an interdenominational show of faith, Shinto priests, Buddhist monks an

Timely release of the latest in the series of mini videos about Aso Shrine and the ongoing restoration project. Please be sure to view on YouTube,as each view generates a small donation towards the restoration fund....and then share to the world! This version also has English subtitles.
Posted by Charmaine.
熊本地震本震から本日で１年を迎えました。地震発災当初から多くの方に励ましの声、そしてご支援をいただき感謝申し上げます。 一年を迎え、拝殿は更地になり、倒壊した楼門は「素屋根」と呼ばれる囲いで覆われています。昨年の12月初旬より始まった楼門の足場組み立て作業を定点で追いました。ぜひご覧いただければ幸いです。 これか...

The NHK Kumamoto bureau, conveniently located adjacent to the castle in a building equipped with a rooftop camera (and with engineer types just itching for an excuse to use camera drones) has started a Webpage called "Observe Kumamoto Castle"(熊本城　いまを見つめる). The graphic at the link below shows Nationally Designated Important Cultural Assets in red and damaged walls destined for repair in blue.
Watching this will make watching grass grow look like an Usain Bolt race, but it's nice that someone is paying attention.
http://www.nhk.or.jp/kumamoto/castle/index.html

Are you raising a bilingual child, or learning Japanese yourself?
Recently published bilingual picture books (English and Japanese - hiragana) aimed at children but also useful for adults with beginner Japanese.
Featuring Ben and Maki, who live in Kumamoto, these books come with free worksheets and colouring pages. Book 1 in the series available now on Amazon.
Check out the Ben and Maki website for details.
Thanks,
- Celia
https://www.celiajenkins.com/ben-and-maki
celiajenkins | Ben and Maki

A note from the Kumamoto International Flying Mammal Desk: Your faithful correspondent observed Japanese house bats this evening, a sure sign that spring has arrived as the species follows the burgeoning awakening of insects up from their winter homes in Taiwan and southern China to more northern latitudes.
Japanese house bats are unique in that their mothers swaddle their young in tiny blankets* - William
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_house_bat
*No, they don't. I included this to battle chiroptophobia.

A bit more specific info regarding the planned performance by the aerobatic air wing, Blue Impulse.
Date: Sunday
Location: Sky (not directly stated but inferred)
Rehearsal: Saturday
More stuff: Meet flight members, get Blue Impulse goods, view a showing of the movie "Top Gun" (starring a young Tom Cruise who, infuriatingly, still looks exactly the same even at my age) at Ninomaru Park, 9:00 - 16:00.
More info at the link. - William
http://joukamachi-kumamoto.com/2017-hishousai/

"However, Tokuda said that overall the mental condition of the pets seemed to be improving. 'Until six months after the earthquake, they suffered from stress for having to adapt to the situation, and some died from shock,' he said. 'Now, they are calm.'"
-- Kirk
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/04/13/national/kumamoto-veterinarian-looks-owners-pets-times-disaster/#.WO9_8FKB2Cc
Kumamoto veterinarian looks after owners — and their pets — in times of disaster | The Japan Times
In times of natural disaster, people's safety and well-being are naturally put first. The same, though, can't always be said for pets, which are also victi

“'We would like to do the reconstruction so that visitors can in some way see the larger castle keep by early fiscal 2019.'”
-- Kirk
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/04/13/national/kumamoto-castle-repairs-expected-take-decades/#.WO-CM1KB2Cc
Kumamoto Castle repairs expected to take decades | The Japan Times
"Warning: No trespassing due to earthquake damage," bears a sign at Kumamoto Castle, a popular tourist destination in the prefecture, while castle official

If you have a few moments, today's a good day to get out and catch the last of the cherry blossoms. This is an iPhone picture I took in Nishikigaoka Park, Kumamoto City, a little while ago. -- Kirk

I'll be giving a little presentation this Sunday about how this page responded to the earthquake. Actually, most of my 10 minutes or so will be about how Kumamoto City and Kumamoto Prefecture could do a better job of making information accessible to the non-Japanese community. I'll be one of eight speakers. Please see the images for details. By the way, I'm told that English interpretation will be provided when presentations are in Japanese and vice versa regarding English presentations.
-- Kirk

This majestic 400-year-old cherry tree is reported to be in full bloom in Aso now. -- Kirk
http://japan-magazine.jnto.go.jp/en/1403_sakuraphoto.html
Going to see beautiful cherry blossoms | JAPAN Monthly Web Magazine
The people of Japan eagerly await the blooming of cherry blossoms when spring comes. Cherry blossoms are in bloom for only a week where they can be found, but