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The Yamaha-Honda rivalry over the nation's 50cc scooter market seems to have been resolved in Honda's favor, with Yamaha ceding all manufacturing to Honda under an OMA agreement. This article simply states the manufacturing will take place in "southern Japan" - more specifically, it will be at Honda's facility in Ozu. Another feather in Kumamon's cap: the 50cc scooter manufacturing capital of Japan! Take that, Shizuoka! - William
https://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/honda-yamaha-motor-announce-scooter-tie-up
Honda, Yamaha Motor announce scooter tie-up
Honda Motor Co Ltd and Yamaha Motor Co Ltd on Wednesday said they were joining forces to develop scooters for…

Here in Kumamoto I didn't experience more than a little windiness and some rain. Sadly, however, Kumamoto's sister city in Korea, Ulsan, was hit very hard.
-- Kirk
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2016/10/116_215404.html
Five dead, 1 missing after typhoon smashes southern Korea (PHOTOS)
Five people are dead and one missing after typhoon Chaba ripped into Jeju Island Tuesday afternoon and battered other southern Korean regions Wednesday. Among the dead is a man in his 60s who was swept away by floodwaters in front of an apartment in Ulsan. His body was found caught between road guar...

Certain universes exist entirely unnoticed under each one of our nose(s) [plural? singular? any ideas?], and their revelation is always a delight. It was as such that I learned of the existence of Kenny Roberts, now 64 and a motorcycle legend. Born in Modesto, California (the birthplace of George Lucas and the set for his movie "American Graffiti"), Roberts, shown below in the blue T-shirt, has been a pioneer of motorcycle racing, innovating all things two-wheeled and winning about every prize worth winning. It turns out that he has a deep fondness for Kumamoto, no doubt in no small part due to his wife, Tomoko, being a Kumamoto native.
The Kumanichi headlined their article, "Motorcycle King Cheers On his Beloved Aso." Apparently, Roberts has quite a following here as over 1,000 leather-clad bikers with motorcycle displacements likely far exceeding that of my kei car turned out to encourage Kumamoto along with him. Since 2010, Roberts has been the chairman of the Aso Riders Base Club; this event was sponsored by the Terabaru Driving School (suggested moto: "Be a terrible driver!")
Roberts was quoted as saying, "Though times have been difficult, look to the future - I pray for a wonderful Kumamoto!" before thundering off into the beautiful Aso countryside with his wife at his side (rear? sidecar? different bike? - the article does not clarify).
Thank you, Kenny! Below is a link to his Wikipedia biography. - William
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Roberts
http://this.kiji.is/156214782253793286?c=92619697908483575
バイクの元ロードレース王者　愛する阿蘇にエール - 熊本日日新聞
バイクにまたがったケニー・ロバーツさん、ともこさん夫婦（中央）を囲んで記念写真を撮るファンたち＝南阿蘇村 　バイクの元ロードレース世界選手権チャンピオンのケニー・ロバーツさん（６４）＝米国＝が１日、南阿蘇村の「あそ望の郷くぎの」を訪れ、千人...

The typhoon is relatively close now, but things are still pretty quiet in Kumamoto. I hope we'll be spared high winds and heavy rain this time but, well, it ain't over 'till it's over.
-- Kirk
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/super-typhoon-chaba-south-korea-japan-flooding-winds-mudslides/60475022
Typhoon Chaba to rip across South Korea with violent winds on path toward Japan
Typhoon Chaba will threaten lives and property across mainland Japan and South Korea this week.

Applications have closed for Kumamoto Marathon, with entrants willing to pay an exorbitant amount for several hours of pain exceeding records. Over 20,000 males and 5,000 females answered this year's Siren call, an increase of 818 masochists. There were 2.12 applicants for this lottery of terror for every successful victim, a grim increase of 0.07% from the previous year. This macabre spectacle is set to unfold on February 19, along with shorter races for the less foolish. - William
http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20161003008.xhtml
熊本城マラソン、「フル」の応募過去最多－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。

JR Kyushu has begun demolition of their two stations at Aso's Uchinomaki and Akamizu. Both are wooden structures built in 1918, and the quakes added to damage from natural aging. Local residents expressed regret at the loss of another of their memories and hope that rail service will be resumed soon.
http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20161004006.xhtml

Beckham provides support to quake-hit Kumamoto U-16 players | The Japan Times
David Beckham handed out signed soccer balls Thursday to the players of an under-16 select team from Kumamoto Prefecture, which was hit by two huge earthqu

As you can see, weather advisories have been issued for Kumamoto but, thankfully, no warnings at this point.
-- Kirk
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/warn/

Google reminded me this morning that today marks the 434th anniversary of the Gregorian calendar. A bit of digging around informed me that 明治5年10月1日（which is equivalent to November 1, 1872） saw the announcement that the Gregorian calendar would be adopted in Japan the following year. It must have been confusing - I mean, I get confused by daylight savings time, and that's just one hour on a single day.
A beautiful surprise was that the numerically numb current Japanese names for months used to be much more poetic; we're now in Kaminazuki (神無月, "Month of the Gods" - I know, 無 is a negative, but it's complicated). Halfway down this Wikipedia page is a very informative list.
Below left is a calendar from 1729 (try and figure that out!) and right is an official pamphlet explaining the transition to the Gregorian calendar from 1872.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_calendar

The typhoon has weakened from a category 5 to a 4 and is still expected to pass to our north tomorrow morning. We are not predicted to be hit directly by it, but it is powerful enough that Kumamoto is in the purple area you see on the image -- highly likely to experience tropical storm winds in the next 36 hours.
-- Kirk
http://tropicalstormrisk.com

I have some bad news and some good news about the typhoon:
Bad news: The storm is now a super typhoon -- category 5.
Good news: At this point, it looks as though it will not come close enough to Kumamoto for the wind damage to be severe.
Nonetheless, even if the winds are not extremely strong here in Kumamoto, flooding and landslides from heavy rains may be more likely. Moreover, if there is an unexpected change in the path of the storm, that could be bad news for us. Stay tuned.
-- Kirk

The Kumanichi published a trilogy regarding three women, each strangers to each other, who were thrown together with their dogs as they shared refuge at the Techno Research Park after the quakes. The three also shared striking similarities: all are from Mashiki, are in their 70s, and before the quakes lived alone with only their dogs for company. I'll introduce just the first of the stories below.
Shibata Sumiko, 75, has lived for 11 years with her miniature dachshund, Cookie, who was given to the couple by a relative who wished to encourage her faltering husband - six of them alone since her husband entered a care facility. The Techno site was closed at the end of May, and she was forced to move to the town gymnasium refuge, a facility which did not accept pets. Fortunately, she found someone to care for Cookie during the two months she spent there before she was finally moved to prefab refugee housing and reunited with Cookie. She remarked, "Based on average lifespan, I have another ten years. Talking with others, they exclaim, 'Let's rebuild and be neighbors again together!', but I doubt if that is realistic." The article notes that Cookie at that point seemed to bow his head with nostalgia at his old life.
All three articles are linked to below. - William
http://this.kiji.is/155502235930591234?c=92619697908483575
http://this.kiji.is/155504679854540280?c=92619697908483575
http://this.kiji.is/155504690591024629?c=92619697908483575
『被災者日記』愛犬と寄り添い再びー避難所で出会った３人① - 熊本日日新聞
テクノ仮設団地で暮らす柴田澄子さんと愛犬のクッキー＝益城町 　熊本地震で自宅が被災し、益城町の避難所で偶然出会った女性３人は、ペットと寝泊まりできる仮設テントで約１カ月、共同生活を送りました。全員１人暮らしの７０代。プレハブの仮設住宅、みな...

This is about a sushi shop in Osaka (not Kumamoto) that put considerably more wasabi on the sushi they prepared for foreign guests than they normally would. People on a Korean website called this "wasabi terrorism" and took it as an act of hostility toward foreigners. The shop owners admitted that an employee had been serving wasabi-laden sushi to foreigners but said that this practice arose from repeated requests from foreign customers for more wasabi.
I tend to think that this was probably not a case of hostility toward foreigners but rather an example of stereotyping and bad assumptions. Don't assume that every foreigner wants what a few, or even a majority, have requested. Ask! If you have difficulty communicating and are not sure what the customer wants, prepare the food normally!
-- Kirk
P.S. Here's the URL of a Japan Times article about the matter:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/10/03/national/osaka-sushi-chain-apologizes-excess-wasabi-served-non-japanese-denies-ill-intent/
http://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newseye2882648.html
　大阪の寿司店が外国人観光客にわさびを大量に入れた寿司を提供しているとして、インターネット上で批判されていた問題で、運営会社がこれを認め、謝罪しました。 　この問題は、大阪・中央区の寿司店「市場ずし 難波店」で、韓国人などの外国人観光客が訪れた際、通常より明らかに多いわさびが入れられたとして、インターネット上で「わさび爆弾」などと批判されていたものです。 　「市場ずし」の運営会社はホームページに謝罪文を掲載。３日朝、取材に応じた難波店の店長は、「一部の職人が外国人にわさびを多く握っていた」と認めたうえで、差別的な意図はなかったと説明しました。 　「外国の方が来たら、ほとんどが『ワサビ、ワサビ』...

This morning's NHK reported the names of Japanese scholars listed as "2016 Thomson Reuters Citation Laureates." The list includes Hiroshi Maeda, currently with Sojo University and formerly a researcher at Kumamoto University. He is one of three Japanese scholars who has been recognized by the organization as a likely candidate for a 2016 Nobel Prize, announcements for which will begin soon.
http://stateofinnovation.thomsonreuters.com/2016-citation-laureates
For my tastes, NHK is a bit too fixated on the nationality of the laureates (i.e. how many Japanese win). On the other hand, I have to admit that I would be happy to hear that a local had scholar received this honor.
-- Kirk

Predictions for the typhoon are considerably less dire today. The current prediction is that it will be a category 1 (not 4) when it is closest to Kumamoto and, judging from images of the predicted path, it may be far enough north so as not to be a major problem for Kumamoto.
The image is from
https://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/western-pacific/2016/Typhoon-Chaba
The site I have referred to earlier
http://tropicalstormrisk.com
is offering similar projections.
-- Kirk

This shows a category 4 typhoon (one step away from a "super typhoon") making a direct hit on Kumamoto in 60 hours (early Wednesday morning).
-- Kirk
http://tropicalstormrisk.com

The 158 households in the Chono and Hakamano districts of Aso received some good news yesterday when their water supply was restored for the first time since 4/16. Prior to the quakes, both villages received water from the same spring, but damage to piping was compounded by June's torrential rains, which choked off the spring. Yesterday's water supply comes from a well dug to replace the spring. This was particularly welcome for cattle farmers, who had to truck in up to a ton of water daily for their cattle. Below is a happy cow and a happy rancher, enjoying the infrastructure we all take for granted. - William
http://this.kiji.is/155167482396853750?c=92619697908483575
断水５カ月半ぶり解消　南阿蘇村の２地区 - 熊本日日新聞
５カ月半ぶりに断水が解消された長野地区で、あか牛に水を飲ませる農家の山口達志さん＝１日午後、南阿蘇村　熊本県南阿蘇村の長野・袴野地区（１５８戸）で１日、地震から５カ月半ぶりに断水が解消された。熊本地震と豪雨で水源が埋まったため、新たな仮設井...

TropicalStormRisk.com updated its predictions since my last post. Unfortunately, the needle is moving in the wrong direction. Now the prediction is for a Category 4 storm! A storm that lands as a Category 4 would be a more powerful storm than Katrina when it hit New Orleans in 2005; Katrina was a Category 3 when it landed. Category 4 cyclones have wind speeds of 209-251 kph or 130-156 mph. Moreover, the prediction now shows the storm landing just north of Kumamoto City. To use a bowling analogy, this is Kumamoto's "strike zone." As I have written before, typhoons and hurricanes in the northern hemisphere spin counter clockwise. For this reason, winds coming from a cyclone slightly to our north come from the ocean to strike with full force. When a typhoon passes slightly to our south the winds to have to travel over the Aso mountains before the hit people in Kumamoto City.
So, let's all hope for the best but those of you in vulnerable areas or those of you who are planning to travel at that time should be aware that you might need to change your plans in order to insure your safety.
-- Kirk
http://tropicalstormrisk.com

If current predictions are correct, it looks like Kumamoto will be hit by a strong typhoon early in the morning on Wednesday. I checked the Japanese JMA site and it also indicates that the storm system should pass over Kumamoto before daybreak on Wednesday morning. Currently, TropicalStormRisk.com (see attached image) says that the storm is predicted to be transitioning from a Category 3 (winds of 178-208 kilometers per hour) to a Category 2 (154-177 kph) as it moves over Kumamoto. Of course, these are just predictions; no one knows for sure exactly what will happen. I'm hoping for the best but it's probably a good idea to err on the side of caution and assume that we will be hit by a very significant typhoon.
-- Kirk
http://tropicalstormrisk.com

Last night I recorded a documentary about Masahiko Nakashima, the person who is producing these high-quality videos in an effort to help raise money to rebuild Aso Shrine. In the documentary, it said that the goal is to get the word about the need to rebuild the the shrine to people throughout the world. That reminded me to check to see if the YouTube videos have English subtitles and, indeed, they do. If you cannot see the English subtitles here on Facebook, please view the video on YouTube and use the "CC" (closed caption) function to select the English subtitles, which are very well done. You may need to use the gear-shaped "settings" button to choose the English subtitles.
If you are interested in donating, please got to
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/charmaine-minami-1
This page has been set up by Charmaine Minami, one of the editors of this page.
-- Kirk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpDr8czgR7c
#3【料理旅館つるや 若女将 工藤亜貴子さん】 Akiko Kudo - Cuisine Ryokan Tsuruya Proprietress-
阿蘇神社の側で１００年以上を続ける老舗旅館の若女将、工藤亜貴子さん。阿蘇神社が壊れていても、周りからでも前に向かって歩いていかなくてはいけないと強く語っていただきました。 Akiko Kudo the owner of the Ryori Tsuruya Ryokan tells us how the local...