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Kumamoto Prefecture's Civil Engineering Department has chosen two house designs among several proposed as affordable housing to replace that lost during the quakes, particularly in Mashiki, as reference for those considering reconstruction. Models of the two types will be built in the Techno Evacuation Area (near the airport) with the first scheduled to be completed at the end of November.
Attractions of the designs are their wooden construction, said to be earthquake-resistant and low-cost.
The first building is a collaboration of 82 Kumamoto-based companies. It is a single story, 2LDK of rather traditional Japanese countryside style with a total floor area of about 64 square meters and a price of 9.6 million yen (excluding tax and land).
The second building is a collaboration of 23 Kumamoto-based companies. It is a two-story, 3DK of about 66 square meters priced at 10 million yen and will be primarily constructed of high-quality wood sourced from Itsuki village. It is expected to be completed by early February. - William
http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20161026006.xhtml

There must be a fair amount of friendly rivalry between the onsens in neighbouring prefectures of Kyushu! Last year,two onsens in Oita prefecture pipped Kurokawa Onsen to the post,forcing it into third place in this contest run by Kyushu Tourism. Currently,Kurokawa Onsen (Kumamoto Pref.) is in second place with 238 votes,a bit behind Yufuin Onsen (Oita Pref.) with 278....voting runs until January 15th ,2017 so there is still time to cast your vote and send the link to friends or relatives who have also visited Kurokawa Onsen. (Foreign tourists in Japan or overseas may vote,the contest prize is a pair of vouchers towards a one-night stay in an as-yet-undisclosed inn). Just click through on the heart mark of your chosen onsen and that takes you to a second page to vote and enter your details if you want to be entered in the prize draw.
PLUS,there is lots of useful information on the site on Kyushu Onsen,in English,Japanese and Chinese.
Posted by Charmaine
KYUSHU ONSEN CONTEST 2016
The Onsen Competition voted by tourists. Let us know your best one!

Kirk here. I'm sharing this in the hope that doing so will make it more likely for interested people to see it. I'm afraid Facebook's algorithm will not show this post to many people so please share it with anyone you happen to know who might be interested.

Privatization reaches JR Kyushu . . .
-- Kirk
https://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/kyushu-railway-skyrockets-on-tokyo-trading-debut
Kyushu Railway skyrockets on Tokyo trading debut
Japan's Kyushu Railway rocketed Tuesday as the former state-owned firm made its trading debut in Tokyo after scoring one of…

I don't read French so I can't comment on the details of this article but I'm pretty sure it's about One Piece manga author Eiichro Oda's project to raise money to help with the rebuilding of Kumamoto Castle. Actually, I saw a notice about an English article on the topic but then found the link to be broken and then searching for alternative sources led me to the French article. If you would like to read about this in Japanese you can find an explanation at:
http://mainichi.jp/articles/20161023/dyo/00m/200/017000c
-- Kirk
http://www.mangamag.fr/actualite/actualite-manga/one-piece-soutient-reconstruction-de-kumamoto/
One Piece soutient la reconstruction de Kumamoto | Manga Mag
Eiichiro ODA et la municipalité de la ville de Kumamoto ont lancé le One Piece Kumamoto Fukkô Project (One Piece projet de reconstruction de Kumamoto) destiné à récolter des fonds pour aider à la reconstruction de la ville sinistrée. Petit retour en arrière, au printemps dernier la ville de Kumamoto...

Here's an extended list that shows what facilities are closed or open to the public.
-- Kirk
http://kumanago.jp/whatsnew/?mode=detail&id=421
Information about a main tourist facility
October, 24, 2016[ Kumamoto City ] -Kumamoto Castle : Out of service Parts of the stone walls, the Tenshukaku main tower, the Utoyagura scaffold, and etc. are viewable from parts of the area permitted to enter. -Suizenji Park : Open-Josaien : Open-Wakuwakuza : Open-Kumamoto City Zoological and Botan...

Working at my PC in my office and noticed a weird shaking - clearly an earthquake, and long in duration, but strangely slight and not accompanied by the usual rumble. I checked JMA and found that there was at 14:10 an extremely powerful quake in Tottori Prefecture; preliminary measurement 6 weak on the Japanese scale and magnitude 6.6.
Amazing that I could feel it all the way here in Kumamoto.
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/
Japan Meteorological Agency | Earthquake Information

Autumn in Kurokawa is the perfect time for a day trip and a relaxing dip or two. If you are not too keen on baring it all in the public outdoor baths ,the recently opened Iromomiji offers a selection of private (`family`) baths for hire,prices starting from 1000yen for 50 minutes. Leaves are not quite changing colour yet,it`s still a little early.
Posted by Charmaine
Onsen-hop #23 Iromomiji
Exploring a fairly new hot spring complex on the outskirts of Kurokawa today, Iromomiji 　（彩もみじ, not yet on the English onsen-hopping map,but tucked

I just found this page on the Kuma Visit site. If you're looking for a good place to eat, check it out.
-- Kirk
http://kumavisit.com/where-to-eat/
WHERE TO EAT | Kuma Visit
Kuma Visit is an organization to promote tourism in Kumamoto by providing information in several languages at businesses

In addition to the six tournaments held each year (three in Tokyo and one each in Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka), the big guys conduct exhibition tournaments in such provincial towns as - Kumamoto! Yes! - It is almost time for the Ozumo Kumamoto Basho, which will be held on December 10 at the Prefectural Gymnasium. Tickets run as low as 4,000 yen for nosebleeder seats (but again, this is a small gym, so even the cheap seats are not bad). For an extra 3,000 yen, you can get a special bento, tea, and a bag of "sumo goods."
Even if you don't want to shell out the dough to watch the fights, sumo aficionados should mark this date on their calendar: As this is an exhibition match and thus does not count towards their ranking, the wrestlers tend to be low-key and treat their time here as a sort of vacation. Hang out around the gym before or after the event and you'll likely be able to meet some of the sumotori; listen to their conversations and you might figure out where they'll be going to drink that night and maybe join in (happened to me a few years ago). More info is at the link: http://www.tku.co.jp/web/event/kumamotobasho
- William

Here's an announcement from the Kumamoto International Foundation about an event scheduled for Nov. 5th. I think the "Japanese craft art (chigirie)" is a kind of paper tearing art. With the art and also yoga for kids, it looks like a particularly good event for families with kids.
-- Kirk

Click on the link to find information, in both English and Japanese, about a free artistic event for elementary-school-aged kids to be held at the International Center on November 3rd.
https://dancedakuriah.wordpress.com
See also
http://streetofart.crayonsite.com
-- Kirk
Street Of Art
アート 芸術 ダンス 熊本 子供 体験教室

It's pear season! - or, more precisely, the season for Asian pears (nashi, 梨). The kanji occurs occasionally in family names such as 梨坂 and 梨本. Probably due to some ancient marketing ploy, Western pears are generally referred to in Japanese as "la France" (ラフランス), and the two are not related. The nashi, common from Nepal throughout East Asia, is round and crisp, much more like an apple, and generally peeled before eaten.
Unfortunately for many lowland nashi farmers, elevated heat levels have resulted in an historically high level of blight this year, with some farmers losing up to 80% of their crop, as this Kumanichi article explains. http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20161018001.xhtml
A common joke is that nashi are healthy because they are low calorie (a play on the homonyms 梨 and 無 - "nothing"), and, sadly for many farmers, it seems the latter will be their incomes this year. - William
猛暑、ナシ大打撃　荒尾産・新高“ヤケ”被害広がる－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。

Students pull out the stops to help Kumamoto pay tribute to victims：The Asahi Shimbun
MINAMI-ASO, Kumamoto Prefecture--University students forced to flee their campus here because of a s

I was asked to participate in an NHK World program (broadcast outside of Japan and on the internet) reflecting on the passage of six months since the earthquakes first struck. I was invited to appear on the show to talk about this Facebook page and how our team of editors tried to get information out in English.
My section of the program is toward the end. Earlier on in the program, there's a section about Franck Limoges' work with
Michi No Eki Aso.
I found appearing on live TV to be a little nerve racking. I was on a live RKK program more than a decade ago but we had a lot more time on that program and we didn't have to plan everything out in advance. Here, the questions were worked out before hand (which, in a way, made it easier) but I had to get my pre-arranged answers out within very clear time limits -- something I'm not very good at.
Being a rather self-centered person, I've written mostly about my own part in the program but I think it would be worth watching even if I weren't on it. ;) Take a look!
-- Kirk
P.S. The web page has a detailed text summary of the main parts of the program. Some of you may prefer to scan the text before committing to watching the whole thing.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/newsroomtokyo/aired/20161014.html
Kumamoto Quakes Then and Now - NEWSROOM TOKYO - TV - NHK WORLD - English
Kumamoto is recovering 6 months after the area was hit by a series of powerful earthquakes. Repairs are underway on Kumamoto Castle, and a French resident is spreading the word that Mount Aso is worth visiting despite a recent eruption.

Fireworks bring festive fun to earthquake-hit Kumamoto：The Asahi Shimbun
YATSUSHIRO, Kumamoto Prefecture--Some 14,000 fireworks brilliantly illuminated the night sky in an a

The article below is only tangentially related to Kumamoto, but it turns out that the first time liquid baby formula was legally allowed to be consumed in Japan was when it was distributed as aid following the quakes. One thing my parenting experience has taught me is that simply shoveling powdered formula into your infant's mouth is not ... uh ... good. (Note to new parents: hot water is required.) Apparently, though, bureaucratic inertia had not kept pace with food sterilization techniques until (briefly, at least) yesterday. So good for you, new parents! One less thing to worry about!
https://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/japan-to-allow-liquid-baby-formula-hoping-more-men-will-join-in-child-rearing
On a similar note, it also turns out that America is sitting on a cheese glut equaling 777,240 cubic meters due to subsidies encouraging production exceeding demand. Meanwhile, here in Japan, we're lucky to get a stick of butter. Think maybe the two sides could allow for the transport of a few thousand cubic meters of cheese? - William
http://www.vox.com/2016/10/13/13268980/cheese-glut-united-states
Japan to allow liquid baby formula, hoping more men will join in child rearing
The Japanese government is planning to allow the distribution of liquid baby formula in the country, hoping the measure will…

Memorial Service Held for Kumamoto Quake Victims
KUMAMOTO (Jiji Press) — The Kumamoto city government on Saturday held its first memorial service for the victims of a series of powerful earthquakes that started in the city and nearby areas about six months before.

A note from the Kumamoto International entomology desk: Love those little spiders in your house!
Now is peak season for Hasarius adansoni, known commonly as Adanson's House Jumper, and "haetori" (ハエトリ, "fly catcher") in Japanese. They're the little black guys with white mandibles (the females often have white spots on their abdomens) who currently occupy most every nook in your house, from the living room to the ofuro.
As this article notes: DON'T KILL THEM! They are wonderful animals in many ways:
- They jump really fast - really, and have no qualms about hurling themselves off any height;
- They eat anything that moves, including mites and small roaches, so will keep your house pest-free;
- Though they make small nests for sleeping, they are hunting spiders, so do not make webs;
- The species lives in warm climates around the world and was first identified by some French guy named Adanson in Africa over 200 years ago;
- They're entertaining to watch on a computer monitor as they chase the cursor around.
Like most hunting spiders, they have an eye atop their head that allows them to distinguish light shading but not to visualize objects, so if you place your finger an inch or so behind one, you can observe as he whirls around to see what it is; they only distinguish between prey and not prey, and as your finger falls in the latter category, it is good fun for all.
Welcome these lil' guys, and thank them for keeping your home otherwise bug-free. More info with videos at the link. - William
http://rocketnews24.com/2013/06/07/337685/
【殺さないで】よく家で見かける「黒くて小さいクモ」の名前が実はメチャクチャかっこいい / しかもハエやゴキブリを食べてくれる！
家の中でよく見かけるクモといえば、黒くて小さいアイツである。茶色のヤツもいたりする。1センチにも満たない体で、家の中を一生懸命チョコチョコと徘徊している。どう …

This blog post contains several interesting photos displaying the aftermath of the eruption. I couldn't find the original cover image on the JMA site, though. The post contains a link to the following pdf document with more images (the text of the pdf is in Japanese):
https://www.gsj.jp/hazards/volcano/kazan-bukai/yochiren/aso_20161013_1.pdf
See also
https://lechaudrondevulcain.com/blog/2016/10/14/october-14-2016-en-piton-de-la-fournaise-planchon-peteroa-asosan-turrialba/
-- Kirk
http://www.earth-of-fire.com/2016/10/back-on-the-eruption-of-aso-and-the-current-activity-at-turrialba-and-the-nevado-del-ruiz.html
Back on the eruption of Aso, and the current activity at Turrialba and the Nevado del Ruiz. - Earth of fire
Some details about the eruption of the volcano Aso on October 7 and 8 - link - posted by the JMA after analyzing images taken during an overflight on 8 October. General view of the massif di Aso on a overflight 8 October by the JMA The ejecta have a...