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Bilingual guidebook to help LGBT community in natural disasters | The Japan Times
A bilingual guideline designed for sexual minorities during times of natural disasters has been published in a bid to raise public awareness about problems

The Fujisaki Shrine Autumn Festival (colloquially known as "Boshita Matsuri," or, in my house, "the horsey festival") has announced that the entrant number has been halved from 65 last year to 35 this due to difficulties encountered due to the quakes. In addition, a planning conference has established three prohibitions for this year to demonstrate restraint in view of the victims: 1. Outdoor practice; 2. Leading horses around neighborhoods to gather contributions; and 3. Alcohol consumption during the event.
One commented that the prohibition on soliciting donations was a main reason for the reduced number of entrants, saying "If we cannot visit between three and five hundred shops and companies to raise funds, we cannot take part." Shrine officials have expressed understanding of financial difficulties and have promised to share with each group revenues from festival-day sales to help defray costs. - William
http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20160720002.xhtml

Joe Tomei here, I've been doing some teaching seminars in Myanmar and wanted to pass this along if any were interested. The person and his wife (who is Burmese) who is setting this up is based in Fukuoka.
https://readyfor.jp/projects/8558
If you are interested in getting in touch with him, please let me know.
ミャンマー初の学生音楽団の立ち上げ、子供たちに夢を与えたい！ - READYFOR (レディーフォー)
ミャンマー初の学生音楽団を立ち上げ、子供たちに夢を与えたい！ はじめまして。株式会社有馬テック代表取締役の有馬慎二と申します。弊社は2012年に「日本専門のミャンマー技能実習生送出し機関」として設立され、ミャンマーの教育活動に携わっています。ミャンマーでは2011年まで軍事政権の影響により、経済活動の制限を受け「鎖国」のような方針を取っていました。そんな中、...

Quake victims in Kumamoto move to zones at risk of landslides：The Asahi Shimbun
KUMAMOTO--Sixty temporary housing units for displaced earthquake victims are located in landslide ha

It is now officially summer -- just in time for Ocean Day (uminohi):
For more about Ocean Day:
https://study.gaijinpot.com/lesson/holidays/ocean-day/
For the Japan Times article:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/07/18/national/weather-agency-declares-rainy-season-western-central-parts-japan-kyushu/#.V4ytSFccMpY
Weather agency declares rainy season over in western and central parts of Japan, Kyushu | The...
The rainy season appears to be over in western and central Japan as well as Kyushu, the Meteorological Agency said Monday. The regions which cover major Ja

It is now possible to review and rate this page. If the spirit moves you, please write a word of two expressing your view of the page (either positive, negative, or both) and rate us. I think I can speak for most of the page editors when I say that, though we really appreciate positive feedback, we would also like to know about problems that need to be addressed.
-- Kirk

Volunteers continue to help in quake-hit Kumamoto- News - NHK WORLD - English
Volunteers are helping with reconstruction in Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture 3 months after a series of massive earthquakes struck the region.

The Summer 2016 edition of YOKA is out. The publication is intended for JETs working in Kumamoto but is good reading material for non-JETs as well.
-- Kirk
http://kumamotojet.com/documents/Summer2016YOKA.pdf

John Oliver does Japanese mascots -- including Kumamon. Irreverent but very funny. ;)
-- Kirk
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Japan Mascots
Last week tonight with John Oliver

People who lost their homes in the quakes began moving into the the Mashiki-machi Techno Kasetsu Danchi (Mashiki Techno Temporary Housing Complex) today. While the complex provides much needed housing, it's location near the airport presents several problems. One is the lack of stores in the area. Another is the distance from downtown Kumamoto City.
The following NHK news video and text (in Japanese, unfortunately) explains how the city will attempt to address those issues:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20160717/k10010599231000.html
-- Kirk
https://goo.gl/maps/qFaX3XBHwQH2
〒861-2204 熊本県上益城郡益城町小谷

Charmaine here....I just want to (quickly) share the news of a special discount campaign by booking.com. I`m afraid I haven`t yet been able to find details in English though. It starts July 19th,and offers substantial discounts on bookings made in Kyushu from overseas:
http://kurokawa-onsen.com/special-discounts-on-booking-com-for-2016-julyaugsept-kyushu-bookings/
SPECIAL DISCOUNTS on booking.com for 2016 July/Aug/Sept Kyushu bookings!!
DRUM ROLL....... Just a quick heads up on this great offer that is starting July 19th ,2016! SPECIAL DISCOUNTS FOR overseas visitors making

Here's something I posted over a year ago. I'm reposting it now because this fabulous ryokan (inn), Sozankyo, has reopened. They were hit hard by the quake and had difficulties repairing their onsen but yesterday's NHK evening news reported that they were able to resume their business Saturday. For a limited time, you can see that video (in Japanese) here:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20160716/k10010598621000.html
Although they are back in business, they need more customers as the quakes have sharply reduced the number of visitors to the Aso area.
Here's the English side of Sozankyo's web site:
http://www.sozankyo.jp/en/
And here's a Booking.com page with links to Sozankyo and other highly rated ryokan in the Aso area:
http://goo.gl/f1Mg25
-- KIrk

Here's an old article that I seem to have missed at the time. Information about how to contribute to the reconstruction of the castle or other worthy causes can be found here:
http://kumamotojet.com/shin/index.php/2016/06/13/june-13-updates/
-- Kirk
http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20160502/p2a/00m/0na/025000c
Donations pour in to help restore quake-damaged Kumamoto Castle - The Mainichi
KUMAMOTO -- Financial aid is pouring in from around Japan to pay for repairs to quake-damaged Kumamoto Castle, a landmark counted among three of the finest castles in Japan.

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Here's a post from the Kumamoto-i mailing list about items for sale:
"I would like to sale off many stuffs like SD-Bed, Dining set, Dressing table, kitchenette and many more small useful items at cheapest rate possible. I can also guarantee they are all in perfect condition.
Kindly check the website below to find more and please contact us through mail only so that we can reserve the stuffs for you until the sales date.
http://dibyajivanarun4u.wix.com/mastmono "
The Kumamoto-i e-mail group can be found at
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/kumamoto-i/conversations/messages
This Facebook page grew out of the Kumamoto-i e-mail list. The e-mail list is not as active now as in the past but it has some advantages over this Facebook page. One advantage is that you don't have any fancy algorithm deciding what you should or should not view; you see all posts in the order that they are made. Another related advantage is that all posts are treated equally. On this page, only the editors can post as "Kumamoto International" but on the Kumamoto-i e-mail group, posts from members are distributed in the same way that posts from moderators are. This makes the e-mail page group useful for people who have items they wish to buy or sell because one can address everyone in the group without getting the attention of a moderator.
Since becoming involved in Facebook I have found it difficult to integrate the two forums, though their purposes are essentially the same. Recently, however, I've developed a method of collating and sending summaries of posts made to this Facebook page to the Kumamoto-i list that I think I can sustain. Readers of the Facebook page may want to check out the summaries to make sure that Facebook hasn't prevented you from seeing content that you are interested in.
-- Kirk

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/kumamoto-i/conversations/messages/13373
Yahoo! Groups

A sobering headline . . .
Kumamoto cleanup from April quakes drags on as 4,700 residents remain evacuated | The Japan Times
About 4,700 people remain evacuated in Kumamoto Prefecture following a series of powerful earthquakes three months ago. Thursday marks three months since t

NHK frequently removes English videos such as this one after just a day or two so, it you're interested, better take a look soon.
-- Kirk
Kumamoto quakes still have effect on local economy- News - NHK WORLD - English
People in southwestern Japan are still trying to find places to stay and rebuild their lives 3 months after the first in a series of earthquakes hit the region.

Sadly, yesterday's heavy rain caused one death in Misato-machi. An elderly women was caught in a surging river. About 7 hours after she was last seen near the water, her body was found was found six kilometers downstream.
川で行方不明の女性が死亡 熊本 美里町 | NHKニュース
１４日朝、熊本県美里町で、８３歳の女性が自宅近くで大雨により増水した川に流され、捜索の結果、下流で見つかりましたが死亡が確認されました。

Here's another article about where Kumamoto stands after three months.
-- Kirk
4,700 evacuees in Kumamoto still lodged in temporary units：The Asahi Shimbun
KUMAMOTO--Nearly 5,000 residents of Kumamoto Prefecture are still living in temporary shelters three