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The first of these pictures is one I took yesterday of the Bagu Yagura (馬具櫓). I wanted to see more of the what had happened to various parts of the castle but I was limited in what I could see because of the restrictions that have been put in place. I was told, however, that one can get a good view of much of the castle grounds from the top of the Shiyakusho (City Hall) building. I didn't have time to visit the building yesterday but I was curious so I looked on the web and found the other two images on the following page:
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/k-yokatoko/e/9751fb3dbdb5e7e5678ece63c6002925
The page explains that the pictures were taken from the observation deck (floor?) in the Shiyakusho. If you want to see what has happened to the castle, you might want to stop by the Shiyakusho before or after walking around the perimeter of the castle.
-- Kirk

Today I had the pleasure of meeting Prof. Toshiya Tsukamoto (in the center of the picture) at a meeting the the Kumamoto International Center. Prof. Tsukamoto runs the Kumamoto Earthquakes Multilingual Information & Situation Reports (by The Respect Program of Osaka University) website:
http://www.respect.osaka-u.ac.jp/activities/notice/kumamoto_earthquakes_multilingual/
It's particularly interesting because it provides information in many languages.
The pictures is from the following Japanese article about the site:
"母語で安心届ける　外国人向けに阪大が１２言語対応情報サイト"
http://mainichi.jp/articles/20160522/ddn/041/040/014000c
The Facebook page can be found at
https://www.facebook.com/osakaudisaster/
-- Kirk

This information is from the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake page:
--------------------------
"Nanairo Network Kumamoto" needs volunteers who can help teach English to children or play with them after school in elementary schools in Mashiki. If you can, please send a message to the site below.
The person in charge of English study: Ms. Izumi Matsumoto
https://www.facebook.com/なないろネットワーク熊本-1672289906353098/

A little late,but here is a brief update on last Saturday's walk to collect funds towards the rebuilding of Aso Shrine,an event organised by 'Friends of Aso Shrine'. Two members started off from Yu Station in Oguni at 8:30 and met up with five more at Hanaasobi (flower garden) in Uchinomaki before continuing across the caldera to Michi no Eki Aso and finally reaching Aso Shrine with their collecting boxes at around 5pm.... It was a beautiful day,and a lovely chance to get out and enjoy the views,the roses at Hanaasobi and the yummy yoghurt ice cream at Michi no Eki Aso. Some things had changed.....some had stayed the same,some places were open for business as usual.....some were closed,but generally people were out and about,which was good to see.

A blog post about dolphin watching in Amakusa from Explore Kumamoto . . .
http://www.explore-kumamoto.com/dolphin-watching/
Dolphin watching

Rene Saint-Laurent in the news . . . again! ;)
-- Kirk
http://www.the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002962864
Foreigners residing in Kumamoto aid recovery
MINAMI-ASO, Kumamoto (Jiji Press) — Residents who have moved to Japan from overseas are working for the reconstruction of their “second hometowns” in Kumamoto Prefecture, hit hard by a series of powerful earthquakes from mid-April.

Toa admits falsifying test data during Kumamoto port project | The Japan Times
Toa Corp. said Friday it had falsified test data from a pier improvement project in the port of Yatsushiro in Kumamoto Prefecture, following the general co

Kang Sang Jung, the man you see in the photo, is an interesting person. He is a native of Kumamoto and the first Zainichi Korean (person of Korean citizenship born in Japan) to become a professor at Tokyo University.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kang_Sang-jung
Read the article to learn about the Director Yikisada and the film.
http://www.the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002939487
Director supports Kumamoto through film
Director Isao Yukisada has been holding charity screenings of a film about his native Kumamoto Prefecture to support the earthquake-hit area.

JFA to donate ¥25 million to Kumamoto Prefecture | The Japan Times
The Japan Football Association said Thursday a revenue of ¥25 million ($227,250) raised from this month's charity match between Japan's Under-23 t

This is a good discussion of the complex, difficult, and expensive restoration process that must be undertaken.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/05/20/national/quake-damaged-kumamoto-castle-take-decades-restore/
Quake-damaged Kumamoto Castle to take decades to restore | The Japan Times
Artisans are determined to complete "at any cost" the restoration of Kumamoto Castle, which has been heavily damaged by a series of powerful earthquakes in

Imperial couple lifts spirits of quake evacuees in Kumamoto：The Asahi Shimbun
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko consoled victims of the earthquakes in Kumamoto Prefecture as th

If you're thinking of dining out this weekend, support local and try one of these great Kumamoto restaurants. There is plenty of choice in Kumamoto City, particularly for those of you with an international palate. Find details about local eateries including pizza, Italian, Sri Lankan, Vegetarian, San Francisco style sandwiches and more.
- Celia
http://promotekyushuproject.blogspot.jp/search/label/Restaurants%20%2F%20Cafes

The treeless landscape of Mt. Aso reminds me of my native California, though in the latter case, water (lack thereof) is the cause, whereas in the former, field burning conducted in late winter kills off tree saplings while leaving grass roots covered with a nutritious ash layer.
Cattle are normally released to pasture in late April and may stay until as late as November, but release this year was delayed by a month due to obvious reasons. Yesterday, though, likely impatient bovines from as far away as Yamaga and Uto were released for their summer grazing. Ranchers pay ￥220 per cow per day as a grazing fee under a system instituted in 1996 - much less moo-lah than providing feed. Various ranchers expressed relief that the pastures are again open.
As for the cows, one was quoted as saying, 「モー、地震は要らん」 ("We don't need any mow earthquakes"), while another seemed more stoic: "Live to die an udder day." Others were seen chatting happily: "Who's that new heifer?" "Dunno - never seen herbivore" and a cow telling her calf, "Off to bed! It's pasture bedtime!" - William
http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20160520007.xhtml
牛たち待望のダッシュ　阿蘇市で「熊本型放牧」－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。

Ghibli fans should enjoy this. There's a YouTube video that shows the commercial made to promote Kumamoto agriculture. I was commissioned before the quakes but then release was delayed due to them.
-- Kirk
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2016-05-18/ghibli-animator-directs-kumamoto-union-nikoyaka-shokudo-anime-ad/.102239
Ghibli Animator Directs Kumamoto Union's 'Nikoyaka Shokudō' Anime Ad
Koji Aritomi directed, storyboarded commercial at Encourage Films

I'm sure that many more assessments still need to be done so I would expect this number to rise.
-- KIrk
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002956111
Kumamoto quake payouts hit ¥12 bil.
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Earthquake insurance paid to individuals to cover damage caused by a recent series of strong quakes that hit Kumamoto Prefecture and nearby areas stood at ¥12.34 billion as of Monday, the General Insurance Association of Japan said Wednesday.

Here's a Wall Street Journal article about the imperial visit.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/japans-emperor-and-empress-visit-quake-hit-kumamoto-1463637606
Japan’s Emperor and Empress Visit Quake-Hit Kumamoto
Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited Kumamoto prefecture, which is struggling to return to normal after two strong earthquakes in mid-April killed dozens of people and disrupted supply chains.

Today was a busy day for F Rene Saint-Laurent, our favorite fireman. After meeting the Emperor and Empress, RKK's evening news program broadcast a special segment about him.
-- Kirk

This NHK report includes a video (with Japanese narration) of today's imperial visit.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20160519/k10010527071000.html
両陛下 熊本地震の被災地を訪問 | NHKニュース
天皇皇后両陛下は１９日、地震で大きな被害を受けた熊本県を訪れ、南阿蘇村と益城町の避難所で被災した人たちを見舞われました。

Now that the weather is hotting up, a lot of ex-pats are sure to be hankering for lazy days in the sun on the beach. Less than an hour away from Kumamoto is Akase - a small, little heard-of beach area where you can get away from it all and enjoy some peace and quiet.
-- Celia
http://promotekyushuproject.blogspot.jp/2016/05/akase-short-trip-from-kumamoto.html

Gina McCarthy, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), visited Minamata on Tuesday as part of the G7 Summit to open on Mie Prefecture on May 26. She met with the city's mayor to discuss efforts to reduce mercury pollution and also spoke with students at a local high school recognized for their sustainability efforts. She was quoted as saying, "Reducing mercury pollution is a consideration which involves all of Asia."
水銀公害削減へ協力　米環境長官、水俣訪問－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。