Posts

Those of you who lived near Kami Kumamoto might have used this train.
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/cool_japan/style/AJ201511030004
Last 'green frog' train running in Kumamoto headed for final run after 60 years - AJW by The...
KUMAMOTO--With a rigid suspension and no air conditioning, a ride on Kumamoto Dentetsu Co.'s Kikuchi Line's "aogaeru," or green frog, does not offer the passenger comforts of a modern train.

The article says that six Santas that have been certified by the Greenland International Santa Claus Association will be in the Amakusa area until Dec. 20th (after the 20th, Santas tend to be rather busy checking lists, etc. ;)). The article mentions an American Santa named Douglas Gowin (sp?) whom I think is pictured here.
-- Kirk
https://www.facebook.com/amakusafan/posts/1029716183739515
熊本）サンタクロース、天草に「常駐」　６人交代で：朝日新聞デジタル
　グリーンランド国際サンタクロース協会の公認サンタが３０日から、天草市内のホテルやイベントに登場し、地元の人や観光客をもてなし始めた。協会メンバーも含む６人が交代で、１２月２０日まで（１１月１９～２７…

I got this question about parking in Kumamoto City. I'm only aware of short-term parking near the airport:
http://www.search-parking.com/airport/kyushu/KMJ/
There's overnight parking near Kumamoto Station, too, but I think that might be a bit more.
-- Kirk

Things seem to be picking up at Kumamoto Airport's international terminal.
http://finchannel.com/index.php/business/travel-news/item/51112-hong-kong-airlines-adds-kumamoto-japan-to-its-network
FINCHANNEL.com - Hong Kong Airlines adds Kumamoto, Japan to its network

Do you trust the Facebook algorithm to serve you the information you really want or need? I pose this question because I've noticed that some posts on this page are getting extremely low numbers. The low numbers may stem in part from the posting hiatus I took recently but, nonetheless, the discrepancy between posts that get viewed and those that don't is greater than it has ever been in my experience. Take, for example, the gap between the over 4,000 views that a post about fashion in Kumamoto got vs. the 18 views (as of this writing) for a post about an actual party that is going to be held tonight. The fashion post got a lot of views largely because several people decided to share it. That makes sense to me. On the other hand the mere 18 views for a post about an actually event that people in Kumamoto might choose to attend troubles me. Even though over 1,000 people have chosen to "like" (subscribe to?) this page, Facebook's algorithm seems to have decided that most of them don't need to be shown certain posts.
The "people reached" numbers in the images are only shown to page owners and moderators. As a Facebook user, I think it's important to understand that what you wind up viewing depends to a very large extent on what Facebook's algorithm decides to show you. If you want to make sure that you don't miss anything, you can choose to get notified whenever a post is made but, well, in this age of information overload, how many people will be willing to do that?
Thanks for reading this. Sorry to carp. I just wanted to share my thoughts about what to me feels like the whimsical, hit-and-miss nature of the Facebook world.
-- Kirk
P.S. I happen to be a fan of RSS. RSS shows me the headings for all of the posts of the feeds I'm subscribed to. I only actually read a very small percentage of the items (blog posts, news articles, etc) but I know that I have scanned everything. Personally, I prefer RSS to Facebook because I feel like I have more control over what I choose to read and what I choose to skip.

This is Okinawa, not Kumamoto, but the idea of putting the "foreigner driving" part in kanji that the foreigner might not understand is one of several problems -- a bit like taping a piece of paper to someone's back that says "I'm an idiot" and watching them walk around with it until they catch on.
One reader on Fukuoka Now wrote that people who don't see a big problem with this should consider how people they might react if women were required to drive a car with a "woman driving" sign.
If the sign is truly voluntary ("Go easy on me -- I'm new here") that's one thing, but if renters don't have a choice, that's a very different matter.
https://www.facebook.com/fukuokanow/posts/10153265192817810
-- Kirk
Foreigner Driving Stickers Appearing in Okinawa
The number of foreign visitors renting cars is on the rise. In fiscal 2014, the number of car rentals around Fukuoka Airport jumped...

The Kyushu tournament will be held in Fukuoka in November.
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002506079
SUMO ABC (15) / Regional sumo tournaments celebrate local wrestling talent
Sumo holds three grand tournaments outside Tokyo — the spring basho in Osaka in March, the Nagoya basho in July and the Kyushu basho in Fukuoka in November. The banzuke rankings for this year’s Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament will be announced Monday, with the basho starting Nov. 8 at the Fukuoka Kokus…

I'm glad that the little girl was unharmed but I think this incident is extremely creepy nonetheless.
-- Kirk
http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/43-year-old-man-arrested-on-suspicion-of-kidnapping-3-year-old-girl
43-year-old man arrested on suspicion of kidnapping 3-year-old girl
Police in Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture, have arrested a 43-year-old man on suspicion of kidnapping a 3-year-old girl. Masayoshi Eto is…

I don't always get around to sharing the posts from this blog on this page. If you're an onsen fan, go to the blog and check it out yourself!
-- Kirk
http://kurokawa-onsen.com/onsen-hop-14-genryunoyado-hozantei/
Onsen-hop # 14 Genryunoyado Hozantei
After an autumn morning spent exploring some of the hiking paths around`Sparrow Hell` (suzume-jigoku) and `The Forest of Crystal Streams ` (seiryu no mori) wi

If you'd like to have nails like these check out Mr. Tsukamoto's salon:
http://www.pedipapa.com
You can also find him on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007599314090&fref=nf
The salon has a Facebook page with lots of pictures:
https://www.facebook.com/Pedicure-Papa-1378931872370646/?ref=br_rs
http://www.the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002496404
Former pro cyclist strives for beautiful nails
KUMAMOTO — Fruits, flowers, Halloween motifs and the popular bear mascot Kumamon. These are just a few among the minute images elaborately painted on artificial nails by Kazuyuki Tsukamoto, a nail artist in Kumamoto. Many of Tsukamoto’s works are on display in a showcase at his nail salon Pedicure P…

CAL launches new route from Kaohsiung to Kumamoto | Society | FOCUS TAIWAN - CNA ENGLISH NEWS
Kaohsiung, Oct. 25 (CNA) China Airlines (CAL) launched a new route from Kaohsiung to Kumamoto, Japan, on Sunday, as part of an effort to increase tourism exchanges between the two sides.

Hong Kong Airlines adds Kumamoto, Japan to its network - eTurboNews.com
Commencing on 14 December, Hong Kong Airlines will be the first and only carrier providing direct link between Hong Kong and Kumamoto, Japan. The new ...

This article is about a month old. Sorry for the delay.
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201509300070
Dolphins, Kumamon grace body of Amakusa Airlines' new aircraft - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun
KIKUYO, Kumamoto Prefecture--Bearing cute mascots on the outside and colorful surroundings on the inside, regional carrier Amakusa Airlines Co.'s new airliner was rolled out here on Sept. 29.

PHOTO: Kumamoto coal mine glows as World Heritage site - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun
ARAO, Kumamoto Prefecture--An illumination event lit up the Manda pit of the Meiji Era (1868-1912) Miike coal mine on Oct. 23 for the first time since the site received UNESCO World Heritage status.

"Kumamoto City has a history of attracting high-end fashion. In 1985, the designer menswear store Paul Smith opened up their first store in Japan in the city, leading all the way up to today when the American boutique Need Supply Co. will open its second Japanese store in Kumamoto later this year. Considering their first store was opened in Shibuya, going right to Kumamoto second has to be indicative of something."
I was completely unaware of this history. On the other hand, I have heard that the people of Kumamoto think of themselves as "wasamon." "Wasamon" is Kumamoto dialect for people who "like new things" and, according to the following Wikipedia page, it's a characteristic of Kumamoto:
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/熊本弁
「わさもん（早生者）」 … 新しいものが好きな人の意。これも県民性の一つにあげられる。
-- Kirk
http://en.rocketnews24.com/2015/10/15/is-kumamoto-city-surpassing-tokyo-as-the-fashion-capital-of-japan/
Is Kumamoto City surpassing Tokyo as the fashion capital of Japan?
Kumamoto City, the capital of the Kyushu prefecture of the same name, has always been in a bit of an awkward position. It doesn't really have the metropolitan appeal of Tokyo, or the world-famous nature and hot springs of northern Japan, or even the tropical island allure of Okinawa. Plus, it's a he…

Sorry for ignoring this page for so long. I've been busy but will try to get back to the care and feeding of this page. In the meantime, here's a bit of news from Kumamoto. The photo is only related in theme (the costume probably wasn't quite this convincing) but I assume that the rest is true.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/10/15/national/chainsaw-toting-masked-man-spotted-on-kumamoto-street-just-out-for-halloween-kicks-police/#.ViyApoTgNFA
Chainsaw-toting masked man spotted on Kumamoto street just out for Halloween kicks: police | The...
Police in Kumamoto Prefecture reported late Tuesday that a masked man holding a chainsaw who was seen walking down a street was only trying to scare his co

I don't know whether or not Kumamoto City is planning anything like this. If you read this article, it may answer a question or two in advance.
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002482044
Cities help explain My Number system to foreign residents
As cards notifying people of their personal 12-digit My Number will be mailed to everyone living in Japan in the latter half of this month, municipalities are facing the challenge of how to make sure foreigners in their area are familiar with the system.

The removal of the Arase dam on the Kumagawa (Kuma River) near Yatsushiro is a rare example of a Japanese river being returned to a natural state.
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002465593
ZoomUp / Rapids return, bringing hope for revival
YATSUSHIRO, Kumamoto — The remains of five pillars are reflected on the surface of the dark red river. The pillars were once part of the 24-meter-high floodgate of the Kumamoto Prefectural Arase Dam in the Sakamotocho area of Yatsushiro.

This incident happened in Aso. (The photo is of a different boar.)
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/2-people-bitten-by-boar-in-kumamoto-pref
2 people bitten by boar in Kumamoto Pref
A wild boar appeared in the backyard of a residence in Aso City, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Sunday morning and bit…

I promised to post more about this but have been a bit overwhelmed with other activities. I can, however, remind everyone that the festival starts tomorrow (Friday) night. See the following page for the schedule:
http://film.witheastasia.org/2015/schedule.html
-- Kirk