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At this writing its relatively calm in Kumamoto, even though the typhoon is more-or-less at its closest. I think this may have something to do with the clockwise rotation of the storm. Even though its close now, the winds have to travel over mountains and forests etc. to hit us here in Kumamoto City. Earlier this morning, when the winds were coming from the west, it was a lot windier.

To follow the storm as it leaves the area go to

http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com/

The probability of Kumamoto being hit with tropical storm level winds or higher in the next 24 hours is high. We may not get typhoon level winds (according to TropicalStormRisk.com) but the weather will get worse:
http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com/

According to this map from
http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com/
this may be a category 4 or so when gets close to Kumamoto.

These images are screen clips from a pdf map showing the parade route. You can find the link to the pdf file and more information about this Sunday's festival here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kumamoto-i/message/12099

I just posted a message about renting bicycles to see the sights in Aso: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kumamoto-i/message/12097

Here's a video that was embedded in a story about Pan-kun attacking a young woman:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x95zAsRVls
You can read what I wrote about this here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kumamoto-i/message/12092
チンパンジーの「パン君」、女性スタッフにかみつく　女性はけが(12/09/07)
熊本・阿蘇市の動物園のほか、テレビ番組でも人気を集めるチンパンジーの「パン君」が、女性スタッフに襲いかかり、けがをさせていたことがわかった。 http://www.fnn-news.com/news/headlines/articles/CONN00231084.html

The main parade of the Fujisakigu Festival will be on Sunday, September 16th this year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHLAgoEKXrA
Japanese Festival Kumamoto 【熊本の祭り】藤崎宮秋の例大祭　2009
藤崎宮秋の例大祭　2009　Fall Festival in Kumamoto Japan blog↓ http://goshi504.blogspot.com/ 藤崎宮秋の例大祭を初めてみました。 「ドーカイ、ドーカイ」の掛け声、飾り馬の跳ねる迫力と、老若男女が踊ります 肝心の加藤清正を撮れなかったという失態で...

A bunraku (traditional puppetry) festival will be held in Yamato-machi this Sunday. They have a long bunraku tradition there. In addition to an introduction to traditional puppetry and the puppets, there will also be a Kumamon show and other events.

http://kumanago.jp/topics/?mode=detail&id=703

A festival (Shiranui Umi no Matsuri) will be held in Uki this coming weekend. Most of the activities, including the fireworks, seem to be planned for Sunday evening.

http://www.city.uki.kumamoto.jp/q/aview/34/3549.html

There's a hotel in Kumamoto called the "Hotel Slow Suizenji." I think "slow" in the name must be a translation of the Japanese "yukkuri" or "yuttari" which means unhurried and relaxed. The idea, of course, is that "you can take your time and relax here." In English, of course, "Hotel Slow" sounds like 遅いホテル (a hotel where service is slow) -- probably not the meaning intended by the proprietors.　http://www.hotelslow.jp/index.html　　http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/LocationPhotos-g298213-d1093951-Hotel_Slow_Suizenji-Kumamoto_Kumamoto_Prefecture_Kyushu_Okinawa.html

I've taken people to see this kofun (burial mound) in Yamaga several times. It's worth seeing, I think. The following page has a link to a map showing the location:
http://www.tvtrip.com/Monument+1-info/Chibusan-Kofun+u1HcZm
Here's an old message from Kumamoto-i with some more information:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kumamoto-i/message/7875
There's also more explanation in English toward the end of the text explanation that accompanies this YouTube video.
古代人からのメッセージ・装飾古墳の謎　Messages from the ancients.
装飾古墳が日本一多く残っている熊本県。今から1500年ほど前に造られた装飾古墳には、いまだ多くの謎が秘められています。鮮やかな色彩と不思議な文様...。古代の人々は何を思い、描いたのか？それは何かのメッセージなのか？今回は装飾古墳の謎に迫ります。 Messages from the ancients. The m...

Anime fans! Here's a video about anime tourism in Kumamoto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0pRgZ6Lp-k
I found this on the English-language web page:
http://aramatheydidnt.livejournal.com/4205972.html
人気アニメで地域おこし ～人吉球磨のアニメツーリズム～
人気アニメの舞台になった場所を訪ねる"聖地巡礼"の旅、「アニメツーリズム」が人吉球磨地域で始まりました。今回は、人吉球磨の新たな楽しみ方、「アニメツーリズム」の魅力をご紹介します。 Regional development by popular ANIME. -ANIME Tourism in Hitoyoshi...

Here's a video of Kumamon's bungee jump:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_W7bagqLfM
五木村バンジージャンプのオープニングイベントでくまモンも挑戦しました。 日本最大級の高さ77mからのバンジージャンプ！

You can see a video of this here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_W7bagqLfM

What happened to the "Kumamoto (熊本)" group? It seems to have vanished from Facebook, at least for me. Are others of you who have been members able to see it? I wonder if it has been deleted.

The last post to "Kumamoto (熊本)" was pretty weird. Here's my record from an RSS feed (which, thankfully, stays constant even if Facebook material seems to disappear):

"Alain Barbier posted in KUMAMOTO（熊本）: "私のアプローチはあなたに奇妙に思える場合でも、私は議論すると日本人の女の子が欲しい、私たちの文化を交..."

He's saying, perhaps through a translation service, that "Even if my approach seems strange to you, my point is that I want Japanese girls . . ." or something to that effect. Perhaps this post has something to do with the end of the group.

Actually, I've been thinking that it would be more in keeping with the spirit of Kumamoto-i to make this page a "group" rather than a "page" so that posts by member will be more prominent. If it means, though, that everyone needs to be made a moderator with power to delete the group and/or ban me from it, I'd better think twice.

The Hassaku Festival will be held in Yamato-cho (used to be called Yabe) this weekend:

http://kumanago.jp/topics/?mode=detail&id=697

Bungee jumping starts in Itsuki Village tomorrow, the 27th. They have an extremely high bridge that was built in anticipation of a dam on the Kawabegawa but dam construction was canceled. So, they decided to make use of the bridge by letting people jump off it. Cost of one jump: 5,000 yen.

http://www.vill.itsuki.lg.jp/q/aview/9/3249.html

This indicates that Kumamoto has a low probability (about 30%) of experiencing tropical storm winds within the next three days as a result of the approaching typhoon:

http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com/

Official "One Piece" mikan will go on sale this fall. For details, see the article, which is in English.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2012-08-24/nami-mikan-oranges-from-one-piece-manga-sold-in-real-life

A category 4 typhoon is approaching Okinawa. I think that Katrina, the hurricane that hit New Orleans, was a category 4 when it hit. I hope the folks in Okinawa are OK. This storm probably won't cause too much trouble in Kumamoto (I hope) but it's a good idea to keep an eye on it. This image comes from the following site, my favorite for following typhoons:
http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com/