Kirk here reporting that an inadvertent post here by Mr. Yagi of the International Center is EXTREMELY popular, with a post reach as of 1 PM Friday of well over 50,000. If, somehow, you missed it, Mr. Yagi's wildly popular post is here:
Posts
Sean here-
Liz here, I am very sad and disappointed to have to announce that the 13 th gig with Michelle Rounds has been canceled. Apparently she was not able to get her musician’s working visa ( don’t ask about it , as it will trigger a long rant from me) . I don’t know how to remove it from the events calendar , so I have to ask Kirk to kindly do that for me. There is still lots of jazz going on in Kumamoto though. Venues that frequently have gigs are Swing, Jazz in Okura, kuhonji Smile ,Basement, and Green River . I am probably forgetting a few ….
18th Kumamoto Livelihood Festival "Mizuakari"
2023 Tour de Kyushu - Stage 2
Free bus and trolley rides in Kumamoto City
Kirk here with a share from Michi No Eki Aso:
In the morning on October 4.
Kirk here, partially answering my own question about where to experience wagashi making in Kumamoto with this web page from the Explore Kumamoto site:
Kirk here. I met someone recently who has a special interest in wagashi (traditional Japanese sweets) but isn't fluent in Japanese yet. I looked on the web and found this but I wonder if this the best place to recommend. If any of you have had either positive or negative experiences learning to make wagashi in Kumamoto, please share your thoughts.
Hello Everyone 😃
Free bus and trolley rides
Kirk here with a quick follow-up to my previous post about places to experience wagashi making. I should have known about this one, but missed it somehow. As you can see, it's from Explore Kumamoto.
Kirk here with national coverage, in English, of Dotour’s Kumamoto Prefecture Japanese Chestnut Mont Blanc. Ah, chestnuts!
Kirk here. Ubuyama-mura has an exchange program with Thailand. It was put on hold during the pandemic but is up and running again after a four-year hiatus.
Spider lily season walk at Mashiki Machi
Kirk here. Friday night my wife and I attended the free jazz concert in Suizenji and had the additional pleasure of meeting friend Robert Mortenson and his wife there. Robert had a little digital camera, the kind that many of us used to use before smart phones. Looking at his photos, I can now see why he continues to use it! :)
Kirk here with two editorials about the recent court ruling in favor of Minamata victims seeking compensation. Both editorials urge the government not to appeal and to comply with the court decision. I thought the following statement in the Asahi editorial was particularly noteworthy:
zoo festival
Fiona here with a shop recommendation for anyone who is into board games. I went to check out this recycle shop today and found hundreds of board games for sale, mostly Japanese but many in English, German and other languages. The shop is called Surugaya and it's located in Hiyoshi, Minami-ku. I'll post a Google Maps link in the comments.
