Koyaebashi Bungee Jump
Posts
Kirk here. Despite the brief but heavy rain we experienced today, the rainy season has been declared to be over:
Kirk here. Koichi HAGIUDA, Minister for Promoting Green Transformation of Japan (and, by the way, a politician known for his cozy relations with the Unification Church [Moonies]) visited Kumamoto today in connection with preparations for the arrival of TSMC. According to the news report, Kumamoto University is considering teaching classes at the affiliated elementary and junior high school in English so that the children of engineers can study there. Minister Hagiuda went so far as to speculate that classes at the school might be conducted entirely in English and still be in accord with the Ministry of Eduction guidelines (学習指導要領).
Kirk here with more about the rebuilt Minami Aso Railway. If you go to the article, you'll find a related video.
Yukata Festival - ゆかた祭り
Kirk here with news of an accident in Aso. Normally I wouldn't bother to post about such an accident but the family is reported to be foreign (parents in their 40s and two boys 10 or older). Fortunately, all are expected to live. I hope no one suffered a serious injury.
頓写会 (Tonsya-kai)
Kirk here with a share from Explore Kumamoto. It's about the opening of the earthquake museum "KIOKU" where Building 1 of Tokai University's Aso Campus once stood. Here's a link to a Google map:
Kirk here with a share from Kuma Visit. As Homer Simpson would say, "Mmm. Cobalt . . ."
William Rather typical for Kumamoto, the governments (prefectural and local) anticipated a problem yet failed to take proactive countermeasures. This time is the issue of roads in and around Kikuyo, where TSMC and related companies will soon employ thousands of workers and new housing is proliferating. Having worked in the area, I'm aware of the single-lane farm roads, where cars must slow to 20kmph to pass - and this traffic is due only to construction. When the fabs open, the situation will undoubtedly worsen.
Kirk here. I didn't know what romon (楼門; ろうもん) was so I looked it up. The first character means "tall building" and the second means "gate" so it's a majestic gate of the sort you see in the picture. Here's the link to the article and a YouTube video:
Kirk here. The following YouTube link with take you to some highlights of the Japan-All Blacks XV match that took place in Kumamoto.
0円ショップ Zero Yen Shop
Kirk with another rugby update. Japan didn't win but I thought they did a lot better in Kumamoto than they had done against the All Blacks in Tokyo, where they only got 6 points (they got 27 points yesterday).
Kirk here. I saw something about this on NHK's national news program today. Some people were waiting in line at 4:30 this morning.
Kirk here. I haven't seen this with my own eyes yet but I've seen several posts like this one that show emerald green water in the volcano. To be honest, though, I'm not exactly sure where this photo was taken. It doesn't seem to be the part of the volcano that belches steam. The person who posted this to Twitter wrote that the color (and perhaps the presence of the water itself?) was a result of the recent rain. Anybody been there recently?
All Blacks vs Japan
Kirk here with a TSMC update.
Kirk here. Tategami-kyo (立神峡) is a beautiful gorge in Yatsushiro. I'm sad to report that, according to RKK, a foreign man (perhaps from Myammar) drowned there today. :(
Kirk here with a quick update. "My number" (or "maina") cards can once again be used at convenience stores to procure official documents. According to the report, a problem occurred in Fukuoka and, since Kumamoto is using the same system, they shut the service down until they could be sure it was safe. The system was declared safe and restarted at 3 PM today.
