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Kirk here with a TV report on Saturday's Otemoyan So Odori:
４年ぶり火の国まつり「おてもやん総おどり」　４０００人が披露【熊本】 (23/08/06 12:00)
４年ぶりの開催となった「火の国まつり」、メインイベントの「おてもやん総おどり」が５日、熊本市でありました。【大西 一史 熊本市長】「おてもやん総おどりスタート！」今年の「おてもやん総おどり」には５１団体....

Atsuko with 2023 Sunflower fields in Kumamoto, Japan.
I didn't enjoy the sunflower fields this year, so I was looking for them and found a good page on Instagram, so I'm sharing it with you. On this Instagram page you can find not only sunflower fields, but also many other great places in Kumamoto and Kyushu.(๑˃ᴗ˂)و♡
https://www.instagram.com/p/CvSJCmKBD1B/?igshid=NjIwNzIyMDk2Mg==
"元気をチャージする"九州大人女子旅🚗 他の情報はこちらから ▶︎ @noburin_zekkei ✼••┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈••✼ 2023完全保存版 この夏行きたい！ひまわり畑5選 ✼••┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈••✼ ① #俵山交流館萌の里 阿蘇生乳ミルクソフトや西原落花生ソフト、 萌の里ブルーベリーソフト…etc ご当地ソフトクリームもあるよ🍦 photo by @ke._.ta1101 ✼••┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈••✼ ② #一心行公園 ひまわりは、公園の西側にあるよ。 photo by @ke._.ta1101 ✼••┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈••✼ ③ #うきうき豊野ひまわり園 約6,000㎡の広大なひまわり畑と 全長約140mの巨大ひまわり迷路があるよ😊 movie by kumako_koguma ✼••┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈••✼ ④ #第二空港線ひまわり畑 ⚫︎アクセス 阿蘇くまもと空港近く、 西原村方面へ曲がる交差点手前が 第二空港線堂園小森線が交わる交差点の手前 ⚠️侵入不可な部分があるので、 エミナース付近から左斜線を走ってね。 photo by @ke._.ta1101 ✼••┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈••✼ ⑤ #ゴッホひまわり園 秋にひまわりが見れるスポット🌻 movie by kumako_koguma ✼••┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈••✼ 素敵な動画・お写真を ありがとうございました♡ photo by @ke._.ta1101 movie by kumako_koguma ✼••┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈••✼ このアカウントのテーマは、 ✨元気をチャージできる九州情報 ✨絶景・カフェ・アクティビティ \実際に行ってよかった旅を厳選してご紹介/ 季節ごとに、旬なスポットにお出かけ🚗 ✽.｡. 「行ってみたいな」と思ったら コメント欄に「😊スタンプ」を もらえると励みになります♪ ✽.｡. 九州旅行でお困り事があれば お気軽にDMくださいね✉︎ ✼••┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈••✼ ✽.｡. 九州旅行でお困り事があれば お気軽にDMくださいね✉︎ ✼••┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈••✼ #ひまわり　#ヒマワリ　#向日葵　 #熊本　#阿蘇　#熊本旅行　#熊本観光　 #阿蘇旅行　#阿蘇観光

Liz here, with a very last minute suggestion for an entertaining way to cool off ....Gallery Hane in Shinmachi is having an exhibition of selected artists interpretations of Youkai, Japanese supernatural creatures / apparitions. Sadly the exhibition ends on the eighth, but if you are near Shinmachi and want to see, among other things, "oni" playing rugby, I highly recommend dropping by. The neighborhood is fascinating to stroll around, with some beautiful old buildings and interesting shops ...and a great coffee shop (those need a whole post of their own) .http://hane.art.coocan.jp

Kirk here. Michi no Eki Aso often features beautiful photos, like these, of the Aso area. I only share them occasionally so be sure to follow the page if you like what you see. And, don't forget to check out their website, which features articles in English, French, and Japanese:
https://www.aso-denku.jp/en/
https://www.facebook.com/eng.michinoekiaso/posts/pfbid0ceevSsHV48hbeEquEXEyM25vqr7habBbG5Hft3JTBAPvccqn8ePQh7ZHMEypkVnKl

Kirk here with a note about upcoming weather. The image you see is from the following site:
https://www.tropicalstormrisk.com/
It looks like the storm will come fairly close to Kumamoto around Wednesday or so but, fortunately, it will probably be considerably weaker by that time. The yellow color indicates that it will probably be a Category 1 typhoon (according to the site's categories), down from a much, much nastier Category 4.

Atsuko, with local Kumamoto Oyaji gags for English-speaking dad-gags fans.
A friend from Amakusa told me a long time ago that a shopping centre in Oyano-cho, Kami-Amakusa, CAMON, seemed to have been named a combination of the English word Come on, C'mon, the Japanese word [かいもの Kaimono]for shopping and the dialect word [きゃーもん Kya-mon].
I remember this pun (oyaji gag) every time I go swimming in the sea in Amakusa during the summer holidays.
I was a bit amused to hear that Oyaji gag is also called dad joke in English.(*ᐛ*)ᒃ
Today's sea photo is from the recommended Oyano Sea. Last year's introductory post.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=7669625019777530&id=123734781033296&sfnsn=mo

Kirk here with some information about the Hassaku festival, which is coming up in September in Yamato Town. I took the image from this page, which is in Japanese but has a convenient Google map:
https://kumanichi.com/event/1128786
Here's a link to some information in English on the Explore Kumamoto website:
https://explore-kumamoto.com/hassaku-festival-yamato-town/

Kirk here with more from Takachiho.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/243528938521986

Atsuko here.
Today and tomorrow is the HINOKUNOMATSURI in Kumamoto City, and I think there are summer festivals all over Kumamoto and Japan this weekend.
The Kofun Festival in my hometown of NAGOMI town is also this Saturday and Sunday.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=551019240528347&id=100068608272374
In Karikusa, Minami Ward, where I live, there was also a summer festival organised by the local residents' association at the community centre.
I was very impressed by how peaceful, fun and lively Kumamoto is.
This is how summer should be.
I also had bean Mamedago, a local delicacy of Minami Ward, for the first time in a long time. It is not sweet and is said to be a traditional fast food during the rice planting season.
You can also hear the sound of fireworks. I hope everyone enjoys the summer in Kumamoto.(๑˃ᴗ˂)و♡

Kirk here. Sorry for the last-minute notice but today (8/5) is the day of the Hinokuni Matsuri So Odori or Otemoyan (big dance?). The picture is of a previous year, I think, and was taken from the following site:
https://kumamoto-guide.jp/hinokunimatsuri/
The site is only in Japanese. Personally, I'm slightly dismayed by the lack of publicly available information about today's even in English. For a general explanation about the festival in English, I recommend the following:
https://ohmatsuri.com/en/articles/kumamoto-hinokuni-matsuri
For details about today, I think the Japanese site is all there is. Still, even if you're not fluent in Japanese, you can check out the maps and use machine translation services to check out text that interests you.

Kirk here sharing a post from the International Center thanking Anna (Germany) and Walter (USA) for five years of service. I apologize in advance if I have misspelled the names -- I was only able to refer to the Japanese. Anna, Walter, otsukaresama deshita!
https://www.facebook.com/kcic.kif/posts/pfbid02ViDLULucu94uJVa1kHVo2HJcBgNz5ued1a1SBF6SYEsoJVBVe5qaKQxQmok5M4LBl

Kirk here again with another little TSMC-related tidbit I found interesting: "The chip complex in Kumamoto Prefecture, where Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (TSMC) is building its second plant, is paying factory workers 280,000 yen monthly, 40 percent more than the average wage paid in the region. "
The Japan rebound is now in full force
Still, the sea changes in the Japanese economy must be a wake-up call for its neighbor.

Kirk here. I've posted a lot about the new TSMC plants but I don't recall posting about the government funding: 1/2 for the first plant and 1/3 or so for the second!
Japan to part fund TSMC plant - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan

Atsuko, sharing '' International sports festival in Kumamoto''(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Wanted: people who want to play badminton and have an international exchange!
Hello everyone! We are doing it again this year, the "International Sports Festival in Kumamoto"!
This year we are holding the festival with more friends and more enthusiasm, with Kumamoto Gakuen University providing the venue, the Vietnamese Association in Kumamoto, the Kumamoto Nepalese Association, the Kumamoto Islamic Centre, the JICA Kumamoto Team and many more.
The competitions will be mini football and badminton.
Unfortunately, the deadline for football applications has passed.
Badminton registrations are now being accepted!
We have also created an entry slot for people who aren't very good at badminton but just want to socialise!
We look forward to receiving your applications!
When: Sunday 3 September 2023, 9:00-17:00
Venue: Kumamoto Gakuen University Gymnasium & Field
Sports Competition: Badminton Doubles (Men x Men, Mixed Doubles)
(*The deadline for mini soccer has passed.)
Entry fee: 3,000 yen per pair.
No other event in Kumamoto Prefecture attracts so many foreigners.
Don't hesitate to join us!
If you have any questions, please feel free to comment.
↓↓ Click here to apply!
(In Japanese)
https://forms.gle/KLURxppWQBeryyt56
(English & Basic Japanese)
https://forms.gle/WPQnBm9T9XqqHV8n8
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=612539874327298&id=100067138724195&sfnsn=mo

Kirk here, hoping that this storm misses us. It's course seems to be very unpredictable but, if our luck is bad, it may arrive by the 6th or so.
Typhoon Khanun leaves two dead in Japan and 166,000 homes without power
Heavy rains and high winds lash Okinawa and Kagoshima, as storm slowly moves north-west before forecast change in direction towards mainland

Kirk here. I had no idea that diving competitions were every held in Takachiho. Thanks to Explore Kumamoto for the information!
https://www.facebook.com/explorekumamoto/posts/pfbid032cnePhVFKSgeVuYdC26m5rn8tFBzcdGquiRLLkSg9S9Usejz2fMNrPjYEKmPG791l

Kirk here. As you may know, the World Aquatics Masters are underway and Kumamoto's Aquadome is the site of the waterpolo events. The details of the schedule have finally been published, so you can pick out a game and go watch:
https://seikosports.com/wmc2023/wp/?t=20230805
The image you see was the cover of Shisei Dayori (市政だより; the official city newsletter that is published in the form of a newspaper) in July. I downloaded it here:
https://www.city.kumamoto.jp/hpKiji/pub/detail.aspx?c_id=5&id=49321&class_set_id=2&class_id=3748
The city also made a page on their website to promote the event:
https://www.city.kumamoto.jp/hpKiji/pub/detail.aspx?c_id=5&id=48977&class_set_id=2&class_id=64
This page has a link to "more details." So, naturally, anyone who was actually interested in going to see this even that the city has been promoting so heavily would think that the details about who would been playing when could be found there. I spent a chunk of time looking but could find nothing. So, a couple of days ago I called the city and asked what was up. I was told that Seiko, the company in charge of the schedule, only put the schedule on the web a few days ago. In other words, when I had search earlier, it wasn't that I had failed to find it -- it wasn't there to be found.
The person I talked to on the phone was very nice so I merely thanked him for the useful information and hung up. But, I can't help thinking "If the details are not yet available, perhaps it would be better to say 'Schedule details to be published here later' instead of sending people off on a wild goose chase with a 'Details here link' that doesn't lead to the schedule."
P.S. Here's a link to Wild Goose Chase for jazz piano fans:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEe81CXXZoU

Kirk here with news of a takigi noh performance. "Takigi" (薪) refers to torches that are used to light the open air theatre. One must normally pay a fee to enter the venue (the Suizenji Joujuen) but the night of the performance (this Saturday, August 5) entry to the park will be free after 5:30 PM (and, of course, you can view the performance, which starts at 6, free of charge too).
The photo is from the following 2021 Kumanichi article about a previous performance:
https://kumanichi.com/articles/473978
The language used in noh is quit difficult to understand (I understand modern Japanese quite well but can only pick out occasional words and phrases in noh), but I understand that an English-language introduction to noh and the play will be read to the audience before the start of the performance.
The name of the play is Kumasaka. Here's a synopsis:
https://www.the-noh.com/en/plays/data/program_098.html

Kirk here. RKK has be running segments on the SL Hitoyoshi recently. The one I'm introducing today is from about a week ago. If RKK publishes the video I saw today, I'll link to it in a comment.
SL Hitoyoshi is the oldest functioning steam locomotive in Japan. It is scheduled to be retired next spring.
In today's segment, a railway fan from China was interviewed. He spoke good Japanese. And, the comments of the train-loving kids were very cute. :)
来年3月に運行終了するSL人吉　最後の夏休みを迎え乗客でにぎわう（RKK熊本放送） - Yahoo!ニュース
来年3月に運行が終了するSL人吉が最後の夏休みを迎えています。 28日午前11時ごろ、SL人吉が熊本駅にやってきました。

Kirk here with a share from Kuma Visit. I occasionally share information from the page like this but, unfortunately, I'm not able to share all of useful information so I highly recommend that you follow it directly.
https://www.facebook.com/kumavisit/posts/pfbid02utgqGq1spqhuJnLSY2jBUxGvstN2tb2kuVEC2UDoPqkAeRUUBvS1LxTF2Ha6urANl