Posts

Kirk here with some information about a form of aerial recreation you can engage in if you visit the Amakusa area. I found out about it here:
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=659338452886219&set=pcb.659339729552758
The service is called "Sky Walker Amakusa" but Star Wars fans need not bring a lightsaber (I'm pretty sure, though, that you can "sky walk" with your Wookiee friend). Here's a link to their Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/skywalker_amakusa/?utm_medium=copy_link
And here's a link to a Google search showing the location on a map and other information:
https://www.google.com/search?q=amakusa+sky+walker&oq=amakusa+sky+walker&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i22i30j0i8i13i30j0i390i650l2j69i60l2.8242j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Kirk here. 渡米する日本人に必読。 I'd like to share some information about an issue that's not limited to Kumamoto but that I think is relevant to any person in Kumamoto who either is not an American citizen or has a family member that is not an American citizen but needs to travel to the U.S. As you may know, persons who are not native citizens need to apply for a visa online via ESTA. Here's the address of a U.S. government site where you can do that:
https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/
But, it has come to my attention that searching for "アメリカ　ビサ" (America visa) in Japanese via Google's search engine, produces results with ads from scam sites that charge much more than the normal fee. These results appear at the top of the search results as "Sponsored" results. Google should never serve up such trash. In fact, here's an English article about how Google has been trying to weed out such scam sites:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-46316655
My impression is that English-language searches are much less likely to produce such ads but, as of today at least, they come up regularly in Japanese.
I've written to Google using a form they have to submit complaints about such ads (search for "Google ads inappropriate report" or similar words in Japanese). Hopefully, this will have some effect. In the meantime, be careful.

Atsuko here.
Share it with Kumamoto's future engineers. The Kumamoto Boys and Girls Inventors' Club 熊本市少年少女発明クラブheld a science workshop today.
This time it was an open participation workshop during the summer holidays, but we sometimes have international kids come to the club, which is held once a month throughout the year at Sojo University, and we hope to have more of them in the future. The club is taught in Japanese, but I also volunteer every time, so I hope that many international kids will come to the club.
I had a transfer student from China when I was at Junior high school. I learnt Chinese when we played together in the badminton club.
The Chinese words I learnt were Sai Cheng (再見, Bye, see you later), and Jyayou(加油 Ganbare),and Xiexie (謝謝 Thank you).
I hope to learn Taiwan also.
Invention Club International kids are welcome.(๑˃ᴗ˂)و♡
For more information.
熊本市少年少女発明クラブ
https://www.facebook.com/hatsumeikids.kumamoto

Kirk here with a share from the Kumanichi Shimbun. The headline says that 600 TSMC employees will arrive in August and begin working in a newly constructed office building.
https://www.facebook.com/KUMANICHIs/posts/pfbid02spE9jadAKLY2VoieoB9GFnzBAzfuHvL4mMTEsWCyyqj7kTCUNeJfHhDLvqSiiZQil

Atsuko here.
Information about Kumamoto's treasure, the Natural Special Pool.
Kashima Town Spring Park Natural Pool 嘉島町湧水公園 天然プール
I had heard about this natural pool for a long time, but today I visited it for the first time.
Anyway, the water is clean and very cold. The water temperature is always around 18 degrees Celsius. It was a very hot day, but the pool was so cold that it was chilly. I brought my own lunch, but there were also potato and takoyaki stalls. There is a parking fee of 500 yen, but the pool is free.
This is a natural swimming pool in the middle of rice paddies and residential areas, so please use it with good manners and respect for nature. Use is from 10:00 to 18:00.
Hoping you also enjoy it ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و
https://g.co/kgs/cqn48z

Kirk here, following up on William's post about about Lafcadio Hearn's ghost stories. Kuma Visit has just posted about another opportunity to hear ghost stories in Japanese:
https://www.facebook.com/kumavisit/posts/pfbid034SHGhbSjQk4om5i3ksUz491AFuVycYqXrJxpMvH17VHp2EcgEFM13r7iJmPkvMM1l
Since the ghost stories will be in Japanese, Kuma Visit has not translated the reading times into English (unless I missed it somehow) but the information is there for you in Japanese. And, details about when the castle will be lit up and who can visit for free are presented in both languages.

Lafcadio Hearn, the Irish-Greek-Japanese writer, translator, and teacher who introduced the culture and literature of Japan to the West, has a connection to Kumamoto: in 1891, he obtained a teaching position at the Fifth High Middle School, the predecessor of Kumamoto University. Apparently, he was not fond of Kumamoto, finding it provincial and charmless. This Wikipedia article mentions fellow Scots-Higokko Sean Michael Wilson, who has turned several of Hearn's works into illustrated novels. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafcadio_Hearn
Hearn was well-known for his work in the surreal. A very, very scary piece, "A Passional Karma," can be read here for free (being out of copywrite): https://digital.cincinnatilibrary.org/digital/collection/p16998coll8/id/1262/rec/1
Kumanichi notes that the annual summer vacation "Children's Fun Haunted House" has returned to the Art Loft of the Contemporary Art Museum for the first time in four years, by reservation only, from 27th to August 6th. Read the short story, visit the haunted house, read the story again, and you'll be scared sufficiently pantless.
https://kumanichi.com/articles/1123703
怖さの度合いも自由自在　熊本市現代美術館、夏の恒例「おばけ屋敷」４年ぶり復活　今年は「おしいれのひみつ」｜熊本日日新聞社
　ちょっぴり怖くて愉快なお化けたちに、暑さを吹き飛ばしてもらおう！　夏休み恒例の「こどもおもしろおばけ屋敷」が、熊本市中央区の市現代美術館アートロフトに4年ぶりに帰ってきた。予約制で、27日から8月6日まで....

Post

Sean here -
I saw this fashionable pooch sporting some dandy paw pads today and it reminded me of another post I saw recently.
"Many owners like taking their dogs on walks to enjoy the warm summer weather with them, but many of them forget about one important detail: hot pavement can and will burn a dog's paws."
“If the temperature is 29 degrees or over without the chance for the pavement to cool down, the ground may be too hot for safely walking a dog,”

William The word "citizen" derives from the 12c. Anglo-French "citezein," meaning "city-dweller." It was not until modern times with the rise of travel, mass immigration, and democracy that its modern, legalistic term came about.
"With citizenship comes responsibility" likely thought the Kumamoto government when considering bestowing the moniker on long-term foreign residents of our city (word has it, mostly to make garbage separation obligatory on heretofore unruly barbarians), but others saw this as a step towards allowing foreigners the right to vote (it didn't), and a brouhaha broke out. At least it brought us fleeting notice in the national news and some very stern looking faces:
Japan city drops plan to recognize foreigners as local citizens after opposition - The Mainichi
KUMAMOTO -- The city government here announced on July 25 that it plans to delete the phrase

Kirk here. This issue came up in the spring but recently a final decision has been made. I agree with my colleague at Kumamoto Gakuen University:
--- start quote ---
But Shin Myoung-jik, a professor of South Korean literature at Kumamoto Gakuen University who is knowledgeable about culturally diverse societies, said the deletion sends a negative message because it came about due to exclusionist opinions. “Policies should be implemented that aggressively include (foreigners) as members of society to resolve discrimination and prejudice,” Shin said.
--- end quote ---
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14966266
Here's one more article that provides more details:
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230726/p2a/00m/0na/004000c
--- start quote ---
The city's decision is "very unfortunate, because it deferred to opposition stemming from a misunderstanding," said Yasuko Iwashita, associate professor of multicultural coexistence at Hiroshima Bunkyo University. "Foreign residents will have a negative impression (of Kumamoto), seeing it as exclusionary. The city should have explained the point of the amendment in a responsible and detailed way."
--- end quote ---
The article also points out that there are smaller communities that have officially declared foreign residents to be shimin (lit. "people of the city") but that Kumamoto would have been the largest city to do so.
Kumamoto omits ‘foreign national’ from proposal defining citizens | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
KUMAMOTO--The city government will delete wording defining foreign nationals from a proposed ordinance revision after a public outcry.

Kirk here with news about an opportunity to see a small Banksy exhibit in the main Tsutaya in downtown Kumamoto. Here's a link to a page Tsutaya has put out about the exhibit:
https://www.sannenzaka.jp/event-calendar/10041
The exhibit will end on Tuesday, August 1.
newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/rkk/627485?display=1
P.S. It looks like it will be very, very hot tomorrow (38 C). Take care!
謎に包まれたアーティスト『バンクシー』の版画展　「イギリスの工房で複製された作品45点」を展示・販売　熊本 | 熊本のニュース｜RKK熊本放送
イギリスを拠点とするアーティスト『バンクシー』ですが、その姿や年齢などは謎に包まれています。今回、バンクシーの原画を複製した版画展が熊本市で始まりました。熊本で初めての開催となる「バンクシー版画展」…

Kirk here. In my post on Mr. Hagiuda's visit, I focused on Kumamoto University. This article focuses on Kumamoto Kosen:
https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/science-nature/technology/20230725-125234/
If you're interested, you can check out the English side f the Kumamoto Kosen website here:
https://kumamoto-nct.ac.jp/english-home.html
Ruling Party Official Visits Japan’s Silicon Island to Urge Development of Semiconductor Workforce
Koichi Hagiuda, chairperson of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s Policy Research Council, has stressed the importance of fostering human resources in the semiconductor sector during his visit to the National Institute of Technology, Kumamoto College. “We have to tackle this task by having th...

William Kumanichi reports on the only bungee jump in Kyushu, where you dive from Koyaebashi in Itsuki Village, Kumamoto Prefecture, to the Kawabe River, a tributary of Kumagawa, which will be open from August 5th to the 31st. On the night of August 19th, you can also enjoy the "Night Bungy," where you can wear LEDs while jumping (preferably with the bungee thingies attached).
Apparently, the jump is 66 meters high, third highest in Japan after one in Gifu (215M) and Ibaraki (100M). The cost is 15,000 yen. For those with more dollars than sense (and Itsuki is one of the most beautiful places in Kyushu), it may be worth the risk.
Watch Kumamon jump at the link (no doubt the costume needed extra cleaning after that): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z62ecZ2OS_g
https://kumanichi.com/articles/1120229

Kirk here. Despite the brief but heavy rain we experienced today, the rainy season has been declared to be over:
Rainy Season Ends in Northern Kyushu
The rainy season is believed to have ended in the northern part of Kyushu, the Japan Meteorological Agency announced Tuesday. It ended three days later compared to the previous year.

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).
Personally, I wonder how many of the families that will be coming to Kumamoto will want to have (or be ready for) instruction conducted entirely in English. Here's a quote about English proficiency in Taiwan:
--- start quote ---
In the EF English Proficiency Index of 2018, which was the last time Taiwan was included, Taiwan ranked 48th out of 88 non-English speaking countries. With a score of 51.88, Taiwan fell into the “low proficiency” category.
--- end quote ---
https://bubbleteaisland.com/2023/05/09/what-percentage-of-taiwan-can-speak-english/
By the way, in that 2018 survey Japan was ranked 49th. In other words, typical Taiwanese proficiency in English was just above that of Japan. So, isn't this a little like people in Taiwan saying "Many Japanese business executives will be moving here. We need more schools that provide instruction in English"? Granted, some such people might prefer instruction in English to instruction in the local language, but that doesn't mean that instruction in English alone is the obvious solution to questions regarding how best to education the children of such workers. The media coverage I've seen so far has ignored the question of whether or not the families of people from Taiwan would really want or be ready for instruction only in English.
Another question is Would Kumadai's elementary and junior high schools really be able to provide good quality instruction only in English? I've heard rumors that some people in the Faculty of Education, which would have to administer such a curriculum, aren't happy about all this talk about doing everything in English.
articles/rkk/621187?display=1&mwplay=1
萩生田政調会長　半導体教育の現場視察　熊大附属小・中学校で“英語”授業を検討 | 熊本のニュース｜RKK熊本放送
半導体に関する熊本での教育や研究の取り組みを視察するため、自民党の萩生田光一（はぎうだ こういち）政調会長が熊本を訪れました。萩生田政調会長は蒲島知事などと意見交換をした後、熊本大学や熊本高等専門学…

Kirk here with more about the rebuilt Minami Aso Railway. If you go to the article, you'll find a related video.
‘One Piece’-Themed ‘Sunny Train’ Sets Sail Again on Minami-Aso Railway in Kumamoto
KUMAMOTO — The “Sunny Train,” modeled after the pirate ship ridden by characters including Luffy, the protagonist of the popular manga “One Piece,” began operation on Saturday in Kumamoto Prefecture on the Minami-Aso Railway.

Kirk here with a slightly modified DeepL transtation about the Yukata Festival to be next weekend:
Eight shopping streets in the center of Kumamoto City will hold a festival under the theme "yukata become a castle town." A variety of events will be held, including stage events, a somen noodle float (somen nagashi), and a fair. 熊本市中心部の８つの商店街が、市民参加型の祭りとして開催。「ゆかた」の似合う城下町をテーマに、ステージイベントやそうめん流し、縁日など、多彩なイベントを実施。
https://kumanichi.com/event/1091698

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.
阿蘇の大観峰で外国人家族の乗用車が転落事故　子ども２人合わせて４人が病院に搬送　熊本 | 熊本のニュース｜RKK熊本放送
7月21日（金）午後0時40分ごろ、阿蘇市の大観峰（だいかんぼう）の駐車場近くで、乗用車が道路横の草地に転落しました。警察によりますと乗用車に乗っていたのは外国人の家族で、40代の夫婦と10代の息子2人の合わ…

William The original Honmyoji temple was built in 1585 in Osaka to console the spirit of the father of Katō Kiyomasa, who moved it to Kumamoto Castle in 1600. Following his death on July 24, 1611 and burial on Mount Nakao, the temple was moved there in 1614, followed by numerous other temples lining the many steps. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honmy%C5%8D-ji
To mourn the first anniversary of Kiyomasa's death, it is said that the 69,384 characters of the Lotus Sutra were copied in a single night on July 23 by the temple's 3rd head, Nichiyojin, which was called the Tonsya-e (頓写経), literally, "a sutra copied in an instant". In commemoration of this feat, a festival is held that date called Tonsya-kai (頓写会); the stairs are lined with lanterns.
Following a hiatus due to corona, it will be held again this Sunday, the 23rd, between 7:00 and 11:30. Schedule:
7:30 p.m. Departure of Tonsha-no-kyo procession
8:00 p.m. Tonsha-e large memorial service Houraku Kaji prayer
9:30 p.m. Wake sermon
There are many steps, so wear comfortable shoes and bring water - and a camera! We'd love to receive your photos and will post all contributed to us.
Official site: http://www.honmyouji.jp/topic.html