Posts

William I've written about this before, but with Halloween approaching, a reminder: Lafcadio Hearn, once a Kumamoto resident, ebooks are available free at gutenberg.org. One appropriate for this season is "In Ghostly Japan." As it is a collection of short stories - some just a few pages long - it is appropriate for language classes. Though written over a century ago, the English is remarkably fresh. Some of the stories are very, very scary.

The 35th Yatsushiro National Fireworks Competition Festival

Kirk here observing that the COVID-19 threat just ain't what it used to be. Kumamoto Prefecture downgraded from Level 2 to 1. This is the first time since all of this started to be at this low level of alert.

Free Professional Consultation for Non-Japanese Residents

William A reader asks about notary services in Kumamoto which would be accepted in the United States. Such a service is available at the US Consulate in Fukuoka, yet the reader does not want to travel so far.

Kirk here. I got an inquiry about getting a Master's degree in teaching English as a second lanugage without leaving Kumamoto. Unfortunately, I don't know much about this topic. If any of you who have looked into this, thought about it, or actually done it would be willing to share your wisdom, please do so in a comment.

Kirk here. It seems that Kumamoto University is establishing an "International Manga Education Research Center" and that they hope it will attract students and researchers from overseas.

William Good news for American citizens: The US Embassy invites voters to send their ballot to the Tokyo Embassy, who will in turn foot the bill to return them to the States. This will save mucho dinero. Info at the link: https://jp.usembassy.gov/services/voting/

Kirk here with a link to an extensive article that has lots of pictures about cool stuff to do and see in Kumamoto. I was particularly interested in the photos about rafting on the Kumagawa.

William Kumamoto's beloved streetcar system opened in 1924. As part of its 100th anniversary, they have adopted a novel approach: to crowdfund in order to reproduce the design of a streetcar from the 1950s, when the system was at its peak, on one of its particularly dilapidated cars.

Kirk here with baseball news. A segment on a late-night news program called Hodo Station focused on the roots of Murakami's success in Kumamoto (father's coaching, progress in school, etc.).

William Wildlife in the city is limited due to strict measures on culling. Still, it's not unusual to see mustelidae and tanuki even in Oe (though not nearly as often as before all the "mansions" were built).

Mizuakari Festival

Kuma-Hitoyoshi Tour for Vegan Families

Kirk here with a question from someone on another Kumamoto-related forum:

(Douglas) Megumi and I decided to try and catch some "Cluster Amaryllis" before they faded for the season. We decided not to call them "Spider Lilies", as there have been a large number of posts recently that have scared arachnophobes!

Kirk here with a news share:

Hari here, From October, bicycle users will be required to wear helmets. (Kumamoto City Bicycle Safety Ordinance Revision)

Kirk here reporting that Kumamoto City has been ranked as the third most livable city in Japan. What! Only third?!! ;)

Kirk here with another article share. This article links to an article about Kusabe Yoshimi, which I shared on this page recently. It also mentions "Kumamoto’s Kusasenrigahama highlands," an area near the volcano that is usually referred to simply as "Kusasenri." The second link below takes you to information about that popular place.