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(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!
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The Cluster Amaryllis Road
Often named "red spider lilies" in English, we prefer the name of "Cluster Amaryllis" in order not to scare arachnophobes.These brigh red flowers can be seen...

Kirk here with a news share:
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The guidelines, intended for hospitals and municipal governments, were compiled after Jikei Hospital in the city of Kumamoto — the nation’s only hospital that runs a “baby hatch” for newborns set for adoption — started accepting women who wish to give birth anonymously. The hospital assisted with the nation’s first such birth in December last year, and four more women have had their baby delivered at the hospital in this manner to date.
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Go Jikei Hospital!! You're making a difference in the world! :)
Japan publishes guidelines on ‘confidential births’ amid growing attention
The guidelines were compiled after Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto started accepting women who wish to give birth anonymously.

Hari here, From October, bicycle users will be required to wear helmets. (Kumamoto City Bicycle Safety Ordinance Revision)
https://www.city.kumamoto.jp.e.fm.hp.transer.com/hpKiji/pub/detail.aspx?c_id=5&id=43456&class_set_id=2&class_id=71

Kirk here reporting that Kumamoto City has been ranked as the third most livable city in Japan. What! Only third?!! ;)
I haven't had time to look into exactly how this evaluation was made but as one who also finds Kumamoto City to be quite livable, the overall evaluation makes sense to me.
https://project.nikkeibp.co.jp/atclppp/071300044/071400003/?fbclid=IwAR0RpBjTKDaFSZJsJSZETdO5QSZ1yefUwtJvOurfiBS2L9MnbqMYZWBji94
P.S. I learned about this here:
https://www.facebook.com/kumamotocom/posts/pfbid0V2qMRmex9BCY9QezqBEHrNbkWKBRwVYHesk8Q8zGKG96a9MQRRn9cHWH7kcJANUil

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.
Even though the information about Kumamoto is only a small part of this article, if you're interested in visiting so-called "power spots," you might want to check it out.
The third link takes you to another article about "power spots" that explains that "an (in)famous Uri Geller type figure called Kiyota Masuaki coined the term ‘power spot’." So, it's sort of "made-in-Japan English" (wasei Eigo) but, as English, it sounds a good deal more natural to my ears than some other Japanese creations.
https://soranews24.com/2022/09/29/testing-our-luck-can-visiting-japans-power-sports-improve-the-omikuji-temple-fortune-you-draw/
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g670169-d1817611-Reviews-Kusasenrigahama-Aso_Kumamoto_Prefecture_Kyushu.html
https://www.greenshinto.com/2014/05/18/power-spots-tokyo/
Testing our luck – Can visiting Japan’s power spots improve the omikuji temple fortune you draw?
After a month of visiting auspicious sites, Seiji’s luck levels should be maxed out, right?

Liz here, fall is on its way (I think) and if you are a fan of spider lilies, also apparently known as cluster amaryllis, now is the time to head to the rice fields in Mashiki. Just follow densha dori and keep going past Kengun. After passing through a road construction area, keep on the same road headed towards Nishihara . Rice fields will appear, mainly on the right side, and there is a small area where you can park if your timing is right.Link is to a google map showing the main viewing spots: https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&sxsrf=ALiCzsaeKrAqPAQ9XmAZclxWkE34C_gW-A:1664370380389&q=%E7%86%8A%E6%9C%AC%E7%9C%8C%E7%9B%8A%E5%9F%8E%E7%94%BA%E5%BD%BC%E5%B2%B8%E8%8A%B1&npsic=0&rflfq=1&rldoc=1&rllag=32941668,130822043,16161&tbm=lcl&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjmxbDqxrf6AhWIGqYKHamSBkUQtgN6BAgIEAE&biw=1161&bih=700&dpr=2#rlfi=hd:;si:;mv:[[33.3583995,130.8829136],[32.765639799999995,130.15474709999998]];tbs:lrf:!1m4!1u3!2m2!3m1!1e1!1m4!1u2!2m2!2m1!1e1!2m1!1e2!2m1!1e3!3sIAE,lf:1,lf_ui:1

Kirk here suggesting that you mark your calendars. After being postponed because of the typhoon, the Fujisakigu Reitaisai has been rescheduled for October 23rd.
10月23日に３年ぶり神幸行列　藤崎八旛宮例大祭、台風延期受け｜熊本日日新聞社
　藤崎八旛宮（熊本市中央区）は26日、台風のため延期していた例大祭のハイライト「神幸行列」を10月23日に開催すると発表した。神幸行列は新型コロナウイルスの影響で3年ぶり。

Carlton. Consumer price inflation in Kumamoto was brought home to me yesterday when I passed one of the “百円寿司 / ¥100 Sushi” places, Kura Sushi to be exact, that is near me. For decades they and their numerous competitors have advertised a serving of sushi on their computerized conveyer belt delivery system, regardless of most ingredients, to be ¥100. 2 pieces of sushi for a shiny reliable 100 Yen coin. ‘Hyakuensushi‘ became a word in its own right.
But yesterday there was a big funereal black and white sign outside the restaurant (and its empty parking lot; cause and effect?) advising customers that henceforth all servings would be ¥110.
I almost felt the earth shake. It’s maybe like Charles Shaw “2 Buck Chuck” cheapo wine at Trader Joe’s, a big American supermarket chain, suddenly becoming “2 Buck and 2 Bits Chuck”. It just doesn’t have that same marketing zing to it at all.

William Again, apologies for posting items tangent to Kumamoto (except that we have a large crow population), but this point caught my attention: "Cognition, says McCoy, can be fun. It opens a door to behaviour that isn’t necessarily essential for survival."
Crows could be the smartest animal other than primates
Crows have long been considered cunning. But their intelligence may be far more advanced than we ever thought possible.

William The C. m. japonensis is a type of crow. (Oyaji gag: why are they called crow? - it's their color!) They are extremely intelligent. I had a lil' guy (girl?) who visited my Kumadai office perch to get snacks. He (she?) would never enter the office but was pleased with the snacks I provided him (her?) on the ledge. She (he?) later had a chick and taught it how to get free food from me.
Large-billed crow - Wikipedia
The large-billed crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), formerly referred to widely as the jungle crow, is a widespread Asian species of crow. It is very adaptable and is able to survive on a wide range of food sources, making it capable of colonizing new areas, due to which it is often considered a nuisance,...

Kirk with some news about the state funeral of Abe Shinzo, the former prime minister who was murdered this year. The image you see reports the results of an online survey conducted by the Kumanichi, Kumamoto's local newspaper. It compares results from July and September.
Red is "opposed" and pink is "leaning toward opposition." So, if red and pink are combined, the overall figure for September is 73.4% opposed. Conversely, blue is "in favor" and light blue is "leaning toward being in favor."
In July, opinion was split more-or-less evenly between pro and con. More recently, however, many have soured on the idea. I suspect this is largely due to what has come to light about Mr. Abe's cozy connections with the Unification Church.
I think it's also interesting to note that the greatest support for the state funeral can be found among young people -- in their 20s and younger. This generational difference is greater than the gender gap, where women are slightly more critical of the idea than men are.
https://kumanichi.com/articles/800318

Kirk here with some "trash talk." A long time ago, one of my partners in crime here posted a link to a pdf about disposing of trash in Kumamoto. Trash disposal is often cited as a source of friction so the information was very welcome but there were two problems: (1) The translation wasn't very good and (2) there was no link to the original Japanese so I figuring out what was actually meant was difficult. This was one factor that led me to write a formal letter to Mayor Onishi requesting that links to the original Japanese content be included in collections of links to materials that have been translated into foreign languages.
Well, as the good book says (or at least one good book says -- I recognize the existence of other good books), "Ask and ye shall receive."
I checked the city's page today and, low and behold, -- drum roll -- ye has received!!! Not only is the quality of the English much better now but there are also links to Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and the Japanese original version. Yipee!!
https://www.city.kumamoto.jp.e.fm.hp.transer.com/hpkiji/pub/Detail.aspx?c_id=5&id=15590

Kirk here. Here's something for those of you who can read French and who are interested in manga, education, and/or Takamori. It's about the 'manga studies' department described in English in this article from last year:
Japan to get its 1st high school 'manga studies' department
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210910/p2a/00m/0et/033000c
Even though I don't read French (unfortunately), I was able to read the article quickly and easily via a machine translation function in my browser (Safari on my Mac, via an Apple service).
https://www.nippon.com/fr/news/fnn20220906408154/
Vers l’ouverture de la toute première « section manga » dans un lycée du Japon
En juillet, 130 collégiens venus de tout le pays ont afflué à la journée portes ouvertes d’un lycée de la préfecture de Kumamoto. Ce qui les attire ? Un cours pour s’essayer à devenir dessinateur de manga. Nous avons suivi de près le lancement d’une « section manga » dans un lycée p...

William Tussles abut over which route to connect the JR Hohi (isn't it fun to say "Hohi"?) line to Kumamoto Airport, particularly whether an Ozu line or a Sanrigi line. Issues are distance and potential usage.
I'd go with the Sanrigi line. It's closer to the new fabs being built there, closer to many who would use the line from outside the city, and closer to the athletic park. It would be nice to see it completed within my lifetime.
Kumanichi has the story: https://kumanichi.com/articles/800349

Hello all 🙂
Olivia here,
We have an assignment for foreign residents in Japan who used clinics/medical services in Japan before, from a Kuma i reader (Matthew Porter);
Please read information below :
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I teach at Fukuoka Jo Gakuin Nursing University and have been awarded a grant from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). (Edited to correct name.)
I am passionate about improving health care for foreign and international patients in Japan. To that end, I’m collecting stories from people who’ve experienced Japanese health care, with a focus on differing expectations and interesting experiences. Basically, stories I can share with my nursing students so they can begin to recognize what they should consider when caring for someone who might not be used to the health care system here.
I want to represent the most numerous populations and I’m having an awful time finding people from countries like China, Korea, Vietnam, and the Philippines, who would be willing to share their stories in English. I’ve managed to gather about 30 (of 100) stories and have developed a method for their use in class.
*Dateline is few more months,
Here’s the website created explaining the project I’ve actually had the best luck with women from the US, Canada, and Indonesia. I am aiming for a balance of genders and a 1:4 ratio of native to non-native English speakers.
https://sites.google.com/st.fukujo.ac.jp/2018-kaken-project/
(Please check the link ⬆️)
All the best 🙂
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Research Study

William A reminder that the Japanese Health System, as wonderful as it is, can be difficult to navigate. If any need advice, please do not hesitate to contact us.

William An interesting kanji exists - 轟, representing three vehicles and meaning a whole lotta noise, pronounced "todoro." There are several waterfalls named such; Google them. One is in Yatsushiro.
せんだん轟（とどろ）の滝 | 観光地
　日本の滝百選の一つ。高さ70ｍの岩頭から流れ落ちる滝飛沫は、男性的で見ごたえがあります。その昔、滝のそばにせんだんの木があったことから、名付けられました。道路沿いの展望所からも見ることができますが、展....

Kirk here with what I think is a cool use of technology that is being applied to the restoration of Kumamoto Castle:
"Kumamoto University and Toppan Inc. have applied 3D scanning to past photos of Kumamoto Castle to restore stone walls that collapsed in the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes. CG images were made for tourism promotion in 2011 before the stone walls collapsed. By using more than 40,000 copies of photos taken at the time and the CG, the university and the company created 3D data of the stone walls. Based on the data, they made a database of the shapes of stone materials and their original positions, aiming to check them against data on the stone materials that collapsed."
3D scanning used to preserve records of important buildings in Japan
Historically and architecturally important buildings are increasingly being preserved in the form of 3D data, as advancements in surveying technologies have made it possible to record not only the structure of a building but the atmosphere of its exterior.

William Our friend https://www.facebook.com/hiromitsu.yagi posted a photo of the castle illuminated in red, a salute to World Alzheimer's Month. https://www.alzint.org/get-involved/world-alzheimers-month/

Kirk here introducing an article that has lot of pictures of Kusabe Yoshimi Shrine (草部吉見神社), which is located in Takamori. If the article makes you want to visit, you'll find an address you can plug into Google maps and a link to the shrine's Japanese website at the end of it.
Down the steps to Kusabe Yoshimi, one of Japan’s three great “descending shrines”【Photos】
We visit this unusual shrine in a Kumamoto canyon and drink its water of eternal youth.