William The cloth edging on tatami is called "heri" (畳の縁). It's etiquette not to step on heri when walking on tatami to prevent wear, but sitting on it is fine.
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William Amazon has announced that it will build a distribution center in Minami-ku, Kumamoto in September, enabling next-day delivery. It will be a 2077 square meter, 3-story building employing "hundreds of people, including drivers." On the other hand, the article also notes, "Part of the delivery business is outsourced directly to the driver as sole proprietor... under a system called "Amazon Flex," where the driver works at his convenience," which sounds ominous.
アマゾン、熊本市に配送拠点 9月開設 700万点以上の商品、県内翌日配送が可能に｜熊本日日新聞社
インターネット通販大手アマゾンジャパン（東京）は26日、熊本市内に配送拠点「熊本南デリバリーステーション（DS、仮称）」を9月に開設する計画を明らかにした。2022年中に14都県の18カ所に設ける拠点の一つ。県内で.....
William The popular animation "One Piece" has nothing to do with Kumamoto save that its creator, Oda Eiichiro https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiichiro_Oda, was born here and has been giving back by donating sculptures of his characters to draw tourists. Recently, a sculpture of his character "Jinbei" was erected at Sumiyoshi Kaigan Park (住吉海岸公園) in Uto City.
Sakurajima 5 minutes ago courtesy of the live cam focused on it. Going to be pretty dusty around there for a few days at least.
William Kumamoto Castle is hosting an event called "Summer Evening Cool Opening," during which the grounds are open 4 hours longer than usual until 9 pm, and is scheduled for Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays, and 15 days of Obon until the end of August for a total of 20 days. LED lights operate at night when the park is open, including outdoor tour passages and surrounding stone walls and turrets. Kumanichi reports questions raised over electricity use during a time when all are asked to conserve.
熊本城・夏の恒例行事 節電中に夜間開園いいの？ 熊本市「需給に影響せず」「逼迫なら中止も」｜熊本日日新聞社
電力需給の逼迫［ひっぱく］を懸念して政府が夏の節電を要請する中、熊本城の夜間開園を疑問視する声が熊本日日新聞社に寄せられた。「不要不急の施設は営業時間を短縮し、行政が率先して節電に取り組むべきだ」（...
Kirk here with an update on who in Kagoshima needs to evacuate. In short, it would seem that Level 5 (calling for all persons to evacuate) only applies to people on the island of Sakurajima, not to Kagoshima City or other nearby areas. The purple you see in the image indicates Level 5. I'm sharing a screenshot of the Japanese page because on the English page (see following image), the colors of the warning symbols are obscured by the overly large English text. What's more, zooming doesn't help; the English text is configured to display on top of the symbols at all zoom levels. An additional problem, is that it's not exactly easy to switch to Japanese to see how that looks; there's not toggle or link to the original Japanese. This is another example of the assumption that anyone who might begin by looking at an English-language page couldn't possibly have any use for the Japanese-language page.
Kirk here. Sakurajima (Kagoshima Prefecture) has erupted and people are being told to evacuate. Quite a few English-language articles are available on the internet but I'm sharing this Japanese page from NHK because the video on the page provides the clearest view of the eruption that I have seen so far.
桜島で爆発的な噴火 噴火警戒レベル５「避難」に引き上げ | NHK
【NHK】鹿児島県の桜島で24日午後8時5分ごろ、爆発的な噴火が起きて、噴石が火口から2.5キロ付近まで飛びました。気象庁は、桜島…
William Otachimisaki (御立岬公園), just south of Yatsushiro, is a popular beach. However, it is artificial, short, and usually crowded. Venture a bit further south to Ashikita, though, and you'll find a string of beaches that offer many delights: Shirasuna (白砂ビーチ), Ashikita Marine Park (芦北マリンパークビーチ, AMP), and Tsurugahama (鶴ヶ浜海水浴場).
Fiona here, sharing an article from Japan Today about Jikei Hospital's baby hatch. While a woman's right to an abortion is not under threat in Japan, the article touches on a few reasons why it might not always be possible. For one, Japan is one of only ten countries where a married woman needs the written consent of her spouse. Non-married women are also usually required to get the permission of their partner. Not mentioned by the article are the high costs of getting an abortion here. The 'abortion pill' is not yet available in Japan, so surgical treatment is required. An abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy costs around 100,000 yen and is not covered by health insurance. Between 12 and 22 weeks, a hospital stay is necessary for the procedure, costing up to 200,000 yen. Understanding some of these obstacles to getting an abortion might explain why Kumamoto's baby hatch is indeed a last resort for many women.
Japan baby hatch hospital offers mothers last resort
When the alarm sounds at Jikei hospital in southern Japan, nurses race down a spiral staircase. Their mission: to rescue an infant left in the country's only baby hatch. For 15 years, the clinic has been the only place in Japan a child can be anonymously and safely abandoned. The…
Kirk here. I posted this last night but accidentally posted it as myself, not as the page. BA.5 is spreading. Take care!
Kirk here with some COVID-19 news. The situation is not good. Kumamoto is part of the natioinal post-vacation spike in new infections. The prefectures in red all set new records yesterday. Kumamoto had a whopping 3,772 new infections!! On RKK, I saw a report about hospital beds filling up (about 70% full, as I recall -- remaining beds may fill up quickly).
William with an unusual version of Kumamoto springs: Where is the Water? Our city is known globally for its spring water -the largest in the world whose drinking supply is entirely artesian. The cause is the granite substratum created by Aso eruptions which keeps rainfall close to the surface, where it pops up willy-nilly.
Kirk here with a little weather forecast. The image you see is for Kumamoto City tomorrow (Tuesday), but the forecast is pretty similar, I think, for the whole prefecture: Heavy rain in the morning.
Kirk here with some notes on Gohyaku (500) Rakan. The 500 rakan (disciples of Buddha) are near Reigando, where Miyamoto Musashi meditated some 400 years ago. The meaning of rakan in Zen Buddhism is described here:
William Eminasu, the waterpark near the airport, is open for the season. It has a few water slides and one of those pools that go round and round. If you take your children there, they will love you more than they do now.
William The Japan Meteorological Agency said on the morning of the 15th that a "linear precipitation zone" would occur in the northern part of Kyushu including Kumamoto Prefecture and the southern part of Kyushu from the night of the 15th to the morning of the 16th, and the risk of heavy rain disasters could increase sharply. It reminds us all to stock up on the normal suspects: https://kumanichi.com/articles/726887
Here's Wikipedia page and article about former Olympic long-distance runner Akemi Matsuno, who was elected to the Upper House from Kumamoto "as a Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) candidate in the proportional representation system." Though the article quotes her as saying that she wants "to tell the LDP: You’re wrong,” the Japanese Wikipedia page about her says she's in favor of changing Article 9 (renunciation of war) in the constitution.
Gossip YouTuber, comedian and an athlete win seats in Upper House | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
While many lawmakers in Japan rely on inherited political support networks for their electoral success, a group of fresh yet familiar faces used their star status to clinch victory on July 10.
Liz here. I have been following all the informative posts and comments on the horrific assassination here, and reluctantly keeping up on covid, so I thought a post about tranquility and natural beauty might be appreciated . This is the lotus season and if you are looking for a slightly isolated spot to enjoy both a stroll around a large historically interesting temple , (with lots of statues and its own wikipedia page) , and a photo session at their modest lotus pond (which also has water lilies), then Kawashiri’s Daiji Zen Temple is the place for you. I don’t know if they have resumed their Sunday morning zazen sessions, but if you are
Kirk here with another installment of my ever-popular COVID-19 series. (Yipee! More COVID-19 news! ;) ) Numbers of infections are continuing to increase in Kumamoto. Yesterday there were 2561 new infections in the prefecture, a new record. And, as the following image shows, Kumamoto is now number 3 in Japan terms of new infections per 10,000 residents with an average of 703.56.
Atsuko. Hello goat fans. The goats are back. It seems that they are hired by JR staff again this year.
