Posts

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.
Dreaming of a Japanese adventure: explore Kumamoto
Nature lovers will revel in the active volcanoes, wild rivers and bike and hiking paths in picturesque Kumamoto Prefecture, central Kyushu, Japan.

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.
According to the City Transportation Bureau, 24 of the 54 vehicles owned by the city are more than 60 years old, with the oldest 71 years old. For crowdfunding, 13 donation amounts ranging from 3,000 yen to 300,000 yen are set on the hometown tax payment site "Furusato Choice".
As incentives, the city will offer the right to charter the ultra-low-floor train “COCORO” (300,000 yen), the right to participate in an exchange meeting to talk about the history of streetcars with officials of the Transportation Bureau (30,000 yen), the tape of the in-car announcement in the 1970s ( 10,000 yen), and other unique items.
Those interested can contact the Municipal Transportation Bureau: ☎096(361)5211.
https://kumanichi.com/articles/811237?utm_source=kumanichi&utm_medium=mail&utm_campaign=newsletter

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.).
Murakami hits season's 56th homer in Japan baseball, topping legend Oh | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News
In Japanese professional baseball, Tokyo Yakult Swallows slugger Murakami Munetaka has racked up his 56th home run of the season, topping the record held by legend Oh Sadaharu.

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).
"Tanuki" is one of those Japanese words that have been adopted into English, though it is sometimes referred to as a "racoon dog" (despite being neither racoon nor dog).
The animal has a deep place in Japanese folklore. This Wikipedia entrance is definitely worth a read for those interested in Japanese taxonomy and culture. (Being known for their fertility, they are often portrayed as having huge testicles, as the below image shows.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_raccoon_dog

William The Mizuakari Festival will be held at various locations in Kumamoto from 10/8 and 9. Visit the castle to see wonderful displays of light, included carved bamboo lanterns and floats, uh, floating down Tsuboigawa. http://mizuakari.net/?fbclid=IwAR2a5vFBVYl_UtKncW0Gl1gjyvGPBl5Dw5D-Kq7LCvcDLL3WkSTecfu0_wk
熊本暮らし人まつり みずあかり – 6千人のボランティアでつくる特別な夜。
台風接近による9月18日（日）・19日（祝）制作ボランティア中止について 台風14号の接近のため、9月18日・19日の制作ボランティアは中止とします。 制作作業が2日間中止になることで、制作作業に遅れがでてしまいます。ぜ...

Ruth here! I think this 'tour monitoring' post got lost amid other posts.
If there are any interested vegan families nearby, who are free later this month to explore Kuma-Hitoyoshi, then please contact Mr. Harris 🍃

Kirk here with a question from someone on another Kumamoto-related forum:
"Does anyone know anyone that grows pumpkins for carving? I’d like to get two or three pumpkins to carve this month."

(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!
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RlFWua-8XX0" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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:
--- start quote ---
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.
--- end quote ---
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...