Posts

Kirk with a little note about wildlife in Kumamoto City. For the most part, the wildlife we are likely to see in our day-to-day lives in the city tends to be limited to birds and bugs. But, other animals are around and occasionally wind up showing themselves to us. One such animal is the itachi (Nihon itachi; Japanese weasel). Yesterday, I was sitting by a window looking out at a small garden on our property and got a glimpse of a little critter like the one in the picture. I didn't have time to get a picture myself but in the bright sunlight the orange color was very much like what you see here.

William Cemeteries (墓地, bochi) lie in a delicate state: the soon-to-be deceased lay out their will and their survivors follow out of love, respect, and/or in the wish that their progeny will do likewise. Kumamoto is awash with cemeteries, some pocket-sized, some immense, and the fact that 99.8% of Japanese are cremated mean that each tomb is a condominium of family dead. "Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? Your songs? Your flashes of merriment that were wont to set the table on a roar?"

Kirk here with an update on Jikei Hospital's groundbreaking efforts to protect the lives of babies born to mother's who aren't ready to acknowledge them.
Southwest Japan hospital to accept 'anonymous births,' relays plans to city gov't - The Mainichi
KUMAMOTO -- A hospital in this southwestern Japan city revealed on June 6 that it intends to accept

William A note from the Kumamoto International Bummer Desk (whose content is usually left to our interns): The Lake Ezu Fireworks Festival, which was to have been held in August 7th, has been cancelled by the coronaphobic executive committee of the Ezu Lake Fireworks Festival, to whom vehement letters of protest should be addressed.

Kirk here. Yesterday, RKK reported that Coto College, a technical school in Kumamoto, has welcomed Solomiia K (I'm abbreviating her family name in view of internet privacy concerns) as a new student. Solomiia is the first person to come to Kumamoto as a result of the war against Ukraine. She had been studying Japanese before she came and will continue her studies here. Solomiia, if you happen to read this, welcome to Kumamoto!
「日本の精神を発見したい」ウクライナから避難の学生　熊本市の専門学校に初登校 | 熊本のニュース｜RKK熊本放送
ロシアによるウクライナへの軍事侵攻が続く中、ウクライナの学生が熊本に避難し熊本市の専門学校に通い始めました。6月6日から熊本市の湖東（ことう）カレッジに通うのは、ウクライナ出身のソロミア・コティクさん…

William A unique feature of Japan is that every city has its own department store. Tokyo = Seibu; Kyoto = Takashimaya; Osaka = Daimaru; and Kumamoto = Tsuruya, which opened in 1952. Kumanichi reports on its 70th anniversary.

William We at KI are about as concerned with our readers' well-being as the law allows - sometimes more! (That rustling outside your window at night is probably just us checking on your well-being with a distance thermometer.) With rainy season upon us, we all get a little out-of-sorts, even Kumamon. As such, we provide below a link to a video showing how the lil' fuzzy guy handles the downs that inevitably accompany ups. See you tonight!

William "Kumamoto Yataimura" opened June 3rd in Jotomachi (between Kamitori and the post office), with wooden stalls lined up on both sides offering Kumamoto cuisine and plenty of alcohol with the purpose of promoting Kumamoto food and drink. This stretches ongoing revitalization from Kumamoto station through Sakuramichi on to the Kamitori area. Link to their site and another with plenty of photos (Japanese only):

Kirk with something about vegan cuisine in Kumamoto. UEDA Satoru, who is from Mifune and who won First Place in the Vegetarian Chance vegan cooking competition held in Turin, Italy in 2019, returned to Kumamoto to show people just how good vegan cuisine can be when it's done right. KKT reports that 25 or so influential Kumamotoites (KOYAMA Kundo, the guy who invented Kumamon, was one of those in attendance) were invited to tastes Chef Ueda's creations. (For some strange reason, they forgot to invite me :( )

William The Yamaga Tōrō Festival (山鹿灯籠まつり) is accepting from June 3, 2022 to June 30, 2022 female applicants (the parade consists of females only; 150 will be accepted), particularly from outside Yamaga, to participate in this year's festival, which will be held on August 16th from 20:00 - 21:00.

Kirk here with some real news and a funny mistake in English that the news reminded me of. The image on the top is the real news. Beginning yesterday, "pet sellers in Japan are now required to implant electronic microchips in dogs and cats as a revision to a law on animal welfare and management." Though the assembly-line type image of puppies being implated with microchips may seem somewhat disturbing, my impression is that it's a good idea. The chips should help lost pets to be returned to their proper owners and discourage irresponsible owners from abandoning their pets. As the article says, it's not retroactive; current owners are only "encouraged" to have a chip emplanted (in the pet, that is, not the owner). And, of course, this is a natioinal law so it applies here in Kumamoto as it does throughout the country.

William The vast grasslands coating Mt. Aso grabbed my attention when I first moved here as they resemble so the grasslands of my native California after the spring rains. Unlike California, where grasslands exist due to sparse rainfall, they do so in Aso due to yearly brush burning, which both clears withered grass stalks (perennial roots survive to thrive in the ash-fertilized aftermath) and destroy saplings; the grassland also supports many rare animals. Without the burning, Aso slopes would quickly be forested, and grazing land for cow ranchers would vanish.

Hi,Atsuko. Here is information about Ukraine support and assistance from Kumamoto.

William With rainy season on our doorstep figuratively, let's hope it doesn't end up on our doorstep literally. The figure shows that the areas adjacent to the banks of Shirakawa are lower than the river and how flooding (kōzui、洪水 or hanran、氾濫) might be expected. The building on the left, City Hall, for example, may experience flooding up to five meters; my side of the river will fare better at one meter, with water flowing on to Lake Ezu. Shirakawa has been widened, but Kumamoto remains an alluvial plain prone to flooding. Kumanichi has some eye-opening photos at this link:

William Fiona had written about fireflies and where to find them. A choice spot is behind the City Library, which sits adjacent to the Suizenji-Ezuko spring cluster and has its own street car stop.

William Kumamoto New Port, which provides ferries to Nagasaki's Shimabara peninsula, is too shallow for cruise ships. Yatsushiro Port handles large shipping container vessels but lacked facilities for tourists. This was rectified by a Kumamon-themed passenger facility funded by the national and prefectural governments and the US cruise ship company Royal Caribbean and completed, as bad timing might have it pandemically-speaking, in March 2020.

(Fiona) Right now is the best time of year to see fireflies in Kumamoto. My favourite spot is in Tatsuda-yama where dozens of them are visible from the road while driving through and at a short distance from the car park. I've heard there are also a few places around Ezu-ko where they can be seen on a clear night. If you have firefly viewing spot recommendations, please post them in the comments.

Kirk reporting on a verdict rendered in a hazing lawsuit: Seiseiko High School was found not guilty.

William An ad appeared in my feed for a new mansion between the train station (right), Denshadori (left), and Sangyōdōro (bottom left corner), facing south-west. The font makes it look like a New Yorker magazine cover.

(Fiona) The travel restrictions of recent years have made weekend breaks to Korea all but impossible. If you're craving Korean food, cosmetics and idol goods, think K is for Kikuyo!