I retire at the end of March 2024. During my current position, I have been blogging and documenting my laboratory for about 20 years. From April, I will start to introduce Kumamoto City and its suburbs by writing this blog with photos and videos I took during my walks. April 1, my first day of retirement, was a beautiful sunny day. I took my grandchildren to Mt.Kinpo-san. Location of Mt.Kinpo: 32.813766575749796, 130.63864097027087 Many people climb the mountain on foot, but since we had small grandchildren with us, we drove to the top of the mountain. There are parking spaces for about 20 cars near the summit. View from the summit. Clear skies. Unzen Fugendake could be seen over the Ariake Sea. I have been using peanuts to interact with (wild) small birds. It was more than 20 years ago that I learned that the small birds on Mt. Kinpo-san perch on human hands for peanuts. Today, the little birds came again. In the photo, can you see the little bird trying to get the peanut on my h...
Hitoyoshi Station, located in Hitoyoshi City, Kumamoto Prefecture, is home to a railroad museum named “Mozoca Station”. The steam locomotive “SL Hitoyoshi”, which was in service until March 2024, has been on display here since November 17, 2024. Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Yg2totaW5Xd7UTrm9 On weekends, my wife and I used to watch the SL Hitoyoshi from the window of our house as it ran, whistling its whistle and belching smoke. When we heard that the retired SL Hitoyoshi was now on display at a museum, we went to see it together on a trip. The locomotive number was “58654” and it was indeed that SL Hitoyoshi. The following is a video (in Japanese) of the SL Hitoyoshi taken in September 2023, when the train was in active service. The driver's crew was very service-oriented and waved at us as we took pictures with our cameras. The wheel looks the opposite of a modern machine combined with delicate electronic components. It is precisely because of such a rob...
The former residence of Hosokawa Gyobu is now covered in fresh greenery. Currently, it is closed to the public due to restoration work from the Kumamoto earthquake. I've heard it will be several more years before it reopens to the public. The following photos were taken from outside the restricted area. We can't enter the residence, but even just viewing the fresh greenery from outside will likely soothe us. Location: 32.80899689664447, 130.7001988264828 ========= Supplementary information: On November 22, 2023, the former residence of Hosokawa Gyobu, which was at its peak of autumn foliage, was illuminated and opened to the public. The following two photos show how it looked at that time. The residence will be closed to the public until the restoration work from the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake is completed in the 2028 fiscal year. For the next four years, such illuminations will be on hold.