Exploring Kumamoto, Japan

Ninomaru Park. In the evening, many high school students gather here to practice. Location:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/jdTWFCfxyEJvycAJA With the power of summer, the weeds are as powerful as the high school students. Along the Tsuboi River, people were battling the rapidly growing summer grass. Location:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/gUoDKLCyGHTwQrx58 Summer grass is growing thickly next to the stairs leading up from Josaien to Kumamoto Castle. It seems like the manpower here is not keeping up with the power of the summer grass. Location:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/uGYiBHDKQAKxhYEYA The area around Kumamoto Castle is very well maintained and very clean. I always thought that was normal, but it turns out that's not always the case. The grass grows vigorously thanks to the summer's power. However, it seems that the grass here is even more frequently mowed than it seems. As I walked past the Kumamoto Museum, I saw people using blowers to collect fallen green leaves from the cobbles...

June 21st, summer solstice. While walking around the neighborhood in the evening, I found some Japanese Flowering Dogwood. Going further, the Iseri River became like a dam lake. Location:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/89HgwbV5Edo47pXt6 This dam lake was created by blocking the water with a special sheet. It must be under a lot of water pressure, but it's amazing how it can withstand it. The reservoir on the Iseri River must have been for rice planting. I think it is used as a reservoir to circulate water to the rice fields. In Kumamoto city, the summer solstice is the time for rice planting. Today, you can see beautiful Japanese rural scenery within Kumamoto city. The next two photos show the rice paddies I found last September, just after the rice was planted. You can see what this rice paddies looked like last September from this link .

Lotus and Kumamoto Castle seen from Kato Shrine Although it is currently the rainy season, the sun is shining brightly and the temperature has already exceeded 30°C by morning. The ground is moist and the weather is good so the grass seems to be growing well. Lawn care work was being carried out at Ninomaru Park in Kumamoto Castle. Not all the grass has been cut yet. It looks like the maintenance work will continue for a while in this hot weather. Several elementary school students were taking a break in the shade of the trees. They take a short break and then set off. Where are they going?  Perhaps to the art museum just ahead? Curious about them, I watched their movements for a while. Then I saw them pass the art museum and continue on. It seemed their destination was not the art museum, but the Kumamoto Museum, which was further ahead. The Kumamoto Museum is in an inconspicuous location, but it seems to be a popular place with children. After this, we passed by the Kumamoto Muse...

Yojiro Beach in Kagoshima City. My wife and I visit this place several times a year. The last time we recorded our visit was in September of last year ( see here ). There is a small park in front of the Kagoshima Civic Cultural Hall at Yojirohama Beach, and I noticed for the first time that there were banyan trees planted there. Location of park:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/VYVnnev3iqwi1zEo6 The banyan tree was full of fruit. The way the fruit grows is quite unique. It seems that banyan fruits can be eaten when they are ripe, but they are not particularly tasty, so we almost never eat them. If anything, they seem to be a favorite fruit of wild birds. Looking out at Kinko Bay, Sakurajima is in front of us. It was hazy that day, so Sakurajima looked vague. Recently, Sakurajima has had a series of large eruptions, and it seems that there was a lot of heavy ashfall during those eruptions. Cars parked in the area were covered in black ash, as seen on the news. We were lucky that day as the...

Nakamura Dango A Japanese confectionery shop that has been featured on television. We had heard that the dango at this store sells out by lunchtime, and that was indeed the case. When we arrived in the evening, there was a sign in the display case saying, "We are sold out for today." The price is 90 yen each. Cheap! We were curious about these dango. Shop Location:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/aaRVjKyYGYTuWz1f7 This shop was introduced as one of the tourist spots on the official Kumamoto Prefecture tourism website. https://kumamoto.guide/spots/detail/19919  (in Japanese) According to the official tourism website, the shop has been in business for over 113 years. The next morning, we tried again. We went there around opening time (8:30am). The owner who came out was a very friendly guy. We were able to buy some dango. They look just like traditional dango. We were surprised to find that each one costs just 90 yen including tax. The dangos were very delicious. As we were leaving th...