1) REPUTABLE NEWS SOURCES

ENGLISH NEWS SITES on aftermath of Quake/Tsunami & FNPP1.

NHK (Japan Public Broadcaster):  CLICK HERE

NHK World (NHK Int’l Broadcasts) : CLICK HERE Other languages too.

Kyodo News (news service) :  CLICK HERE

The Japan Times (newspaper) : CLICK HERE

The Asahi (newspaper) : CLICK HERE

News On Japan (website) : CLICK HERE

Japan Today (website) : CLICK HERE

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2) RADIOACTIVITY INFORMATION

MEASUREMENTS ALL AROUND JAPAN, UPDATED DAILY  CLICK HERE

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3) News Reports about My Volunteer Activities

NHK WORLD (English) — CLICK HERE

France 24 News (English) — CLICK HERE

NHK NEWS (Japanese) — CLICK HERE

Yamagata Newspaper (Japanese) – CLICK HERE

HillsCast Radio (Japanese) — CLICK HERE

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4) YouTube MESSAGES

STOP THE HYSTERIA     CLICK HERE

STOP THE HYSTERIA  2 — APPEAL FOR MORAL SUPPORT  CLICK HERE

STOP THE HYSTERIA  3  – UPDATE 3/21   CLICK HERE

STOP THE HYSTERIA  4  – UPDATE 3/23 — IODINE 131  CLICK HERE

STOP THE HYSTERIA  5  – HIGH RAD LEVELS AT PLANT  CLICK HERE

STOP THE HYSTERIA 6 —  (今度は日本語で挑戦)    CLICK HERE

STOP THE HYSTERIA 7 — (また日本語で挑戦)    CLICK HERE

STOP THE HYSTERIA 8 — LEVEL 7   CLICK HERE

STOP THE HYSTERIA 9 — TEA LEAVES  CLICK HERE

STOP THE HYSTERIA 10 — FOREIGN FEAR-MONGERING  CLICK HERE

STOP THE HYSTERIA 11 — （バズビーさんは詐欺師にすぎねー）CLICK HERE

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I got up to Yonezawa City in Yamagata Prefecture in mid-February to see the Snow Lantern Festival. It’s been several years since I last went. I’ve been meaning to go, but somehow, I always seem to be busy on the weekend it is held. Anyway, it was a spur-of-the-moment trip. I conned my sister-in-law into letting me stay overnight at their place. (Didn’t even call her until the day I planned to stay. Sorry about that, sis.) It was well worth it though. It’s a nice Festival. Sort of like Christmas in February. I made a “movie-trailer” type video of it. Check it out.

今度はさつま町。１６０３年に島津氏分家・宮之城家の当主であった島津忠長が菩提寺として建立した「曹功寺」（臨済宗）の墓石群を見物。明治時代、お寺が壊されたが、宮之城家の墓所だけは残され、跡地は墓所を鑑賞するための公園となっている。藩主達のお墓ですから、けっこう迫力ある。

北日本の藩主のお墓は木で出来ている社に守られているものが多いような気がするが、こちら、さつま町のはどっしりした石です。北日本は「木」の文化、西日本は「石」の文化か？

とにかく、ちょっとしたビデオ作ったから、見てけらっしゃい。

I went down to Kagoshima again this weekend.  The volcanos were all pretty calm this time. Instead, it rained.

I had a speech in Satsuma-cho, way up in the mountains in the northern section of the Prefecture. We had a little free time, so they took me to see an historical Edo Period graveyard of the 16 generations of feudal lords of the Miyanojo Clan (closely related to the Shimadzu Clan) at a temple called Soko-ji. Actually, the temple buildings themselves no longer exists because some overly zealous Meiji Period bureaucrats (and their hired thugs) decided that Shinto should be promoted over Buddhism. They tore down the temple, even shattering the pottery, and purposefully tearing up the artwork inside.  Fortunately they left the graveyard intact.

What sets this graveyard apart from others I’ve seen around the country is that the headstones are further protected by an outer stone sarcophagus-like housing. I’ve never seen ones like this made out of stone. In northern Japan, you often see the outer housing made of wood.  But stone is too precious in the north.

Interesting difference.

Anyway, I made a quick video.  Check it out.

最近、鹿児島県と宮崎県の間にある「新燃岳」が頻繁に噴火している事、皆さんようご存知だと思いますが、オラがこん間行った時はわりとおとなしかった。

そのかわり、桜島は大きなパフォーマンスで歓迎してくれた。阿蘇山も雪の中から煙をいっぱい出していた。なんだか、火山三昧の一日でした。

鹿児島の空港で食べたラーメンも、うっめがった。

Went down to Kagoshima again recently.  Mt. Shin-Moe has been in the news a lot recently because of increased volcanic activity but on the day I went, it was pretty calm. On the other hand, Mt. Sakurajima right near the capital city was putting on quite a show.  Even Mt. Aso in the next Prefecture north was belching out smoke from beneath the recent snowfall.  It seemed like all the major volcanos of southern Kyushu were getting excited all at the same time.   Gotta be an exciting area to live in.

Mt. Shin-Moe from Kagoshima Airport

Mt. Sakurajima from downtown Kagoshima

A separate eruption, same day

Mt. Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture -- Steam from under the snow.

とにかく楽しかった。そのなかで、テキーラは日本の皆さんにあまり馴染みのない飲み物だから、「正しいテキーラの飲み方」の　HOW TO ビデオを作りましたので、どうぞ、見てけらっしゃい。

A couple of buddies I’ve known for 28 years or so and I got together at the restaurant “Zest” in Mishuku in Setagaya-ku this evening to partake in our periodic (or “idiotic”) Tequila binge.  We ARE getting older, so we DID take it slowly.  Along the way, we figured we should make a vid of the “proper way” to down tequila, since it is not so well know in Japan.  If you understand Japanese, this may be useful. Enjoy.

I went up to the northern Town of Iide in Yamagata Prefecture recently to participate in their annual Mid-Winter Fan Club (also known as the “Fun Club”) Event. I go up every year to ride snow mobiles, enjoy the scenery and unique winter decorations, but this year was great. They snow was PERFECT. We also got to eat some of the local produce (asparagus, rice, Iide Beef, etc.) but the topper was the DOBUROKU — a sort of “pre-refined” sake. It’s thicker and creamier than regular sake you buy in the stores, and, CAUTION, it is DEFINITELY habit-forming. I threw together a little video of the event. Check it out.

Went to the “Harada Gakuen School of High Tech” in Kagoshima recently for another speaking engagement.  Good group of students.  I gave them some pointers about how to deal with their upcoming inauguration into adulthood.
Luckily, the weather was beautiful and Sakurajima, that humungous volcanic peninsula in the middle of the Bay, was at its most glorious.   I finished off my  day-trip with a bowl of the local pork-boned based  Ramen.  Yumm.

Another interesting thing to look for when you visit the countryside in Okayama are the roofs of old farm houses. Many of these houses used to sport thatched roofs.  But since roofing thatch is now hard to come by (and the people who know how to replace thatch are also now few and far between), many of these roofs have been replaced and/or covered over with sheet metal.   Of course, you can see this phenomenon all over Japan, but for some reason, in Okayama, many of these roofs are now covered in shiny silver sheet metal.  They REALLY stand out. This color seems to be especially popular in and around the Wake region of Okayama Prefecture.  Though I have no idea why.  Anyway, an interesting aside.

とにかく、今度こそ写真を、と思って、仕事前に岡山市内をウオーキングしてみた。大変歩きやすい町です。道路はまっすぐだし、案内地図と標識は具体的で、英語も、中国語もハングルも、バッチリ。ノー・プロブレム。見るもんもいっぱい。

ウオーキング・アルバムをどうぞ。

I found myself staying overnight in the City of Okayama recently between jobs.  It had been a long time since I some spare time in that burg, so I took off from my hotel a little early to explore.

I first visited Okayama over 30 years ago when I hitchhiked down this way in my college days from Osaka. I did all the tourist destinations including, of course, the famous Japanese gardens of Korakuen and Okayama Castle. But for some strange reason, I took no photos during this trip.  Must have forgotten my camera.

Anyway, I wandered from my hotel near the main station straight down what they call “Momotaro Dori”, the main road leading toward the Castle.  Okayama was pretty much destroyed during WWII, so there  really isn’t much in the way of “historical buildings” that I could find.  But there are a number of spots that have been rebuilt to evoke the old days.  There is a pretty large “tera-machi” (“temple town”) area.  Castle towns like Okayama often have a neighborhood where the temples of the various sects are clustered, usually strategically located as a buffer zone against attack against the castle itself.  Okayama, like many of the major cities in western Japan, also features “street cars” or “trams”, or whatever you call those one car light rail trains.

All in all, Okayama is a very pleasant town to stroll about — flat, lots of maps and signs to guide you, a castle to photograph, etc.  Round trip from Okayama Station to Okayama Castle is about 6 KM.