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What's Going On? TOPICS |
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January 2021page 1 |
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What's Going On? TOPICS |
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January 2021page 1 |
January 2021 page 1 TOPICS
Kuma Ski Land has Opened
Kuma Ski Land located in Kuma-Kogen-cho started its 2020/2021 season on December 7. Many skiers celebrated the opening. According to Kuma Ski Land, they plan to be in operation until the middle of March 2021, and expect 40,000 skiers to visit in the season. For further Information: http://www.kumax.co.jp/en/ (December 7, Ehime Shimbun Online) |
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Lack of Blood Stock
The Ehime Red Cross Blood Center announced that the low stock of blood in the region, especially Type O, has continued due to the pandemic of COVID-19, and asks for your cooperation.Red cell products of Type O had been in high demand since September in the region. Donations are needed for a stable blood supply to medical institutes, since red cell products last only for three weeks. This critical situation has continued since spring because companies hesitate to invite a mobile blood bank bus for the employees to donate, and people tend to stay home due to COVID-19.The Okaido Blood Donation Room looks for the donors who could make an appointment especially on weekday to avoid the three Cs, and asks to donate at a mobile blood bank bus going around the prefecture.(December 4, Ehime Shimbun) |
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Uwajima Pearl in Finland Appealing to the World
Yamashita-Pearl is a company which farms, processes, and sells pearls in Uwajima. The third generation representative manager, Mr. Yamashita, and his cousin, Ms. Kojima, who lives in Finland, held an exhibit of pearl products in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. They gained better reactions than they imagined.Ms. Kojima used to live in Tokyo, but from her childhood, she went to Uwajima every year to visit her grandparents, who are pearl farmers. She has felt the effort of people involved in the pearl farming industry and the charm of pearls.While she is a professional euphonium and trombone player in Finland, she launched a company which handles pearl products from Yamashita-Pearl in 2015. She found that many of the Finnish people use pearl products, but most pearls sold there are low-priced freshwater ones, not from Japan. They don't even know that pearls are cultured in Japan. She installed a booth at an event called "Japan Festival" on November 20 and 21 to mark the one year opening anniversary of MUJI Kamppi. She introduced Uwajima and the process of producing pearl products. Customers were so impressed that the pearl products sold well, especially pierced earrings. Some customers bought relatively expensive formal necklaces. She is considering opening an online shopping site to expand the charm of Uwajima pearls.(December 4, Ehime Shimbun) |
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Coming of Age Ceremony will be Cancelled
It was decided that Coming of Age ceremony, which was scheduled to be held at 29 venues in Matsuyama-city in January 2021, will be cancelled, due to the pandemic of COVID-19. It will be the first cancellation of the ceremony after 1965 when the oldest record remains.The number of new adults in the city is 4,975 (Basic Residents Register as of November 1).Mayor Noshi commented that he hoped to hold a substitute one in the summer if the situation allows.(December 2, Asahi Shimbun Digital) |
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Hand Bath Renewal at No.4 Hot Spring Supply Facility
There are four hot spring water supply facilities in the Dogo area. They relay hot spring water from the source to neighboring hotels, inns, and public bathhouses. According to the Matsuyama Onsen Office, No.4 Hot Spring Supply Facility, which is located northeast of Dogo Onsen Station, was rebuilt in 2017. Inside the facility, visitors can see hot water running in a cistern. Last November a hand bath attached to the facility was renewed. This is the only hand bath that Matsuyama-city runs directly. It is made of granite and is 90cm high, 63cm wide, and 84cm long. Before the renewal, visitors enjoyed the hot water by dipping their hands into the granite hand bath. Now the hand bath has a spout which allows visitors to hold their hands in the running hot spring water as hot as 50 degrees Celsius. It can be used 24/7.The office hopes it will be easy for visitors to use the hand bath because they don't have to take off their socks as they do for the foot bath.(November 28, Ehime Shimbun) |
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Sakurahime Flower Motif on Invitation Cards for Those Coming of Age
Toon City, Ehime Prefecture, has sent handmade invitation cards with a pale pink sakurahime flower for the coming-of-age ceremony to be held next year. In the language of flowers, sakurahime means "hope". Even if the ceremony is canceled, the city wants to convey the blessings from local people in the invitation card.The city has planned the coming-of-age ceremony for January 10 next year. However, because of Covid-19 they cut back on some events such as memory slide shows and a tea party with their former teachers. A postcard was used as the invitation until this year. However, it was decided to make a handmade invitation card because the city also needed to inform the invitees of the precautions for Covid-19 along with the announcement of the ceremony. So they came up with the idea that a dry-pressed sakurahime would add a hopeful message to the invitation. Now the prefecture is promoting sakurahime and the city has producers of the sakurahime flowers.Twenty people, including city officials, members of the Chamber of Commerce, and parents, worked to put a dry-pressed flower on each of the approximately 370 invitation cards. Toshiko Noma (62) of the Chamber of Commerce said, "It is a tough time to hold the ceremony for coming of age, but I just pray for young people to live positively with hope."(November 28, Asahi Shimbun Digital)Update:On December 8, Toon City announced that due to the rapid nationwide spread of Covid-19, the coming-of-age ceremony scheduled for January 2021 has been postponed. They will continue to monitor the Covid-19 situation and will reschedule the ceremony as soon as it is safe. They added, "We understand that many people have prepared for the ceremony and we apologize for the disruption. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Further Information: https://www.city.toon.ehime.jp/ |
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Pioneer of Western-style Building: Prefectural Government Main Building
Designated as a National Designated Cultural Property
The Ehime Prefectural Government Main Building (Matsuyama City) and three buildings of the Saijo-Eiko Church (Akeyashiki, Saijo City) were designated as tangible cultural properties. With these newly designated properties, the prefecture will have 147 properties on the register. The National Council for Cultural Affairs submitted the report about the registrations to the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.The prefectural office main building, built in 1929 (Showa 4), was designed by Shichiro Kigo, who worked on Western-style buildings in the prefecture. Tachu Naito, who designed Tokyo Tower, analyzed the structure. The main building is one of the eight pre-war government buildings still in use. It is the third oldest government building after the Osaka Prefectural Government Building (built in 1926) and the Kanagawa Prefectural Government Building (built in 1928), and it is the first Ehime prefectural office building to be registered.The four-story building is constructed of reinforced concrete with a total area of 8414 square meters. The building is H-shaped with both wings protruding to the front and back. It features a dome-shaped tower in the center, an atrium hall lined with granite (kakougan) from Oshima Island (Imabari City, Ehime) and marble, and columns extending to the top of the atrium. In 2017, the Architectural Institute of Japan suggested that the main building was worthy of more than a tangible cultural property. A spokesperson from the prefectural board of education stated, "We hope the building will be designated as a national important cultural property in the future."(November 21, Asahi Shimbun Digital) |
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Matsuyama International Center |