Chronology of Shiga Prefecture’s most important and interesting news headlines for October-December 2014 (according to the year, month, day, and time posted at Japan time).
Originally posted on Twitter under Shiga Headlines by Philbert Ono. Twitter posts are limited to 140 characters including spaces and links (shortened by Twitter).
| 2014/10/4 15:20 | Due to Typhoon No. 18 (Phanfone), heavy rain is expected in Shiga from the evening of Oct. 5 to the 6th. |
| 2014/10/5 11:16 | On Oct. 6, JR Kusatsu Line will not be running from the morning. Fewer trains will run on the JR Tokaido/Biwako and Kosei Lines. |
| 2014/10/5 11:22 | Powerful Typhoon No. 18 (Phanfone) is expected to be closest to Shiga from daybreak on Oct. 6. Avoid mountains and rivers. |
| 2014/10/6 2:36 | Tokaido Shinkansen is still not running between Tokyo and Nagoya. JR Tokaido Line is also blocked by a landslide in Shizuoka. |
| 2014/10/6 2:45 | Tokaido Shinkansen has just started running between Tokyo and Shizuoka. |
| 2014/10/7 12:40 | Scenic Sugaura in Nagahama was officially designated as Japan’s 44th Important Cultural Landscape on Oct. 6. http://t.co/jmMVO1zXSI #重要文化的景観 |
| 2014/10/8 7:15 | Uploaded my new Otsu Matsuri video shot in Oct 2013. Good to watch if you plan to see the festival this weekend. http://t.co/6hAKaXPXQC #大津祭 |
| 2014/10/9 13:04 | Shiga food & crafts fair “Ee-mon Umai-mon Matsuri” being held until Oct. 14 at Seibu Otsu. Funazushi, Omi beef, etc. http://t.co/gXoTT9uLoM |
| 2014/10/9 13:54 | The approaching Typhoon No. 19 (Vongfong) might or might not affect Shiga this weekend. Still too early to tell. http://t.co/KHUoAek9dZ |
| 2014/10/10 8:36 | Otsu Matsuri will go on as planned this weekend, but if there are typhoon winds, they may cancel it even after the parade starts. |
| 2014/10/12 12:08 | Typhoon No. 19 (Vongfong) expected to rain on Shiga on Oct.13, peaking late at night. Great that it didn’t ruin this weekend (Otsu Matsuri). |
| 2014/10/12 14:33 | A mama bear and two cubs were spotted in Maibara on the road near the Ibuki Kumin Grounds on Oct. 10 at 11:40 am. クマは殺さないでください！！ |
| 2014/10/12 14:34 | All Ohmi Railway trains will stop running on Oct. 13 from 4 pm due to expected typhoon winds. |
| 2014/10/12 15:06 | JR and other train lines will likely stop running all trains from around 3 pm or 4 pm on Oct. 13 in the Kansai and Kinki areas. |
| 2014/10/13 4:18 | You can check the JR train lines’ current status in English here: http://t.co/utFBhq3kOw |
| 2014/10/13 12:30 | The typhoon is now covering all of Shiga. Higashi-Omi, Koka, and Konan are getting much rain. Typhoon winds expected to last until daybreak. |
| 2014/10/16 12:55 | Number of bullying cases in Shiga’s 397 public schools reached a record high of 1,288 cases last school year. BOE says 95% were resolved. |
| 2014/10/16 13:01 | Shigaraki Kogen Railway’s 14.7 km railroad was completely reconnected today after the collapsed bridge’s reconstruction. Wait till Nov. 29. |
| 2014/10/16 13:12 | The unique sumo ring (built in 1988) near JR Azuchi Station will be dismantled due to redevelopment of the area. http://t.co/OvvGewz67C |
| 2014/10/16 13:22 | Hikone’s Josei Elementary School and Rose Park Primary School in Adelaide, Australia became sister schools at a ceremony on Oct. 8. #城西小学校 |
| 2014/10/17 12:23 | Rare yellow catfish on display at Lake Biwa Museum until Nov. 9. Caught last Sept. Medium size, not the big Lake Biwa Catfish. #イワトコナマズ |
| 2014/10/28 3:22 | This season’s first cold winter winds (kogarashi) blew on Oct. 27 in Kinki, 8 days sooner than last year. Kosei Line trains were delayed. |
| 2014/10/29 14:05 | A folder of papers showing the contact/personal info of all 716 students of Maibara High School vanished from the teacher’s room in Sept. |
| 2014/10/29 14:09 | Shiga BOE found that besides Maibara H.S.,10 other Shiga high schools did not keep personal info docs under lock and key. Now they do. |
| 2014/10/30 15:49 | Multiple sightings of bears in past few days in Nagahama & Maibara. Spotted on backyard persimmon trees in Nose, Yashima, & Minami-ike. |
| 2014/10/30 15:55 | 48 bear sightings in Nagahama/Maibara in Oct. Beware of bears in mountains and forests at dawn and sunset. Hikers should carry noisemakers. |
| 2014/10/30 15:59 | Bears are not finding enough food in the mountains so they are invading populated areas. Don’t keep fruits on trees or any edibles outside. |
| 2014/11/1 2:49 | A 47-year-old in the Shiga Prefectural Gov’t Statistics Section got fired for drunk driving in Aug. The car overturned in a paddy in Yasu. |
| 2014/11/1 2:51 | Omi Jingu Yabusame horseback archery will be on Nov. 3 at 1 pm. Just uploaded my video of last year’s event. http://t.co/K81m39jwTQ |
| 2014/11/2 3:41 | Kusatsu’s 6th graders and 3rd-year jr high students scored higher than the national average in 6 subjects on scholastic achievement tests. |
| 2014/11/2 4:07 | Besides scholastic achievement test results, Kusatsu BOE released other stats like kids’ cell phone and study habits. http://t.co/fufpfSFY46 |
| 2014/11/4 11:09 | On Yasu’s 10th anniversary, official mascot Dotaku-kun got a complete makeover with a wider body & light green color. http://t.co/sI0xFjjlKi |
| 2014/11/4 12:21 | As of Oct. 1, 2014, Shiga’s population declined year-on-year for the first time in 48 years with 452 fewer people. This trend will continue. |
| 2014/11/10 11:17 | Funazushi ice cream (with raspberry sauce) & other new local food now at Aeon supermarket, Nagahama Branch. http://t.co/lVKch8LkYL #ふなずしアイス |
| 2014/11/13 10:11 | At Minakuchi-Okayama Castle site in Koka, they found remains of not one, but two tenshu-type towers on the east and west of the Honmaru. |
| 2014/11/14 11:54 | RT @japantimes: 1922 Einstein-autographed postcard turns up at Shiga museum http://t.co/tyBjFyR8R9 |
| 2014/11/16 3:19 | NHK Nodo Jiman TV program now airing from Omi-Hachiman. With Godai Natsuko and Satomi Kotaro. http://t.co/XhXccFhaCd |
| 2014/11/20 15:24 | Shiga Prefecture and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam signed pact of economic cooperation on Nov. 13 to make it mutually easier to do business. |
| 2014/11/28 12:02 | Fall foliage at Zensuiji temple (National Treasure) in Konan is at its peak now. http://t.co/doerMD6HCL #善水寺 |
| 2014/11/29 3:16 | After 14 months of repairs, Shigaraki Kogen Railway started running again today from 9:30 am at Shigaraki Station amid much fanfare. #信楽高原鐵道 |
| 2014/12/1 17:28 | Shiga Bank and Canadia Bank, one of Cambodia’s largest banks, have agreed to form a business partnership later his month. |
| 2014/12/2 10:05 | Inspired by the Lake Biwa Rowing Song in English, Linda Birmingham in the UK created and performed her own version: http://t.co/Y12FEMIjI0 |
| 2014/12/2 10:09 | Overhead monitors on the JR Biwako/Tokaido Line tracking the train stations are great. Displays train delay info too. http://t.co/ASImDed2Ae |
| 2014/12/2 10:11 | Christmas lights at JR Moriyama Station’s west side. http://t.co/GBSXoHtVzq |
| 2014/12/4 16:38 | Heavy snowfall is expected in northern Takashima/Nagahama on Dec. 5-6. |
| 2014/12/5 17:26 | Toray’s new factory completed in Maibara will double the production of carbon fiber auto parts. The lighter carbon fiber is replacing metal. |
| 2014/12/6 5:17 | This morning, Hikone saw its first snowfall this season, a week earlier than usual. And Yogo in Nagahama got dumped with 25.5 cm of snow. |
| 2014/12/8 13:17 | Shigaraki Kogen Railway’s “Santa Train” is making 2 roundtrips daily until Dec 24. (Tanuki photo by Jamie Thompson.) http://t.co/J3CRqpS15i |
| 2014/12/10 9:40 | In Ryuo, since this afternoon, a man has been hanging from power lines after his motorized paraglider got caught. Rescuers are on the scene. |
| 2014/12/11 6:25 | Everyone in Japan has now heard of Ryuo thanks to a local 59-year-old male paraglider who got stuck 3 hr yesterday. Made national headlines. |
| 2014/12/17 16:40 | Under new ownership, Pieri Moriyama shopping mall reopened on Dec. 17 with many new shops attracting a large crowd. http://t.co/WVTzAjEMOP |
| 2014/12/18 14:43 | I welcome any English sites/blogs dedicated to Shiga if they are serious about it. They can understand how much passion+work is required. |
| 2014/12/18 14:48 | Here’s a photo blog in English about hiking. Dave has hiked on most of Shiga’s trails. A good photographer to boot. http://davegeographic.blogspot.jp/ |
| 2014/12/18 14:58 | If you’re into small aquatic animals, see Dr. Robin Smith’s page about ostracods (seed shrimps) in Lake Biwa: http://www.lbm.go.jp/smith/index.html |
| 2014/12/18 15:08 | More snow is expected tonight especially in northern Shiga. Also beware of the flu going around. What a dump of snow Nagoya got today. |
| 2014/12/19 11:08 | Otsu Mayor Naomi Koshi stated that the Lower House elections on Dec. 14 were unnecessary, and they should instead focus on the economy. |
| 2014/12/19 11:16 | Shiga Prefectural police worker in his 30s nabbed using his cellphone to snap upskirt photos of a woman in a Higashi-Omi bookstore in Sept. |
| 2014/12/19 11:28 | Takashima’s incinerated refuse is still stuck in the city as their old dump in Kobe continues to reject their waste even with lower dioxins. |
