No. 216
May 1, 2015
http://www.city.urayasu.chiba.jp Published by the City of Urayasu
1-1-1 Nekozane, Urayasu-shi, Chiba 279-8501 047-351-1111
Population: 163,719 Male: 81,059 Female: 82,660 Households: 75,191 Foreign Residents: 3,253
(As of March 31, 2015) Population and No. of Households in Urayasu
Greenification Reinforcement Month
A “Greenery Network” is being created with the cooperation of city residents to facilitate the smooth exchange of information concerning greenery so that the environment of our town will be rich in natural greenery and flowers.
The “Greenery Network” includes programs such as spreading the popularity of planting green curtains, rice planting and other environment experience classes, and growing flowers from seeds. Interested individuals and groups are welcome to participate.
●
Let’s Grow a Green Curtain
“Green Curtains” are natural curtains made of vine plants, such as morning glory and bitter gourd vines. Green curtains serve as an energy conservation measure by softening the strong sunlight of summer, and not only alleviate the heat-island phenomena, but are also a great way to improve the environment and have fun at the same time by enjoying growing plants from seedlings and watching flowers grow and plants come to fruition. Since green curtains can be easily grown at home, let’s rise to the challenge of growing one!
▶ Effects of Green Curtains
●They soften sunlight.
●Since they lower the temperature of a building, they lower the cost of air conditioning in the summer.
●They absorb carbon dioxide (CO2).
●They are gentle to the eyes and soften people’s hearts.
●You can enjoy the experience of growing something.
▶ How to Grow a Green Curtain
Plant vine-type plants in a planter (or pot), and install a net on a window or outer wall so that the plants will attach themselves to the net. This can easily
be done even in verandas of condominium buildings. To enjoy flowers: Morning glory or cypress vines. To enjoy fruits/vegetables: Bitter gourd, bottle gourd, loofah, balloon plant, or cucumber vines.
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Growing a Green Curtain
Would you like to try growing your own green curtain with bitter gourd or morning glory vines by planting seeds?
Date, time, and program:
Planting seeds: April 25 (Sat.), 1:30 to 3 p.m.; Plant potting: May 9 (Sat.), 2:30 to 4 p.m.
Location: Benten Fureai-no Mori Park
No applications are required; come to the site directly on the day of the event.
●
Growing Rice
Experience how the rice that we always eat is actually grown. Come enjoy the feeling of the mud of rice paddies.
The rice harvest will be threshed and hulled using old-fashioned equipment, and ornaments will be made using the leftover straw. Thus, the program can be enjoyed throughout the year.
In addition, rice paddies are treasure boxes of living creatures. You may be able to encounter tadpoles, frogs, and loaches.
Date and time:
Preparing the rice paddy and playing in the mud: May 9 (Sat.) and 10 (Sun.), 1 to 2 p.m.
Planting ancient rice: June 13 (Sat.) and 14 (Sun.), 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Note: Will be cancelled if it rains. Harvesting, threshing, hulling, and ornament making are planned for autumn and afterwards.
Location: Benten Fureai-no Mori Park
What to bring: Clothes that can be dirtied, towels, drinks, etc.
Greenery Network
Park Adoption Program
(Park Volunteers)
The Park Adoption Program is a program sup-ported by Urayasu City in which city residents conduct greenification and beautification activi-ties, such as cleaning and maintaining flower beds (plants) at parks that are used daily. City residents work together with City Hall to make parks and green areas even nicer. Groups that are composed of five persons or more who are Urayasu City residents and can work on an ongoing basis are eligible to be-come adoptive parents of a park.
We hope as many people as possible will par-ticipate in this program.
Green Feather Donation Program:
Making the City Greener with
Your Help
Donations will be collected during Greenifica-tion Reinforcement Month. DonaGreenifica-tions will be used to promote greenification. Your coopera-tion would be deeply appreciated.
Living Hedge-Planting Subsidy
Please trim the hedges around homes periodi-cally. If hedges grow out of control and into the streets, they obstruct pedestrian and vehicle traffic and can be a safety hazard. Urayasu City has a subsidy program for those who plant hedges. This subsidy can also be used when re-planting hedges. Please call for more information.Urayasu City Greenery Donation
Your donation will help construct enriched spaces that harmonize greenery with everyday living.Potted Plant Festival
Inquiries: Parks & Public Areas Section
Urayasu City has designated April 15 through May 14 as Greenification
Reinforcement Month and is organizing various greenification programs.
Date and time: May 2 (Sat.) and 3 (Sun.), 10
a.m. to 4 p.m.
Location: The plaza in front of the Folk
Museum and the gateball grounds next to the
Urayasu City Hall No. 2 Bldg.
Programs:
●
Free Distribution of Saplings and
Seedlings
1 potted plant per household (6,000 potted plants on a first-come, first-served basis)
●
Free Distribution of Recycled Compost
Please bring your own bag for carrying the compost. Note: Distribution will continue for as long as the supply lasts.
●
Distribution of Carnations
Distribution of potted carnations for elementary school children and younger (150 potted plants on a first-come, first-served basis)
●
Green Curtain Seed-Planting
Experience
Fee: ¥100●
Let’s Make a Flower Mural
Let’s make a mural with potted seedlings. Date and time: May 2 (Sat.), 9:15 to 9:45 a.m.
Application: Please come to the main tent in person from 9 a.m. on the day of the event.
●
Introductions to Greenification Groups
in Urayasu City
Greenification volunteer groups in Urayasu City will introduce their programs with panel exhibits and leaflets.
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Life & Growth Forest Project
As Urayasu Kizuna-no Mori expands, there will be
programs introducing the activities of planting tree-seedlings along the city coast, recruiting of participants, plant potting experiences, and more.
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On-the-Spot Sale & Auction of Saplings
There will be potted plants and flowers, gardening tools, and other items for sale. There will also be an auction of items such as potted flowers.
●
Greenification Lecture
Capacity: 30 persons per session
Fee: ¥1,000 (A lottery will be held if the number of applications exceeds the capacity.)
Application: Please come to the main tent between 10 a.m. and 2:10 p.m. on the day of the event.
Note: If there are a large number of applications, a public lottery will be held at the headquarters tent after reception hours.
No. 216 May 1, 2015
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Recyclable Waste Disposal Schedule for May
Collection Area
PET plastic bottlesBottles/Cans/ Newspapers/MagazinesNekozane, Kitazakae, Todaijima
Every Tue.
Every Mon.
Horie, Higashino, Fujimi, Maihama
Every Wed.
Every Sat.
Kairaku, Mihama, Irifune, Hinode, Akemi
Every Thu.
Every Mon.
Tomioka, Imagawa, Benten, Tekkodori, Takasu, Minato, Chidori
Every Fri.
Every Sat.
* Please put out your garbage between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. It is against the rules to put it out earlier or later than this designated time as it could become a nuisance in your neighborhood.
* Bulky items will be collected separately on request by phone. Call the Bulky Items Reception Center, 305-4000. For inquiries, contact the Garbage-Free Section.
(ext. 1665)
Hello to all!
Hideki Matsuzaki, Mayor of UrayasuFour years have already passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake.
On Sunday, March 15, for the first time in four years, we conducted a disaster preven-tion lecture that we have been forgoing due to the earthquake.
The lecturer was Professor Toshitsugu Fujii, professor emeritus at Tokyo University, the leading researcher on volcanic eruption, and head of the Japan Meteorological Agen-cy commissioned panel on volcanic eruption prediction.
Professor Fujii has continued to give warnings that based on past data, a major earth-quake of magnitude 9 is sure to lead to a volcanic eruption.
A record-breaking number of city residents were in attendance for the disaster preven-tion lecture that day, and none of them could take their eyes off the over 70 slides shown. In the lecture, I strongly felt that the expression, “era of earth disturbance,” seemed to capture the situation we are in today.
Apparently, the Great East Japan Earthquake was also one of the outcomes of the cur-rent destabilization of crustal activity.
On March 15, four days after the earthquake, there was an earthquake under Mt. Fuji of magnitude 6.4, and I heard that people asked, with a certain degree of seriousness, “Will the volcano erupt?”
Mt. Fuji, which is also the symbol of Japan, has erupted about 100 times over the past 3,200 years. In other words, it erupts at an average of about once every 30 years; how-ever, 80 percent of the eruptions are small.
The last eruption of Mt. Fuji was the Hoei Eruption in 1707. Mt. Fuji has been dormant for over 300 years. Looking at the data for volcanoes around the world over the past 200 years, 11 out of 15 volcanoes had a major eruption after being dormant for hundreds of years; from this data, we can expect that the next eruption of Mt. Fuji will be tremendous.
It was recorded that during the Hoei Eruption, the volcanic smoke reached 15 kilome-ters in height and lasted for about two weeks.
In addition, it is said that extremely minute smoke that blew with the westerly winds that prevail with the rotation of the earth reached Inubozaki of Choshi, and that up to 4 cm of volcanic ash accumulated in Urayasu as well.
It is estimated that this extremely minute volcanic ash comprises glass crystals and can cause unimaginable damage to our everyday lives even today.
Some people say, “We can learn a lot from Sakurajima of Kagoshima, which has been suffering from the damage of volcanic ash for many years.” However, it is said that the equivalent to 100 to 200 years worth of volcanic ash from Sakurajima accumulated in two weeks after the Hoei Eruption.
Furthermore, Mt. Fuji has been called “a department store of eruptions,” exhibiting all types of phenomena, such as plinian eruptions—a type of eruption that emits enormous amounts of pumice and volcanic ash—as well as lava eruptions, lava flows, pyroclastic flows, debris flows, and parts of the mountain breaking off.
Eruption prediction has not been established for the mid- or long-term, but it is said that it can be done for short-term predictions if observation is conducted sufficiently. From past examples, however, the unstable results have ranged from tens of minutes to up to several days before the eruption.
I was surprised to hear that the “era of earth disturbance” of today is similar to that of Japan in the ninth century.
It is said that the triple interlocking earthquakes of the past are very similar to recent ones: the Chuetsu Earthquake of 863 to the Chuetsu Earthquake of 2004 and the Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake of 2007; the Jogan Earthquake of 869 that is said to have caused the Jogan Eruption of Mt. Fuji to the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011; and the Nankai-Tonankai Earthquake of 887 to the earthquake expected to strike the Nankai Trough.
I hope that progress will be made in the future in earthquake prediction research. At the same time, I think we may have to prepare ourselves today for a new challenge of volcano disaster prevention.
The Era of Earth Disturbance
Traic Regulation on City Road
No. 5 (Chuo Koen-dori Ave.)
Disaster Recovery Construction and Liquefaction Countermeasure Construction
Due to construction work on City Road No. 5 (from Chuo Koen-Minami Intersection to Takasu Taiyo-no Oka Koen Intersection) starting May 2015, a permanent work zone will be established for the duration of the construction, and traffic will be regulated. Heavy traffic is expected, so please make a detour and take other roads when possible. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and cooperation.
The schedule for future recovery/restoration construction will be announced on the Urayasu City website and through other means.
Maihama Sta.
Keiyo Line
City Road No. 5
(Chuo Koen-dori Ave.)
Route 357
Wakashio -dori A
ve.
Land f or the planned
Tokyo
Bayshor e Road N
o. 2 Shin-Urayasu Sta.
Symbol Road
Sakaiga wa R
iver
Construction section Detour roads
■
Urayasu International
Friendship Association
(UIFA) Exchange Gathering
Date and time: May 16 (Sat.), 2:45 to 4:15 p.m.
Location: Culture Hall
Eligibility: Those who are interested in UIFA (Urayasu International Friendship Association) activities; 50 persons on a
irst-come, irst-served basis
Program: Reports on the commemorative
25th anniversary celebration of the Sister
City Agreement, Friendship Messengers
to Orlando, friendly exchanges with UIFA members, and more.
Application: Apply with the UIFA Office
(Tel: 381-5931; [email protected]) by
telephone or by e-mail (please provide
your name and telephone number).
Inquiries: UIFA Ofice
(Local Network Section)
■
Urayasu City Art
Association Exhibition
Date and time: May 10 (Sun.) through 17
(Sun.), 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (from 1 p.m. on
May 10; until 3 p.m. on May 17)
Location: Shimin Plaza
Program: Exhibit of the artworks—such
as calligraphy, Japanese-style paintings, Western-style paintings, crafts, and sculptures—of members of the Urayasu
City Art Association
Inquiries: Mr. Okamoto (Urayasu City Art
Association), Tel: 090-8744-0346
(Lifelong Learning Section)
Shibuya Kyoiku Gakuen Urayasu Kodomo-en
Will Begin Temporary Childcare Services
Childcare will be provided at this authorized kodomo-en for cases when it is difficult
to take care of a child at home because the parent/guardian is working, ill, hospitalized, involved in an accident, or just needs temporary physical and emotional refreshment or relief from the stress of child-raising.
Hours:
Starting June 1
Monday through Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday: 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon
Location: Shibuya Kyoiku Gakuen Urayasu Kodomo-en (5-4-1 Akemi)
Eligibility: Children from 4 months up to entrance to elementary school who live in Urayasu City; about ten children on a irst-come, irst-served basis
Fee:
Children under three years of age: ¥2,200 per day; ¥1,100 per half-day
Children three years of age or older: ¥1,000 per day; ¥500 per half-day
Note: If you would like lunch, a separate fee of ¥200 is charged.
Application: Apply with Shibuya Kyoiku
Gakuen Urayasu Kodomo-en (Tel:
304-1226) by telephone from the 1st of the prior month before the date of desired use (if the 1st falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or national holiday, from the weekday immediately afterward) between 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Inquiries: Nursery Schools and Kindergartens Afairs Section
Urayasu Premium Gift Certificate
Advanced Reservations from May 15
Urayasu Shopping Street Association ofers Urayasu premium gift certiicates at ¥10,000 per set with certiicates for ¥12,000 worth of shopping. Twenty thousand sets will be available. Advanced reservations will be accepted from May 15 for ten thousand sets and they will be
available at some shops starting from July 1. Details will be announced in future issues of Koho
Urayasu and on the city website.
Efective dates: July 1 through December 31
Eligibility: Those who live or work in Urayasu City
Contents: Premium gift certificates at ¥10,000 per set
(¥500 certificates × 24 = ¥12,000 worth of shopping)
Only 10,000 sets will be available without a reservation
More Discounts for Households Raising Children and for Elderly Households!!
Together with the premium gift certiicate above, we will also be selling premium gift certificates to support child raising and the elderly for those who live in Urayasu City. Information will be mailed to eligible
households around late May. Please read the information for details.
For Child Raising Support
One ¥10,000 set is worth ¥13,000 of shopping.
Eligibility: Households with children under 18 years of age (those born on or after April 1, 1997)
Sets available: 27,000 sets
For Elderly Support
One ¥10,000 set is worth ¥12,500 of shopping.
Eligibility: Those who are 65 years of age or older (those born before April 1, 1950)
Sets available: 15,000 sets
Inquiries: Parks & Public Areas Section
■
Hohoemi Concert—Like
the Sky After the Rain
Date and time: June 4 (Thu.), 2 to 3:15 p.m.
Location: Shimin Plaza
Capacity: 150 persons on a first-come,
irst-served basis on the day of the event
Program: “Sakura” (solo), “Yosaku,”
“Natsu-no Omoide” and more
Inquiries: Ms. Tsuchiyama (Hohoemi
Concert Executive Committee), Tel:
352-2543
(Lifelong Learning Section)
■
International Center
Exhibit—Good Luck Charms
from Around the World
Date and time: May 9 (Sat.) through 27
(Wed.), 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Location: International Center (inside
Shin-Urayasu Il Mare)
Program: Exhibit of various items said to
be good luck charms
Inquiries: International Center, Tel:
306-5181
(Local Network Section)
