Non-Japanese residents can get a health checkup and consult with health experts Nov. 17 in Kyoto.

The nonprofit group CHARM and the Kyoto City Youth Service Foundation are hosting the event. Tests for sexually transmitted disease will be offered to 30 people and chest X-rays to 100. It runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Admission is free. The two tests will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

The venue, the Fushimi Ward Office, is a 10-minute walk from Tanbabashi and Fushimi-Momoyama stations on the Keihan Line, and Kintetsu-Tanbabashi and Momoyamagoryo-mae stations on the Kintetsu Kyoto Line.

For more information, call CHARM at (06) 6354-5902.

Hundreds of cultural facilities holding free days

Approximately 480 museums and other cultural facilities in western Japan will welcome visitors for free on Nov. 17 and 18.

The campaign to mark the 10th Kansai Cultural Days celebration will apply to facilities in Fukui, Hyogo, Kyoto, Mie, Nara, Osaka, Shiga, Tokushima, Tottori and Wakayama prefectures. Some of the participating institutions will hold free days on other dates.

For further information, visit www.kansaibunka.com (in Japanese) or call (06) 4964-8844.

Poetry reading in English, Japanese in Toyonoka

The Japan International Poetry Society will hold a poetry reading Nov. 17 in Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture.

People taking part in the event, which runs from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., will include Eric Selland, Goro Takano, Jane Joritz-Nakagawa, Kiyoko Ogawa, Loren Goodman, Trane DeVore and Yoko Danno. The event will be held in English and Japanese.

Admission is free and open to everyone.

The venue, the Toyonaka campus of Osaka University, is a seven-minute walk from Shibahara Station on the Osaka Mono Rail Line and a 15-minute walk from Ishibashi Station on the Hankyu Takarazuka Line.

For further information, contact Trane DeVore of Osaka University by calling (06) 6850-5886 or sending email to __509cfd5cc1814__-u.ac.jp or [email protected].

Toyohashi festival will feature daimyo parade

The Futagawa Shuku Honjin Festival will take place Nov. 18 in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, with a daimyo's procession in traditional costumes.

The festival, running from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., will also feature an antique fair, various performances of Japanese musical instruments such as drums, shamisen, bamboo flutes and Taisho lyre, and a lesson on how to make straw sandals.

The venue is near Futagawa Station on the JR Tokaido Line.

For more information, access www.honokuni.or.jp/toyohashi/topics/? Mode=detail&code=286 (in Japanese) or call (0532) 41-8580.

Foreign kids can visit Nagoya Chuo High School

The Nagoya International Center is planning a visit Nov. 21 for non-Japanese children and their guardians to Nagoya City Chuo Senior High School, which has an evening division.

The visit from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. will give people an opportunity to see classes and facilities, and to learn school life and their possible future course after leaving school. Translation will be provided in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese and Filipino.

Participation is free. Reservations must be made by visiting the center or calling (052) 581-0100. The number of participants is limited to 20.

Further information in Japanese can be found at www.nic-nagoya.or.jp/japanese/nicnews/archives/6075 or call the center at (052) 581-0100.