Just a quick update:
Russell is back in Kobe. The nuclear power plants seem to be coming under control (though they still warrant very close observation). From the information we have, Kobe appears to be plenty safe enough.
I am now in Dayton Nevada visiting my grandmother, as was my original plan from before any of these disasters hit Japan. I was anxious about being separated from Russell, but he will be very busy with work this week and I have none. I also want to see my grandmother and family just as much as I did in January.
Russell will be travelling home on a business trip in April.
That's the basic summary - I'll post more later.
Being able to now eavesdrop on people again is infuriating. I look forward to being able to turn that off again.
Monday 21 March 2011
Friday 18 March 2011
Wait, where am I?
The last week has been a long one, as I'm sure everyone is aware. Kobe is still totally safe and in all likelihood will remain that way. Of course, convincing family and friends on the other side of the Pacific of this is a tall order.
Our families are, naturally, very uncomfortable with the situation in Fukushima Daiichi plant. They would all feel better if we were closer to home. I have had a trip back to the US to visit my grandmother planned since January. We finished our textbook writing on Thursday, so now we are free to take vacation before the new term starts. Understandably, our families are both hoping Russell can just come with me for the visit.
The problem, is that flights out of Japan are pretty much booked solid now. You can occasionally get a seat for over 5K, but no guarantee. We did some searching and found a more reasonable flight, but we had to go to Okinawa.
Twist my arm.
Okinawa is kind of like the Hawaii of Japan. It is a smaller island far south of the main collection of islands we call home. We live on Honshu, there is another large island just south of Honshu (Kyushu) and if you fly for an hour south of the bottom tip of Kyushu, you get to Okinawa. The weather right now feels like summer, there is tropical fruit and flowering trees and apparently beautiful beaches if we can get out of Naha (the city with the airport). Add to that outstanding local cuisine, and I'm not so sure I really need to make a trip home anymore after all. ;)
We have been monitoring the situation back home. There have been no serious setbacks in a while, which is a promising sign and everyone is hoping power will get hooked up out there soon (which would allow for water to be pumped into the reactors normally again.) They are having trouble getting power hooked back up, and the rating for the nuclear disaster has been upgraded from a 4 to a 5. We clearly can't breathe a sigh of relief yet, but overall things are looking more positive than they were a few days ago. Russell still hasn't decided whether he will be coming with me to the US or not.
While we wait and watch, Russell is trying his best to get back on top of work and I am checking out local tourist attractions.
The two that are the most attractive are:
1. Shuri Castle - this is totally unlike other Japanese castles. The first castle was built some time before the 1500s by the kingdom of the island. It was rebuilt several times throughout history after burning down. The latest bult is, unfortunately not even remotely old (though based on old models). It was absolutely leveled in WWII because the Japanese military central command was housed underneath it. It was rebuilt in 1992. It does house a highly rated museum on Okinawan history (which is very separate from mainland Japan). And it is gorgeous in its new and shiny form.
2. The largest aquarium in Japan. If the aquarium were close to Naha, there would be no question. I have always wanted to go to this aquarium, its suppose to be awesome. However, it is a 3 hour bus ride (one way) away. I don't know that I want to spend six hours on a bus tomorrow. Especially before spending 18 hours on an airplane...
Difficult choice...
I'll let you know the result tomorrow.
So far, Okinawan food gets a solide 5/5 stars. Very different than Kansai, but equally delicious.
Our families are, naturally, very uncomfortable with the situation in Fukushima Daiichi plant. They would all feel better if we were closer to home. I have had a trip back to the US to visit my grandmother planned since January. We finished our textbook writing on Thursday, so now we are free to take vacation before the new term starts. Understandably, our families are both hoping Russell can just come with me for the visit.
The problem, is that flights out of Japan are pretty much booked solid now. You can occasionally get a seat for over 5K, but no guarantee. We did some searching and found a more reasonable flight, but we had to go to Okinawa.
Twist my arm.
Okinawa is kind of like the Hawaii of Japan. It is a smaller island far south of the main collection of islands we call home. We live on Honshu, there is another large island just south of Honshu (Kyushu) and if you fly for an hour south of the bottom tip of Kyushu, you get to Okinawa. The weather right now feels like summer, there is tropical fruit and flowering trees and apparently beautiful beaches if we can get out of Naha (the city with the airport). Add to that outstanding local cuisine, and I'm not so sure I really need to make a trip home anymore after all. ;)
We have been monitoring the situation back home. There have been no serious setbacks in a while, which is a promising sign and everyone is hoping power will get hooked up out there soon (which would allow for water to be pumped into the reactors normally again.) They are having trouble getting power hooked back up, and the rating for the nuclear disaster has been upgraded from a 4 to a 5. We clearly can't breathe a sigh of relief yet, but overall things are looking more positive than they were a few days ago. Russell still hasn't decided whether he will be coming with me to the US or not.
While we wait and watch, Russell is trying his best to get back on top of work and I am checking out local tourist attractions.
The two that are the most attractive are:
1. Shuri Castle - this is totally unlike other Japanese castles. The first castle was built some time before the 1500s by the kingdom of the island. It was rebuilt several times throughout history after burning down. The latest bult is, unfortunately not even remotely old (though based on old models). It was absolutely leveled in WWII because the Japanese military central command was housed underneath it. It was rebuilt in 1992. It does house a highly rated museum on Okinawan history (which is very separate from mainland Japan). And it is gorgeous in its new and shiny form.
2. The largest aquarium in Japan. If the aquarium were close to Naha, there would be no question. I have always wanted to go to this aquarium, its suppose to be awesome. However, it is a 3 hour bus ride (one way) away. I don't know that I want to spend six hours on a bus tomorrow. Especially before spending 18 hours on an airplane...
Difficult choice...
I'll let you know the result tomorrow.
So far, Okinawan food gets a solide 5/5 stars. Very different than Kansai, but equally delicious.
Thursday 17 March 2011
March 17 update
Sorry for the long silence. I've been busy finishing up textbooks and writing email to worried family members, so I just haven't been up to posting. Things should be better now, though. Textbooks are done and I have some free time before I head to the States for my Spring vacation on Sunday.
So how are things in Japan?
Some people are starting to move south from Tokyo. Not in a "droves of panicking people" way, but in a slow spreading way. Kobe and Osaka are prime destinations because they are very unlikely to have any serious radiation issues but they are not so far away by bullet train. Osaka in particular is big enough to absorb an awful lot of people, so the increase in population apparently isn't standing out much yet. Several countries are arranging evacuation flights out of Tokyo for any national of that country who want to get out.
We went to the grocery store today and noticed lots of aisles clearly set up just for hoarders. There were several aisles lines with bottled water, another full aisle of chocolate bars. Bags of rice, person high stacks of canned tuna and other canned fish and fruit, giant canisters of instant coffee and creamer. People had clearly been buying things, but there was tons still available. I have a hard time imagining serious shortages in any part of Japan south of Tokyo. As long as transportation is fully functioning, Japan does a really efficient job of moving things around. I can imagine temporary shortages but I don't expect any big problems. Especially since people in Japan are so inclined to share with each other anyway - and somebody's going to have plenty of stuff.
We have seen several interesting things on TV. The news out of Tokyo has alerts whenever an earthquake is coming. Its a chiming noise that really catches your attention. After you hear it, you have a few seconds to grab hold of something or turn off the gas, or open your doors and windows, or whatever you need to do. Then the news station starts shaking while the reporters do their best to look composed and in control.
We also saw an awesome program on how to rig a decent cook stove with a few empty beer cans, some cooking oil, paper towels and tin foil. This is assuming you lose gas or electricity but are at home with normal kitchen stuff. We didn't think it could possibly boil a whole pot of water, but it totally did! If I were at home I would build one ASAP.
So general theme for the day? Japan 3 steps ahead of anyone who might want to panic. Result? No panic. More people are farther from Tokyo and more people have more food on hand, but there doesn't seem to be too much anxiety south of Tokyo. At least at this point.
I'm off to bed soon, but happy St. Patrick's Day! We couldn't find any Irish Stout, but we did get some Yebisu black beer to celebrate. I can't decide whether to feel sheepish that its not related in any way to Ireland, or happy that it tastes so much better than Guinness.
So how are things in Japan?
Some people are starting to move south from Tokyo. Not in a "droves of panicking people" way, but in a slow spreading way. Kobe and Osaka are prime destinations because they are very unlikely to have any serious radiation issues but they are not so far away by bullet train. Osaka in particular is big enough to absorb an awful lot of people, so the increase in population apparently isn't standing out much yet. Several countries are arranging evacuation flights out of Tokyo for any national of that country who want to get out.
We went to the grocery store today and noticed lots of aisles clearly set up just for hoarders. There were several aisles lines with bottled water, another full aisle of chocolate bars. Bags of rice, person high stacks of canned tuna and other canned fish and fruit, giant canisters of instant coffee and creamer. People had clearly been buying things, but there was tons still available. I have a hard time imagining serious shortages in any part of Japan south of Tokyo. As long as transportation is fully functioning, Japan does a really efficient job of moving things around. I can imagine temporary shortages but I don't expect any big problems. Especially since people in Japan are so inclined to share with each other anyway - and somebody's going to have plenty of stuff.
We have seen several interesting things on TV. The news out of Tokyo has alerts whenever an earthquake is coming. Its a chiming noise that really catches your attention. After you hear it, you have a few seconds to grab hold of something or turn off the gas, or open your doors and windows, or whatever you need to do. Then the news station starts shaking while the reporters do their best to look composed and in control.
We also saw an awesome program on how to rig a decent cook stove with a few empty beer cans, some cooking oil, paper towels and tin foil. This is assuming you lose gas or electricity but are at home with normal kitchen stuff. We didn't think it could possibly boil a whole pot of water, but it totally did! If I were at home I would build one ASAP.
So general theme for the day? Japan 3 steps ahead of anyone who might want to panic. Result? No panic. More people are farther from Tokyo and more people have more food on hand, but there doesn't seem to be too much anxiety south of Tokyo. At least at this point.
I'm off to bed soon, but happy St. Patrick's Day! We couldn't find any Irish Stout, but we did get some Yebisu black beer to celebrate. I can't decide whether to feel sheepish that its not related in any way to Ireland, or happy that it tastes so much better than Guinness.
Monday 14 March 2011
March 14 update
Today I was back to work. Everything was pretty quiet again. One of my co-workers was extremely concerned about the nuclear reactors yesterday, so today another colleague with a personal contact inside the U.S. embassy called to see if there was any reason for us to be concerned as far as the US knew. The embassy friend said there was no cause for concern in Kobe right now, but she scolded us for not having registered with the embassy for emergency updates yet. We both did so right away. No updates so far, which is how I like it.
In Tokyo, the power company has started imposing rolling black outs to help conserve energy. I haven't heard of any plans like that down here, yet.
It sounds like rescuers are getting into the most isolated and devastated areas of the coast in the north. The next week will likely be a very sad one. I certainly don't want to downplay in any way the tragedy that took place along the coast in Miyagi, Iwate, Fukushima provinces.
I do have some good updates. My co-worker who hadn't contacted his family yet was finally able to do so yesterday. His brother is a firefighter and was one of the first responders that worked in (if I remember correctly) Fukushima over the weekend. He is back home with his family now, resting. Everyone else is okay, too. I didn't realize my co-worker had gone the weekend without hearing from his family. It must have been a very long weekend. I'm glad everyone is okay.
I also spoke with my Hokkaido host family. They moved down to Tokyo a year or two before Russell and I moved to Japan. We visited them once last year. They are fine. They said they have been experiencing regular earthquakes and there were plenty more today. They are proud of their rock-solid apartment, though. They chose it because it shares their family name.
Aside from these updates my life is mostly re-establishing its orbit around next semester's textbooks. This is our last week to get them finished, so the pressure is on. I was planning to work Saturday to try and get ahead, but friends and family discouraged me. Frankly, after being evacuated on Friday I wasn't in too much of a rush to go work alone in the office on a tiny island. Today was okay, though. We kept an eye on the news, but everyone was back in the office. After Friday I am looking forward to sleeping, our university's first graduation and then a vacation to Nevada to visit my grandmother. It can't come soon enough.
In Tokyo, the power company has started imposing rolling black outs to help conserve energy. I haven't heard of any plans like that down here, yet.
It sounds like rescuers are getting into the most isolated and devastated areas of the coast in the north. The next week will likely be a very sad one. I certainly don't want to downplay in any way the tragedy that took place along the coast in Miyagi, Iwate, Fukushima provinces.
I do have some good updates. My co-worker who hadn't contacted his family yet was finally able to do so yesterday. His brother is a firefighter and was one of the first responders that worked in (if I remember correctly) Fukushima over the weekend. He is back home with his family now, resting. Everyone else is okay, too. I didn't realize my co-worker had gone the weekend without hearing from his family. It must have been a very long weekend. I'm glad everyone is okay.
I also spoke with my Hokkaido host family. They moved down to Tokyo a year or two before Russell and I moved to Japan. We visited them once last year. They are fine. They said they have been experiencing regular earthquakes and there were plenty more today. They are proud of their rock-solid apartment, though. They chose it because it shares their family name.
Aside from these updates my life is mostly re-establishing its orbit around next semester's textbooks. This is our last week to get them finished, so the pressure is on. I was planning to work Saturday to try and get ahead, but friends and family discouraged me. Frankly, after being evacuated on Friday I wasn't in too much of a rush to go work alone in the office on a tiny island. Today was okay, though. We kept an eye on the news, but everyone was back in the office. After Friday I am looking forward to sleeping, our university's first graduation and then a vacation to Nevada to visit my grandmother. It can't come soon enough.
Sunday 13 March 2011
March 13 Update
All still fine in Kobe.
Russell played a concert today, so we had a big outing to a place on the East side of Osaka. We had really good yakiniku for dinner.
We are still watching the nuclear situation unfold. I am less worried now that I have been learning more about what is going on. No thanks to the news, of course, but there are a lot of good resources on the Internet and I know much more about nuclear fusion than I did last week.
Here's an article Russell recommends:
http://morgsatlarge.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/why-i-am-not-worried-about-japans-nuclear-reactors/
Yes, its's a blog, but it was set up just to share this letter from an MIT guy.
If you (like me) feel nervous about any sort of nuclear abnormality, I recommend this article.
Going to bed now... its way too late.
Do keep the people in North Japan in your thoughts. The the news coming out of the region hit by the tsunami is devastating and truly worthy of the highest level of concern. One of my students from Toyo (several years ago) still hasn't been able to contact his family in one of the hardest hit prefectures. I don't know if they lived near the coast or not, but I'm very worried for him. Its so hard to reconcile my happy daily routine in Kobe with the destruction just 400 miles away.
Russell played a concert today, so we had a big outing to a place on the East side of Osaka. We had really good yakiniku for dinner.
We are still watching the nuclear situation unfold. I am less worried now that I have been learning more about what is going on. No thanks to the news, of course, but there are a lot of good resources on the Internet and I know much more about nuclear fusion than I did last week.
Here's an article Russell recommends:
http://morgsatlarge.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/why-i-am-not-worried-about-japans-nuclear-reactors/
Yes, its's a blog, but it was set up just to share this letter from an MIT guy.
If you (like me) feel nervous about any sort of nuclear abnormality, I recommend this article.
Going to bed now... its way too late.
Do keep the people in North Japan in your thoughts. The the news coming out of the region hit by the tsunami is devastating and truly worthy of the highest level of concern. One of my students from Toyo (several years ago) still hasn't been able to contact his family in one of the hardest hit prefectures. I don't know if they lived near the coast or not, but I'm very worried for him. Its so hard to reconcile my happy daily routine in Kobe with the destruction just 400 miles away.
Saturday 12 March 2011
March 12 update
Everything is still fine in Kobe. We spent the day cleaning the house and doing laundry. We went out to Cafe Kei for lunch and I had one of my friends over for dinner. Russell went to band practice in Osaka and will have a concert near Kyoto tomorrow. Of course, we also had the TV going all day.
The big news today was the explosion at one of the power plants. The reactor was not damaged and the new plan is to cool the reactors by passing a bunch of sea water through them. The process is expected to take two days. The update on the explosion claimed the cause was unknown, though many people are suspicious that the cause must be known. The evacuation radius was increased to 12 miles from 6 miles around the power plant. Another uncomfortable sign.
All of this is concerning, and we are keeping a close eye on it. We are 400 miles away, so the chance of a serious threat to us is very slim. I will post more tomorrow if I hear anything.
I know our family in particular is very worried, but please don't worry about us. We are all worried about the north of Japan, but we have been totally unaffected down here.
Here is a post by another foreigner living in the same region as us.
http://bibliophilia.typepad.com/writing-like-a-shark/2011/03/japan-in-the-midst-of-crisis-a-foreigners-perspective.html
The big news today was the explosion at one of the power plants. The reactor was not damaged and the new plan is to cool the reactors by passing a bunch of sea water through them. The process is expected to take two days. The update on the explosion claimed the cause was unknown, though many people are suspicious that the cause must be known. The evacuation radius was increased to 12 miles from 6 miles around the power plant. Another uncomfortable sign.
All of this is concerning, and we are keeping a close eye on it. We are 400 miles away, so the chance of a serious threat to us is very slim. I will post more tomorrow if I hear anything.
I know our family in particular is very worried, but please don't worry about us. We are all worried about the north of Japan, but we have been totally unaffected down here.
Here is a post by another foreigner living in the same region as us.
http://bibliophilia.typepad.com/writing-like-a-shark/2011/03/japan-in-the-midst-of-crisis-a-foreigners-perspective.html
Friday 11 March 2011
March 11 Earthquake
Hi All,
Let me begin this post by assuring everyone that Russell and I are absolutely fine. Kobe barely felt anything and there was no damage that I know of in this region.
That story is quite different in Tokyo and farther north. There was a very strong earthquake (magnitude 8.7-8.9 depending on the source of info) a few hundred kilometers off the coast of Tokyo (at least I think that's what I understand...). Tokyo got an extremely strong and prolonged earthquake as a result and there have been many (more than 30?) aftershocks - a more than a few in the 6.0 - 7.1 range. The most frightening result of the earthquake was series of tsunami waves that caused extreme damage on the northern tip of Honshu Island (the biggest island) and along the coast line. As I'm writing this, most of the Eastern coast is still under high alert for tsunami waves. I'm sure you'll see some of the incredible tsunami footage on the news in the U.S. Its hard to believe. There was also a huge fire at an oil refinery in Chiba (close to Tokyo). Thankfully, there was no damage to nuclear reactors, even in the worst hit areas.
Here in Kobe I was at work, writing textbooks. A few hours after lunch, a student who was working on a college entrance essay in the English office looked up and said, "Jaci. I think its an earthquake." I thought she was kidding (I hadn't noticed anything) when I realized there was a very gentle shifting from side to side going on. It was like having a long bought of vertigo or stepping onto a gently rocking boat. Everything would lazily shift horizontally one way and then lazily shift back. There was no strong shaking or noise. It lasted forever, too. My student had time to get a text message from her mother, notify me, wait, my co-worker walked to the window and looked out pensively at the harbor, then looked back into the office, we waited, and then I sent a text message to Russell before it ended. It definitely lasted more than a minute and seems like it must have lasted several minutes - though I'm a bad judge of such things. I've never been in an earthquake that lasted more than 10 seconds, though, so this one seemed to go on forever. There were times I doubted it was still going and instead thought my mind was playing tricks on me. When it was over, we laughed about it and went back to work.
My student got a message from her brother (who is studying in Canada) asking if she was okay. She was confused about why he was asking and how he would know about the earthquake so shortly after it happened - especially when he is clear across the Pacific. I thought maybe he was talking about one of the earthquakes that hit Japan earlier this week, though those were only felt in the far north of Honshu. About an hour later someone informed us that there had been a giant earthquake farther north and a tsunami warning had been issued. My boss came in and asked us all to go home. The school had decided to evacuate everyone as a precaution. We are on a break for the end of the academic year right now, so there thankfully aren't that many people on campus.
It was also at that point that the tsunami damage on the very north coast of Honshu came up. One of my co-workers has in-laws in that area of Japan - and they live right on the coast. He raced home to get a hold of his wife. I just got the message that her family was okay, so that's a huge relief. I hope our students are all okay, too. Since its vacation time right now, they are spread far and wide across Japan. The ones I know of in Tokyo are fine, but the far majority could be anywhere.
After being evacuated I took the train back to downtown Kobe and even though the tsunami warning for Kobe was for less than a meter, Russell and I played it safe and headed home (which is far enough up the mountain that even a 10 meter tsunami wouldn't come close to us. I haven't seen an update on the tsunami peak heights in a while, but the last one I saw for Kobe was 30cm. I doubt that was enough to cause even slight flooding around Port Island (where my school is) or the docks around Kobe.
I haven't seen any footage on TV of heavy damage or injuries from the earthquake anywhere in Japan, with the exception of a few rural houses - which seems hard to believe. I don't think any other country in the world could have fared as well as Japan just has. That said, the footage of the tsunami in the north is pretty chilling. Apparently it crested over 7 meters in one city - so at least 21 feet high. I'm very worried about what the reports will be coming out of the north over the next few days.
My heart goes out to all the families that have been affected by this earthquake and tsunami.
Let me begin this post by assuring everyone that Russell and I are absolutely fine. Kobe barely felt anything and there was no damage that I know of in this region.
That story is quite different in Tokyo and farther north. There was a very strong earthquake (magnitude 8.7-8.9 depending on the source of info) a few hundred kilometers off the coast of Tokyo (at least I think that's what I understand...). Tokyo got an extremely strong and prolonged earthquake as a result and there have been many (more than 30?) aftershocks - a more than a few in the 6.0 - 7.1 range. The most frightening result of the earthquake was series of tsunami waves that caused extreme damage on the northern tip of Honshu Island (the biggest island) and along the coast line. As I'm writing this, most of the Eastern coast is still under high alert for tsunami waves. I'm sure you'll see some of the incredible tsunami footage on the news in the U.S. Its hard to believe. There was also a huge fire at an oil refinery in Chiba (close to Tokyo). Thankfully, there was no damage to nuclear reactors, even in the worst hit areas.
Here in Kobe I was at work, writing textbooks. A few hours after lunch, a student who was working on a college entrance essay in the English office looked up and said, "Jaci. I think its an earthquake." I thought she was kidding (I hadn't noticed anything) when I realized there was a very gentle shifting from side to side going on. It was like having a long bought of vertigo or stepping onto a gently rocking boat. Everything would lazily shift horizontally one way and then lazily shift back. There was no strong shaking or noise. It lasted forever, too. My student had time to get a text message from her mother, notify me, wait, my co-worker walked to the window and looked out pensively at the harbor, then looked back into the office, we waited, and then I sent a text message to Russell before it ended. It definitely lasted more than a minute and seems like it must have lasted several minutes - though I'm a bad judge of such things. I've never been in an earthquake that lasted more than 10 seconds, though, so this one seemed to go on forever. There were times I doubted it was still going and instead thought my mind was playing tricks on me. When it was over, we laughed about it and went back to work.
My student got a message from her brother (who is studying in Canada) asking if she was okay. She was confused about why he was asking and how he would know about the earthquake so shortly after it happened - especially when he is clear across the Pacific. I thought maybe he was talking about one of the earthquakes that hit Japan earlier this week, though those were only felt in the far north of Honshu. About an hour later someone informed us that there had been a giant earthquake farther north and a tsunami warning had been issued. My boss came in and asked us all to go home. The school had decided to evacuate everyone as a precaution. We are on a break for the end of the academic year right now, so there thankfully aren't that many people on campus.
It was also at that point that the tsunami damage on the very north coast of Honshu came up. One of my co-workers has in-laws in that area of Japan - and they live right on the coast. He raced home to get a hold of his wife. I just got the message that her family was okay, so that's a huge relief. I hope our students are all okay, too. Since its vacation time right now, they are spread far and wide across Japan. The ones I know of in Tokyo are fine, but the far majority could be anywhere.
After being evacuated I took the train back to downtown Kobe and even though the tsunami warning for Kobe was for less than a meter, Russell and I played it safe and headed home (which is far enough up the mountain that even a 10 meter tsunami wouldn't come close to us. I haven't seen an update on the tsunami peak heights in a while, but the last one I saw for Kobe was 30cm. I doubt that was enough to cause even slight flooding around Port Island (where my school is) or the docks around Kobe.
I haven't seen any footage on TV of heavy damage or injuries from the earthquake anywhere in Japan, with the exception of a few rural houses - which seems hard to believe. I don't think any other country in the world could have fared as well as Japan just has. That said, the footage of the tsunami in the north is pretty chilling. Apparently it crested over 7 meters in one city - so at least 21 feet high. I'm very worried about what the reports will be coming out of the north over the next few days.
My heart goes out to all the families that have been affected by this earthquake and tsunami.
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