Radiation rising...

I came home from work to this article in the news

 - Asahi Shimbun - Raising levels of Radiation

There have been more rumours of the government lying to us and it is scary to see another map like this.

Should there be another big earthquake in Fukushima, Japan will be over with...so I have heard.

Apparently, the mountainous areas of Saitama have been hit quite badly.

So, what does it mean?

We pack our bags and go? Science professionals and farmers wish they could. A few we know are...

Fukushima is on the news a lot these days, but we know about the animals dying, but what do we know about the radiation?

No one can measure the levels and predict it all accurately.

Not out to scare you but we need to think about these things.

The thing is, the 'radiation' lines conveniently stop at the borders of Saitama, Chiba and Tochigi, not reaching to Tokyo, Niigata, Nagano. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not wishing clouds of radiation to float over anyone. However, I am thinking, that should there be any levels of radiation in these prefectures, then we need to know. It would mean that half of Honshu island is affected, but of course, no one knows that yet.

Check out this picture from May -There has been a clear spread of radiation in the past few months, so it just makes you think ahead, that's all. What to do and what to believe is another matter.

.

Things that go bump in the night...

There's a typhoon heading this way and I wait until after dusk to walk Elbi...alone.

The wind is picking up slowly but surely and you can see the clouds moving swiftly through the night sky.

The walk begins with a small toad, dead on the road. Poor thing. Was he eaten? Was he hit?

We walk on. The bats are out in full force, as always. They hover overhead threatening to fly into your face, but never doing so (unless you are my husband!). While, my face is safe, I don't feel safe.

To say that the mood is ominous is such an understatement. The wind blows just as I steady my pace, but a cyclist without lights creeps up behind me knocking my sense of balance and judgement.

a glimpse of the moon through the fast moving clouds...

From that moment on, my heart is weak and even a leaf blowing over my toe, (or at least I am hoping it was a leaf), scares me silly.

We have to walk through a hedged path. To my left, the thick of trees, leaves and bushes hides the unknown. To my right, a dip down to an overgrown dry part of the lake, more unknown, only a small trip away.

I hum some random tune, not too high pitched, I am no longer a soprano anyway, but low enough for the bats to hear and to steer clear.

We bump into two dogs and their owner turning a corner. My heart jumps again.

Perhaps, Elbi is as nervous as me. He pulls to go home. The wind pushes us along a road that may as well be a deserted highway, although it is only five minutes from our house.

We walk past the front of the scrapyard from where many creaks and squeaks emerge. Once the lights disappear, we are left alone in the dark street passing some plots of land.

Elbi stops to sniff the earth, but the strings marking the land suddenly shake with vigour as the wind reminds us of its presence.

We both jump with such a fright that we start a quick shuffle back.

One huge lorry comes towards us, lights beaming in my eyes reminding me of far too many a horror film I have seen.

We dart in front of a second lorry, turning into our drive to avoid it.

I can breath a sigh of relief now I am home, but then I remember we have typhoon lock-down and we have rented some thrillers and screamers!

Brace yourself.

Slightly worrying...

Not being alarmist, but, this just caught my eye. The spread of radiation is evident.

I had heard that there could be another extension of the zone. This is by no means confirmed, but looking at this makes me slightly worried.

Even more so, is the random patch of radiation in Chiba (not too far from where we live at all....).

The levels are still low and we must put into perspective everything we have learnt about sieverts so far.

http://static.ow.ly/photos/original/aAT2.png

(photo taken from https://www.facebook.com/Tokyo.Radiation.Levels - a very useful page indeed, putting many people's mind at rest. Thank you.)






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Location:Kasukabe,Japan

The Telegraph article

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatlife/8446374/Two-views-of-the-Japan-earthquake-crisis.html

I forgot to mention this.

Now, I am not really one to rant(!) and certainly not one to write to newspapers, but I have been at loggerheads with some friends about certain things and I was, at this time, so irate about a stupid letter The Telegraph had printed. Basically, one guy, living in Saitama, wrote some short story, creative writing piece wannabe that got me so riled.

(you can see it on the link from the paper...my sayonara tears...blah blah...)

Basically, his article was desperately trying to paint a dramatic picture of a scene that, as scary as it may have been, will never be anything in comparison to what the north of Japan has seen and suffered. The fact that the newspaper printed such drivel makes them as bad as him.

It was no longer a case of who was a fly-jin or not, it was a case of who was trying to manipulate the situation for their own benefits...sick people.

Not to mention the fact that he lived in the same prefecture as me. I have been endlessly and sadly, mostly in vain, trying to tell people that things are OK here. Yet one stranger, with no sensitivity comes along and ruins this.

Then this brings me to some of the people I know. People defending this story, people attacking us for simply sharing the story and sighing with sheer exhaustion at yet another over elaborated, stupidly decorated tale of how they hid under the table then left Japan. Ugh.

It was all very hurtful and saddening. Different people have different priorities, that much I can understand, but I would have thought friends to have understood us.

So, I wrote an email, telling them how it was. They edited a few things, such as my sentence saying 'We were lucky' and how it referred to us getting a taxi. For the sensationalism of my little note, they used my words as the title, making it look like I am just as bad as the other guy. Ugh

The focus must stay on the north, not on the eejits who have left, selling, printing, telling their stories of non-woe.

Ok - Rant over for now. x

((Oh, they wanted a picture of me too...but when I sent them one of the beautiful countryside of where we live in Japan, they were not interested....HHHhhhmppphhhhhh))

Two views of the Japan earthquake crisis

Two expat teachers living in Japan - one British, one American - got in touch with Telegraph Expat to share their stories of the earthquake and its aftermath.

Medical staff in protective gear check radiation levels on a local resident in Koriyama, Japan Photo: Aflo/Rex Features

9:27AM BST 18 Apr 2011

1 Comment

Story One: 'We were so lucky'

Leonora Sophie is a British teacher based in Kasukabe, Saitama. She has lived in Japan for five years, and was at the immigration office in Saitama renewing her visa when the earthquake struck.

I have never experienced anything like it before and I was scared. I was lucky to be with my husband and together, we knew that we had to abandon the visa renewal process (he, too is British) and get back home as quickly as possible to check on our pets.

As we walked, the ground shook more, but thankfully, less vigorously. The trains had all stopped and crowds of people were collecting, hoping that they would be able to get home somehow that evening.

We passed some buildings with cracks at the foundations, shops with their displays on the floor and some window fronts with cracked panes. We were so anxious to get home to see how the animals were, but I was scared to go inside. The day before we had bought shelving that was all downstairs near the dog cage. Miraculously, none of this had fallen over. Our dog was clearly frightened and our hamster didn't come out for two days, but, we, the family were fine. Thank goodness.

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The television, much crockery, and possessions weren't, but we learnt, very quickly, that material possessions mean nothing at a time like this. And that was before we had heard about the tsunami.

As soon as we logged onto the computers and found out the news, I spent at least the next 48 hours pretty much glued to every news source with tired but wide eyes. I used to live in Sendai, my friends were all around Miyagi and Iwate, I didn't know what to think. It took a while for the good news to filter through, but it did. For that, I am so happy. It took a lot longer to found out about friends in Ishinomaki, Miyagi, for the situation there was just the worst.

While our good news filtered in, so many other bad reports did too. As the whole Fukushima saga unravelled, I was more interested in the news that Sendai airport had been fixed enough to let relief fly in. Then, the Tohoku expressway was fixed, which meant more supplies, more aid and also gave families the chance to reunite. And this was all just 13 days after the earthquake, an impressive feat for sure.

By March 14, one friend had decided to leave, but at this stage, things were very much under control. We were closely heeding the advice of the British government and listening to reports from a government nuclear specialist, John Beddington, who has quite clearly explained what would normally be a tricky situation to understand. But, with his help and his phone conversations with the embassy here, we have, at no point, felt at risk.

By March 16, however, we had been hounded with so many phone calls and emails from family and friends abroad, that we decided to leave our house for a while and visit our friends in Nagoya. We were very happy in Saitama and feared nothing, but people we knew were reading all sorts of ridiculous stories that were totally different to the ones we had seen, and had put so much doubt in our minds.

We had a nice time in the south, where we could start organising things to send to those in the north. But suddenly, it seemed that everyone had forgotten about the killer tsunami and the damage it had done and all the focus was on a nuclear fallout.

A lot of foreigners have left Japan to wait till it "blows over" but the reports are the same each day. The power plant is in an awful state, and it will take months to fully clean it all up. So, some of these foreigners have returned to the same situation they left behind a few weeks ago and others have just left.

I appreciate that not everyone calls Japan home, so if they want to just leave, that is their choice. But, to me, Japan is home. It has offered me so much and our life here is great. We both work here and feel a responsibility to our jobs. I have already covered for a co-worker who has left the country, and it makes me wonder how bigger companies are coping. What about the people who have to do the jobs of those who have left as well was their own? And then there are our friends. We are not the only ones going through this. We must be, and are all together, united on this. How can we abandon the ones we care for, the country we care for, the life we have built up? And why would we when we do not feel we are at risk?

We are not stupid, and we are very much aware, that, in if the situation gets worse, we can take the necessary precautions and actions. The British embassy have provided us with potassium iodide in the event of an emergency and we are sure to have travel money should we need. All these things come from preparation. Japan is a country of preparation and practice.

While the stories still lurk in the (foreign) press about Fukushima, I cannot find (m)any of how people really are getting on with things. Houses are being rebuilt, new lives starting again. These are the people we really need to think about.

Sendai, damage & destruction

Sendai, the JEARS mission.

I'm in Sendai on a mission. A seemingly impossible mission, but one which we will see through to completion no matter what.

Jears needs more bases. We can't keep transporting people from Niigata to Fukushima, from Niigata to Iwate and back again day in day out.

With all my friends as contacts in Sendai, I knew I could reply on them to help out.

However, we must remember what we are dealing with here and how many other people are likely to have rented out accommodation more inland to where their houses were or barely are. We must also remember that the ground has not stopped shaking.

This was a trip due to happen last week, but as I wrote, got postponed because of another big shake that knocked out electricity one more time for the residents of Tohoku.

It didn't stop us searching, mind. But, the search was tough. At any mention of an animal, let alone a few (hundred) , the answer was a a flat 'No'.

My friend Fumiko had sent me details of one house and I was prepared to show a picture of Elbi stating quite firmly that he would be the pet living there, but I knew that somehow, the owners would cotton on. Surely the miaowing sounds and sheer number of dogs and cats passing through the front doors would blow our secret.

No, this was something that needed to be handled properly. The animals and the volunteers need a good base. The highway needs to be near and amenities should be convenient.

So, when I read Fumiko's mail last night about her mother's house, I got very excited.

My persistent ''nande mo ii''s (anything is ok) must be paying off. I really wanted to see anything that was available, but even empty warehouses were saying a flat 'No'.

So, that settled it. We finally had a house to look at, where the restrictions were minimal and we could have what we wanted.

So, that is why, I woke up at 0605 with a slight crook in my neck to the announcement of 'Izumi Chuo no tochiyaku desu'.

Welcome to my Japanese home town.

It was a beautiful warm and sunny morning and I waited for Fumiko to come and get me. There were few signs of damage where I was standing, just some concrete slabs uprooted on the pavement, that was all.

We went for a wee morning drive to towards the port. But, we were nowhere near the port when she pointed at the crossroads we were at, telling me that the tsunami had reached as far as where we were. And then, as we drove on, the destruction could be spotted everywhere. It wasn't just the odd building, it was every building, warehouse and vehicle.

There were so many cars in one spot crushed up in a pile together, houses were just dirt and rubble save the few still standing.

Did you see the picture video from the JEARS entry I did? You would have seen the two storey house with just the second storey sat in the middle of a rice field. Well, this morning, I saw a similar sight under a bridge away from any possible foundations. Where had it come from?

Many roads were still blocked, but repairs were apparent everywhere. There was a big repair patch on the highway from where it must have collapsed down to the street below.

The sights were not too dissimilar from the ones in north Fukushima and south Miyagi, but the damage was much more extensive, going much further inland.

You can see some of the pictures here -

leonorasophie-everyday.blogspot.com/2011/04/sendai.html

We headed back to Fumiko's house and grabbed breakfast along the way, ready to start the day.

Fumiko lives outside Sendai shi itself, a short drive from Izumi chuo. In the area, there are two big DIY stores linking the area to Sendai shi and these convenient stores, along with a big Jusco shopping mall just happen to be near the house.

More details on the bases for JEARS later.

As soon as we stepped out the house and into the car, my phone rang. Ian was trying, not for the first time to get through to me.

It was around 1130 and there had been a big earthquake in the Kanto region. Saitama ken experienced and shindo 5, later lowered to a shindo 4, but, Ian was on his own, with Elbi and Mimi, trying to save computer upstairs from smashing (again) and TV from smashing as well as CD racks toppling on Mimi (again), I knew I couldn't stay in Sendai any longer this weekend.

I had done what I had come to do, at least in terms of the animals. My other friends would have to wait, as would I to give them their hugs.

On friend did surprise me at lunch and bring her kids with her too. When I hugged them I cried, so tired and emotional from all this, but it was lovely to see them.

It was lovely to see Fumiko too, who has been so unbelievably helpful at this time, as have all my friends in Sendai.

So, it was all I could do to buy as much Zunda as I could to satisfy my tummy and contribute a small bit to Sendai's economy,but now I am on a bus home.

24 hours devoted to hopefully a successful mission.

The road is somewhat bumpy on the way back, I was lucky to have slept through this last night. Might try resting the eyes one more time.

Sendai, I shall be back very soon! XXX

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Location:Sendai, Japan.

Yet another big earthquake - One month to the day

Another biggie....I just don't know what to think any more.

Again, we knew to run and protect certain furniture from falling, although my slippers are dangerous enough on the wooden floors without the ground shaking hard.

It was a level 5 on the shindo scale but a 7.1 Magnitude in Fukushima.

The tsunami warnings are on and I am worried for Fukushima, but also further south.

Fingers crossed.

The house is still shaking as I write and it is half an hour on....

Searching for animals.

Currently reporting from the road back to Niigata.

It has been a long day of mostly driving. The stamina of the crew is inspiring and I am lucky to be sharing this experience.

Today we managed to leave late after various dramas, so despite my good efforts to get up early, which I did, they hadn't been necessary.

We hit the road, again, and again and again. It was a long road. We drove from the countryside plains of Niigata with it's snowy mountains and endless rice fields, to, courtesy of many long, dark tunnels, the clearer area of Fukushima, where mountains were only visible in yonder distance.

Throughout the day, it was our mission to constantly be on the look out for animals, even if we were just making a pit stop at a conbeeny, we could still use the opportunity to talk with locals and let them know about our work.

A photographer told us how, yesterday, he went into 'the zone' and there are so many dogs and cats just roaming around all by themselves.

((the zone, in case you are not aware is the area within 10 to 30 km of the nuclear plant. Only 10pm is mandatory and the rest, voluntary, but owners of pets left thinking they could return within a few days. Sadly, this is not so.))

We also met a lovely couple who had the most beautiful Labrador. We stopped and had a chat. She told us of a dog she had seen dead just up the road and took our details in case she found any that needed rescuing. It is this word of mouth that works well and it is amazing to see the support for the organisation.

We saw the coastline that had been affected from Soma, Fukushima, where it began, up as far as Yamamoto in south Miyagi. The destruction really is unreal. What we see on the news is awful, yet, seeing it in real life, still does not help comprehend what happened here. We had to swerve to dodge a big boat that had been forced form the bay over to the opposite side of the road. Gradually, the more houses we passed, the bigger the trail of destruction became.

Three weeks on, and people have started to move the debris and pile it up outside their houses. Everything on the first level was a destroyed. I watched as a family removed everything from their fish shop, from dead fish and crabs, to shop fittings and possessions, all saturated and muddy, nothing could be salvaged.

After ten minutes or so, north from Soma, the destruction spread even further inland. Very little remained of what was once a quiet little town on the coast.

Cars were smashed, wrangled and there were many scattered in the distant rice fields, which were still damp and muddy. The first floors of most houses were obliterated and those houses that were still standing with both floors, had windows smashed and curtains blowing in the wind to remind us of a family who once dwelled there, closing them to keep quiet and warm indoors. All that remained of other houses was the second floor alone. The tsunami came and swept away the base of the house leaving just the upper level. This was all that sat in the rice field.

The view was the same the whole road through, destruction, piles of debris, damaged cars, one was wrapped around a lamp post. But, the worst and saddest thing I saw today, was a little pink baby jump suit amongst the pile of debris outside a house where a wall was missing and the bathroom was on show.

As we drove along, we scoured the roads and debris for nay signs of canine of feline life. Of course, there was none. Not here, anyway. The coast was within eyesight and I could see blue calm waters, but before that lay mud, fallen trees and mess, all a sign that the water was, 3 weeks ago, was anything but calm.

We did hear dogs barking and feared that they may have been abandoned. We drove into the house and met the owners coming back from their food shopping trip. We explained to them our purpose. We offered them food, which they accepted graciously as it is scarce on these areas.

We have been o the road for 12 hours and we are not yet home. Maybe we have another hour or two on this windy, wet and, save for one truck ahead, empty road back to Niigata.

Big thanks go to
www.jears.org working with www.kinshipcircle.org (from America). they are working ever so hard to save all these animals and, when possible, reunite them with their owners.



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Location:On the road, Niigata, Fukushima, Miyagi.

3/11

The floor pounds,

Smashing sounds,

One big thud.

Hit the floor hard.

Bruises, shock and pain.

Sirens blare,

People stare.

Disbelief and fear.

One big wave.

Early grave.

Doesn't stop.

Fills the shops,

Forces cars away.

Run, fast run.

Water comes.

Heart beats racing,

Wave still chasing.

Find the highest place.

Crack and crumble.

House is rubble.

Nothing here

But screams and fear.

Lost my wife,

Lost my daughter.

Where is my son?

Pray they are safe,

Pray they are alive.

Pray they knew to run.

Cities gone.

Heartbreak is long.

Never ending pain.

Big shakes rock.

Big waves shock.

Death and despair.

Water won't stop.

Temperature drops.

Cold, alone and scared.

© Leonora Sophie

Sad Story

As snow falls, a tearful vigil for wife, mom
Hiroshi Sakamoto / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

ONAGAWACHO, Miyagi--"Mom, Hiroko, you must be freezing. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," said Yoshikatsu Hiratsuka, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Hiratsuka, 66, was staring at the bodies of his mother and wife in the earthquake-ravaged town of Onagawacho on Thursday morning. Snow gently drifted down covering the bodies in a white mantle.

Although seven days have passed since the earthquake and tsunami, the bodies still have not been recovered.

Hiratsuka visits the site every day from his evacuation center to pray for his loved ones. There is nothing else he can do.

When the massive quake hit the town in the afternoon last Friday, Hiratsuka was at the home of a neighborhood acquaintance.

Rushing home, he found his 93-year-old mother, Minori, sitting on a chair on the road in front of their house.

His sister, who lived nearby, had rescued Minori, who had trouble walking, and his wife, Hiroko, 61, was helping out.

But while he was wondering how to evacuate the area, the tsunami hit.

In a moment, Hiratsuka found himself floundering about 10 meters away. Though he had a tight hold on Minori's arm, the two soon found water swirling around their chests and they were trapped in the rubble.

"It hurts, it hurts," Minori groaned, according to Hiratsuka. She died not long afterward.

"Mom, I'm so sorry," Hiratsuka said.

After managing to extricate himself from the rubble, Hiratsuka reluctantly left the site and headed for the municipal hospital. By that time, he had lost sight of his wife.

When he returned the following day, he found Hiroko's body under rubble. He sawed through the wood pinning her down, pulled her out and laid her body on the ground. He then covered her with a blanket.

Though he could see Minori's body under the rubble, he could not pull her out.

When he asked local government officials to recover the bodies, they turned him down, citing a manpower shortage.

Hiratsuka walks 15 minutes every morning from the town's gymnasium, where he is being sheltered, to the site where his loved ones are to offer prayers.

"You must be freezing. I'm so sorry I'm still unable to help you. Today marks the seventh day after your deaths," he said at the site.

He has yet to find his 38-year-old son, Masaru, who lived with them.

(Mar. 18, 2011)



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Ok, I will be sure to save this post so that even if it doesn't upload, I have the words down to copy.

My last post began with the point the the British Embassy have advised its people to leave Tokyo. This is sound advice and not at all rash like some other embassies. Our embassy is looking after the British people up north and keeping an eye on the potential dangers down south. They are supporting Japan and it has not gone unnoticed.

The main advice is to be beyond 80km away from the plant. Our house is over 200km, and now we are further away.

On NHK this morning, they were showing you how to make nappies out of towels and plastic bags and toilets out of cardboard boxes and bin bags. Yet amongst all this battle for survival, I still witness an older lady wiping and keeping clean the mat her family is sitting on.

And it this these older people who are becoming a concern too. Tohoku has heavy snow right now and it is very cold. If people can't stay warm, they will get sick.

Why is this happening?

News has just come in of the Mizuho banks nationwide being unable to dispense cash at ATMs. What will this mean?

The jma site has shocking reports to read...
http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/indexe.html

So far, we are alright although, I am worried. So much is unsure right now...

We have faith and we have had great news that more friends have been seen in rescue centres. They are alive and well!!!

More later xxx


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The Japanese spirit is AMAZING

We have turned on the television for the first time since the massive quake and I am reduced to tears. Not just tears produced by exaggeration, but tears of genuine strength and love.

The news has shown pictures of a battered town, Ishinomaki (from whence we have spent days waiting to hear news..but it had come and it is good!,).

There was nothing there. By the hills, where there were some shops and, some houses, there was rubble. It has finally sunk home what has happened.

And, what makes it worse, is that we are here. Not being at home is like saying to people abroad that they are right; Japan is in trouble and beyond help.

THIS IS NOT TRUE.

Japan is nowhere near danger. So many countries have been too quick to criticise, to scold and to blame, but actually, never have I seen a country be more prepared and organised and thoughtful in such a tragedy.

The news gave some relatives the chance to send a message to family members lost in the chaos. An 8 year old girl cries ' otosan', while her mother explains how the father got lost in the quake. It is all done in a realistic way that makes you only admire the Japanese spirit even more.

My mother has been at least twenty times as hysterical, yet, had she read the media properly (and not the sun and bullshit.com), she would know that we are fine.

The British embassy even told me we weren't priority when I followed strict instructions to email them I was Ok. They got my information and then told me, quite understandably, that, not being near the epicentre, I was not top of the list. Also, (and you can read a previous post for this), no one in Britain, believes there is a threat.....the experts that is.

We know, here in Japan, that we have access to all medias, so, to hear that we are being fed false media is hard to believe.

For the first time in my life, I trust the government profusely. I cannot begin to praise the work being done for us here, especially by the workers at the plant. I cannot believe that there are such amazing people out there. God bless them, again and again. Words fail me.

I wish we hadn't left, but I know that there was little choice. We were far in the countryside and we don't have a car yet (although the day of the big earthquake we translated my licence and are almost there!).

Had circumstances been different, we would have stayed, but with very few few trains and many many nagging headaches, we left. I miss our home already and already feel like I am not there. There was a quake tonight, similar in strength to last night, but we felt nothing here. That is weird....

On a plus note, ideas have been forming for some decent ways to help. More, as and when they develop.

For now, I beg the media to back off. Japan is taking a battering from Mother Nature, it does not need a battering from the rest of the world. And please, please, please can someone sort out the news reports....BBC and CNN need to sort out their stories...biased...oh yes...selfish...oh yes' sensationalism...oooooooh yes.... That is NOT news. Get it right.






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Location:Nagoya, Japan

Day five....

Since Friday, my head has been a twisted mess. I had so many plans to do so much over the past few weeks, but with the move, it was this week and the next few that were crucial to my own progress in the writing world. For the first time, I was going to have the time to focus on organising the many ideas etc that I have.

You would think that, with all this 'free' time, I would have achieved so much, but, no. My mind has been blocked.

For the first two days, I was stunned, shocked beyond belief. I knew earthquakes could happen, but the tsunami and it's devastation had caused damage beyond belief. With so many people missing at this time, it was hard to know what to think.

Sendai is my Japanese home town and I love it. The beauty in the north is astounding and the area is very famous for one of Japan's top three sights, Matsushima Bay. The people in Sendai are wonderful, and I was shown a wonderful, memorable time and made many, many friends.

Thankfully,at this time, most of the people we know are all well, if stranded and cold. We are still waiting for a couple more. Today I called one person we know and her phone went to voicemail, which is a good sign. I called another friend of a friend and the phone couldn't connect. I cried. Thankfully my friend was positive, and it is true, lots of power is still down. We have hope.

After pulling myself away from the computer on Sunday, we decided to enjoy life for what it was. The people around us are inspirational. The people of Japan are being praised and admired for their resilience and it is truly powerful. Going out and about talking to people, seeing people getting back into the swing of things made me (us) feel so much better.

This has been a dreadful atrocity yet, we need to pull through this. One of my friends in Sendai stated quite frankly that 'we will get through this' and she is right. Her attitude is admirable and she is not alone in this thinking.

Then, bless her cotton socks, her first thing was to apologise for probably not being able to come to Tokyo for our wedding celebration!!! She told me how the ceiling in Sendai station had collapsed. Of course, there is no wedding. We can't. How could we?

One thing that is weird is that her boss has given her until Thursday to get back to work.....that is this Thursday 17th, less than a week after the biggest earthquake ever to hit Japan. Maybe a bit too much resilience, right?!

Taking a leaf out of this book, we are going to get back on it tomorrow. So long as the radiation levels are good and we don't have to leave, then we are getting back on it. We couldn't finish unpacking for fear of another earthquake and the same with all the work we have to do.

Well, no more excuses. We are so lucky to be alive and we are here to make music, to write and, hopefully very soon, to help our friends in the north. So, please don't mistake my rants above for complaining. I am just tying to show how much this can absorb you. It is easy to get too into it, but it is also difficult to balance the news inputs and move away from the screen.

We all just pray for a swift resolution to it all, but with a magnitude 6 earthquake in Shizuoka earlier (felt by most of Honshu), it is hard to know what is the best thing to do next.

Tonight, we are watching Friends, really easy television to lighten the mood and it's working.

More tomorrow, guys. Love xxx




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Location:Kasukabe,Japan

http://leonorasophie.blogspot.com/2011/03/japan.html

I slept through quite a big earthquake this morning.

Must be getting used to them? Must be tired!

Am riddled with all sorts of menacing thoughts. Frantic friends, relatives, who knows what is best.

Japan is my home, and had been for five years. I want it to continue to be. Everything I have is here, so how can I up and leave?

I am worried for my family here, my friends all over Japan, especially in the north. I worry for my family outside of Japan, but if I cannot ration with them about the situation, then it does me no good to even talk to them.

We need to be calm and sensible.

We are talking about possibly leaving the area, even though here in Saitama we are relatively SAFE and the ground is SOLID. It is the plants in Fukushima that are posing big threats.

It has got to the point where I don't know what to believe, don't know what to do and don't know how to feel.

We are keeping up to date with the news etc, and making an informed decision soon.

I am worried for little Elbi. He seems to be very scared of the wooden flooring, especially. He was really scared this morning, Ian said,clinging tightly to him. Poor little bugger, he will be scarred forever from this.

We are going to get up now and talk to the neighbours, get their perspective on everything.

I will write more later.

God bless Japan.

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Location:Kasukabe,Japan

Monday, March 14th (White Day)

I woke up today with a feeling of resilience. We had a power cut due from 0920 until 1300. A day time power outage didn't really pose a problem. The weather was sunny, plus, we knew we had to get this visit to the immigration office out of the way. It was starting to hang over us and make me dread returning to the spot where I saw the whole street shake.

Today was going to be a good day. A walk with Elbi, a quick bike ride up to the station to take the train into town.....

That was not an option. There were no trains at all from Kasukabe. As it was, even Tokyo was running but a few trains to transport its regular number of commuters across the place.

The atmosphere was very different out. It was good to be out, not just by the serene lake where we live, but out and about on the streets too.

The convenience store was still quite well stocked and there wasn't a sense of urgency with people's purchases. Ladies stopped to chat in the street, police greeted us with a smile. It was still pleasant in Kasukabe.

It was worth noting the amount of bicycles outside the drugstore and, despite the immnent power cut, the people

still stood outside.

I am not quite sure what they were thinking to get...? Or how to get it?

We decided to bike it in to town - over 20km to Kita Yono, where the immigration office is, a hefty bike ride, but completely necessary.

The main thing to be noticed en route, were the roofs of many houses. It was especially the older houses that had lost tiles in earthquake on Friday.

It is a depressing and odd sight, but those affected really took it in their strides.

I spoke with our neighbour, who, despite losing half a warehouse of ceramics (his livelihood) was very happy to be alive and at least able to fix his roof.

(The bottom middle picture was the house I witnessed on Friday, opposite the immigration office.)

One scary thing we saw along the way was this parking sign -

You would want to be standing there with that falling on your head.

The cyclist on the right, was a very sweet lady, who found it rather bizarre and funny that we were heading towards Omiya. She even told a passer-by and they both wish us well on our way. The atmosphere is still very positive and upbeat. I am pleased.

Having seen so many gaijins at the immigration office getting their re entry visas so that they can quit Japan made me really sad for little Nihon. I feel we should really be here for our lovely country.

Maybe some of us have more ties here, or some feel more comfort back home. We are all different. I just do not feel like I want to go. We are well looked after here and Japan has given us so much. It is time for us to help back, somehow.

I go to bed with many mixed emotions today. I began so well and positive, and then I spoke to a highly hysterical and unreasonable mother. And then, I dived into the news reports, again.

But, I am more positive again. Everyone is working wonders and we will be fine. Supermoon, my behind, we can fight this!!

We love you nippon, now and always XXX

0952 and the power is out.

I managed to speak to someone at the immigration office. Sadly, there is mo choice but to go in. They have a skeleton staffing system. Millions are still trying to get to work despite a limited train system and slowly, very slowly, they are succeeding.

Immigration is always pretty hellish, even in the smaller offices. He told me that there are many people, few staff, and it might take time. The most important thing is that I get my passport stamped, Ian too, although his deadline is next week.

I want to say that this should be a lesson in leaving things to the last minute, but actually, we did try and an earthquake struck. The only thing is that I just fear a repeat.

More later xxx

1015, big earthquake. I was in the garden with Elbi; he freaked and I just saw the trees moving. He ran in too fast for me to try and get him. Ian was upstairs. It was big, but it felt gentle. Can that be? A safe earthquake?

Of course, we cannot check the intensity, but I will try and remember to do so later.

Going to take Elbs for a nice walk around then lake now. Amongst all this, the weather is simply fabulous, warm spring like days, with glorious sunshine.

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The siren sounded just a bit before, scaring the complete shit out of me.

We are fortunate enough to have a warning alarm system just next to our house, but I am now a little on edge. Little Elbi came running into the room, looking very perturbed, but as I held him and waited for a shake, nothing happened at all.

I was chatting with a friend online in Tokyo and he felt a wobble. It's weird, isn't it, how it al works. It was a 3 on the shindo scale and it came from Chiba. But, thankfully, nothing here.

I really hope we don't have to hear that sound again, at least not here. It is so thick and heavy and gives you an unnecessary sense of fear and doom.

We have space to run to, we are on solid ground and we are prepared.

I hope people will be OK.

There seems to be mass hysteria out there, which unfortunately I am witnessing first hand from my mother. The British media in particular is not helping. Reports have been exaggerated and made to sound worse.

The Japanese rescue team are doing a great job and now, with the kind help of many, more can be saved. There have been 12000 rescues already, I believe. Friends are starting to get electricity back on in Sendai city centre. There really is hope.

Japan is an awesome country. We will pull through this.

Going to sleep now.

Tomorrow, we will have a power cut from around 9am for 3 hours. Then, we have to venture back out to the stupid immigration office (where we were on Friday when the quake hit).

I'm not looking forward to it, but it has to be done as my visa expires on Wednesday.

Thinking of those in Miyagi and Iwate. Love..xxx


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Location:Kasukabe,Japan

SUNDAY ...

.... And the aftershocks / new quakes still shake the ground we are on....

There were around 3 relatively big ones (3 or 4 on the shindo) soon after waking up, but around the same time, I got a call from KuroNeko about my desk delivery - business as usual. Nice desk, right?

It really is quite remarkable how Japan can pick itself up and carry on. Apparently, Tokyo is more or less back to normal, but just with less people out and about!

At this end, we just rode through the morning shakes, which, do in fact take it out of you. We have been feeling dizzy, seasick and sleepless.

It has all been so unsettling and the first two days were simply nuts, so today, we decided to chill on the news outputs; I was so transfixed it was frightening.

Today was a day to regroup, tidy the house, again. I had just arranged most of the stuff, only to have it rearranged by the earthquake!

We went down to Yamada Denki, an electrical store just near us. They sell food and drink too, and we stocked up. There were many other people there, not panic buying, per se, but making sure they had their fair share of cup ramen and toilet roll, as did we.

There wasn't any aggression in the way that people shopped, nor panic or fear. It was more a precautionary measure, making sure that they had the essentials and wouldn't go without.

Other people were looking at new televisions, just like we had yesterday. Only this time, they were checking the 'wobble factor' on them. If we weren't OCD enough already, I think this will bring it out even more. I don't want to leave the house now without checking that there is nothing that will fall on Elbi, nothing to smash in each room etc...

It wasn't long before I was back in the news world, hearing all sorts of crazy stories...JMA warns of another big quake in the next three days, power cuts commence tomorrow, more contact is lost with those in Matsushima. My friends are worried for those they know up north too. The coastal towns are the ones to worry about and so many people have disappeared.

I have heard good news from a few friends now, so I pray that there will be more.

Other friends down south have abandoned Tokyo, almost without a care for the people around them. But, you have to do what you feel is best. Another friend wants to fly in as soon as possible to help his fiancée in the wreckage of Sendai, despite the warnings.

Again, we can only sit tight.

I feel sick with nerves at what might happen, but also confident that everyone knows what they are doing. As the prime minister says, we must pull together at this time. Unfortunately, we are far away here and cannot do anything, but the most important thing is to keep safe.

We have an emergency bag packed, we have bottles of water, torches etc...

Writing this now is hard, because I am listening to the news feeds again and talking with worried friends. It all makes me nervous, but I know things will be fine soon.

On another note, we went for a lovely walk around the lake and we could enjoy the serenity of the area we live in...

Let it be a reminder of the beauty of this country, beauty that, in the north, we are going to have to regain.

Please stop shaking, Japan. We need to start to make things better again.

Please find our friends and family, missing on the cold shores.

Thank you for the rescue workers and small miracles.

xxx

The aftermath...

All we can do is sit and wait.

The advice is to go somewhere safe, and stay there. That is what we are doing. We are at home and we are together.

Yet somehow, this doesn't feel like enough. I know it is keeping our lives out of danger and that is right, but it feels so weird and helpless.

Just up the road in Miyagi, there is so much death and destruction and despair. all we can do is watch the news, and wait to see how soon the positive outcome will happen.

There might be a power cut tonight, so that electricity will reach the north.

All we can do is sit and wait.