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.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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.

Sitting....Waiting....

There is nothing we can do and I think I am obsessing with the news coverage.

I am sure my friends in Sendai are mostly fine. But we know of people in Ishinomaki, a coastal town....

The coastal towns didn't stand much of a chance. Already 10,000 are missing...The stories are just horrific.

It's past 2am and we should try and sleep soon. Last night we went to sleep at 5am and up at 8...

Help from other countries is also coming..Hope they can help with the finding of more people.

But the Japanese teams are doing great work; they have a plan and they are sticking to it, but the tsunami has made things so much worse.

I worry about my friends who have kids especially. They are sleeping in shelters, cars...It must be awful. I wish they were nearer to us, so that we could help them.

We really cannot do anything here.

The shakes are less frequent, but, as one friend noted on facebook, they are happening on both the west and the east coats of Japan. He is worried that this will trigger the Philippine plates, which will in turn trigger another huge earthquake, this time in Tokyo.

I think we shouldn't worry - the media is making people hysterical. Too much of it is bad, I am a prime example of that, let alone my mother!

We are fine here, I just want this to end for us and for everyone. God bless Miyagi, Iwate and all its people.

Earth Quake....EARTH SHAKE...The scariest day of my life.

We were at the immigration office when the table started to shake. I wasn't sure if it really was a quake, you never are, but then my husband said to get outside and quick.

Selfish people blocked the doorway as it was a safe place but we eventually got out to a small car park, where everything was shaking vigorously.

My legs were wobbly; I was falling over concrete parking blocks and couldn't get my legs to walk to the safe area.

We stood in a line, raised our hands and watched what was happening. Cars were shaking, buildings were shaking, electrical wires were shaking, along with their poles. One house opposite shook so hard that I could see the tiles coming off the roof. It was out of control and the worse

thing was, there was nothing we could do.

As soon as the main shaking stopped, we were told to go back in, even though this wasn't safe procedure.

We couldn't stay any longer at the office, we had a dog and a hamster back home and new furniture delivered the day before standing precariously near the dog's cage. We were very worried.

We were lucky in that we could walk to Omiya station, but there were

no trains, of course and people everywhere. and vasts quantities of water leaking from the department store onto the station floor.

It was crazy, yet, MacDonald's was open and selling food and people were buying cakes from stalls.

We walked for a while, as did so many others and were lucky enough to catch a taxi.

When we got home, things were a mess, but our dog and hamster were fine despite the rubble around them.

Mimi was under the cd rack when it fell, but is fine, if a little traumatised.

We are all lucky to be alive and together. God bless everyone here. The people here are working wonders, despite the fear and the trauma. My heart is with them all, especially in Miyagi.

New Life!!! The country life...!!!

We moved!!!! We have been here just over a week now and still not unpacked!!! But, we have, despite the remaining collection of boxes, settled into this new lifestyle so very well indeed!

It suits us &

we suit it!

&

Elbi LOVES it!!

I was a city girl, born and bred and I had no idea that

this country life was really me but, in my last year in Tokyo, perhaps from overdosing on buildings and pollution, I steered myself in this countryside direction.

My husband, Ian and I had talked about this kind of living for a while now. We dreamt of long walks with our dog, relaxing in the garden or local fields, baking at home and general enjoying an amazingly chilled pace of life. Well, now that we are here, I can safely say that it is all that and so much more!

In the past ten days of 'countryside life', there have been lots of deliveries, lots of unpacking, lots of putting clothes on hangers (tedious), but lots of local shopping trips, meeting the neighbours and small talk with delivery people too.

This area is lovely! There is the town centre, with a shopping centre and department stores on one side, and a lot less on the other. It is on this east side that we live, but not near the station, a walk away from the station, around 30 mins! It makes for a nice bike ride in the sunshine, but a slightly harsh walk in the rain, as I learnt this morning.

Across the way is a rice field, and we live on a cul de sac of just four houses. When you walk towards the local lake, which is just 5 minutes away, you pass the house of Uenomoto san, the local ceramic makers. They have great vases, plates and cups for sale, all home made, and apparently they have classes! Cannot wait to get on board! They are also making us a sign for outside the house! Am very excited!

Yes, so far, so good! I feel healthier already, more relaxed, much more relaxed and am very much enjoying it. Thankfully I still have four more weeks of holiday to enjoy before I start work, and even that looks to be a lot of fun. I met with the kids today and they are lovely; we are going to have a lot of fun here!!