2011年03月16日 Tokyo’s Hoarding

Barely no bread, no eggs, no toilet paper
I can understand the cause for concern. But seriously! Why is there no toilet paper in the city?!  I guess people really need to wipe their asses after they sh*t themselves to hear of another explosion at the power plant. Seriously all we need is to be hit with Godzilla to round things out.

At this very moment Japan defense forces are reportedly getting ready to pour water over the nuclear reactors using helicopters. Debate still going on about whether this is good as no one can confirm whether the people in the helicopter will be safe going so close.

Panic has begun to spread to Tokyo after elevated levels of radiation were detected yesterday. Nothing too serious yet, but to put it into perspective the amount of additional radiation in Tokyo is as much radiation from one day of sun tanning… Or so I hear through the grape vine. Despite the little danger at this point, news has sparked the continued hoarding and stockpiling in Tokyo and surrounding areas, which may lead to supplies running out for worse stricken areas.

No bottle water. It’s been days since I’ve seen a 2L bottle of water come to think of it.

No pasta, no rice and of course no instant noodles.

No toilet paper! I think it’s time for me to learn how to use those 3 shells from Demolition Man.

2011年03月14日 Shibuya Dimmed

Blackouts and Power Consumption
The drama continues… the nuclear power plant – lack of power, not-to-mention explosions, fires and fear of radiation extend to the list of worries after the earthquake. Areas of Tokyo and surrounding prefectures have resorted to rolling blackouts to make up for the lack of available power. Just when you thought the city was getting back to normal. The power outages and fear of fallout have made the past few days something to worry about for some. Whether driven by paranoia or fact it doesn’t change the fact that store shelves remain bare and things like toilet paper, bread, eggs… practically anything essential is gone. Either that, or the stores are closed and can’t sell their goods cause of the blackouts.

Tokyo’s power needs are approximately 41 million kilowatts. Given that the Fukushima 1 and 2 Nuclear power plants have been stopped, the power company can only supply 31 million kilowatts. Hence the need for controlled blackout in order to avoid electricity over-demand and a massive blackout.

The electric company has set up rolling blackouts for areas of Kanto by assigning blackout slots or groupings. I am fortunate as my blackout period is scheduled from 1:50pm-5:30pm. Whether it’s been carried out is my guess as I’m at work at that time. The rolling blackouts have made train schedules unreliable and have made commuting for me a pain. Still I can’t really complain, I’m not one of those who have lost everything. I’m fortunate and shouldn’t complain about the inconveniences. But I do admit, I have lingering thoughts and concerns about the situation.

Power conservation at Shibuya Crossing.

2011年03月13日 Japan Earthquake March 11, 2011

That Was an Earthquake!
First off I wanna say thanks to everyone who messaged me and got in contact with me to see if I was alright. I was surprised to see the number of messages I received and I’m grateful for your concern.  Thankfully Tokyo didn’t receive the brunt of the earthquake, though the tremors and shaking were quite strong. Unfortunately for places like Sendai and Miyagi Prefecture the damage and destruction is far more widespread.

Damaged walkway in Chiba.

At the Time
Preschool class had just finished and all of the kids had left. I was sitting down having a meeting for open school when it all started to rumble! Our school is in the basement level of our building so even though we have earthquakes we don’t feel them as much as if say we were on the 12th floor. However this time we definitely felt it from where we were and knew this was different.

Woman wears a helmet in Tokyo’s Financial District.

People evacuated outside Tokyo’s Financial District.

My coworker says I got really “bossy” (in a good way) at the time. I guess she means I was ready for action and to take charge of the situation. I guess I was running on adrenaline cause we still had kids in childcare and instinctively knew we had to get them out. God forbid the ceiling fell through. I remember saying this is not right and we should all get out.

I work near Gotanda and the streets were filled with people who had evacuated from their buildings. It was amazing to see large buildings swaying and creaking once outside. I didn’t want to panic so much cause I didn’t want the kids to worry so much. Luckily no one was hurt.

Tokyo survived for the most part. There were reports of fires and a large one in Odaiba. Tokyo and most of the region’s train system grilled to a halt leaving millions of people stranded at their jobs and tens of thousands displaced from their homes with few options to transport themselves to safety. The news recommended for people to stay at their places of businesses, but it seemed many people resorted to getting home on foot or by car. I even heard people were buying bicycles and changing out of their dress shoes and buying running shoes just to get home. The average commute into Tokyo is about 26km. A mini marathon to say the least!

People walking along the tracks after the transportation shutdown.

Stranded passengers at Shinjuku station. I was near Ikebukuro Station and saw people handing out blankets and soup for those stranded there.

Tokyo traffic chaos after the earthquake. I’ve never seen the streets this congested!

Traffic was terrible in the city centers. I personally made it as far as Takadanobaba before deciding to walk it the rest of the way home. It took about 4 hours. I can’t believe I decided to walk in the end, but I did it! I arrived home to find everything on the floor, but not as bad as I imagined. I was sure the microwave would be on the ground as it’s propped up on a not-so-sturdy bookshelf. The only casualty was a small box of drawers that Alison gave me. :(

A common site after the earthquake. Tokyo convenience stores are bare.

People evacuated on the tarmac at Narita International Airport.

Building on fire in Odaiba.

Closer view of the fire in Odaiba near the Telcom Center.

A chemical fire at the oil industrial complex in Ichihara in Chiba. There were warnings of acid rain occurring reports suggest.

Tsunami hitting northeastern Japan destroying homes and displacing cars and even ships.

I’m grateful that open school was canceled. Seemed inappropriate to have it go on; especially with dealing with the aftermath – tsunamis, chemical fires and a possible meltdown. Though these are concerns; Tokyo people need not worry so much as the northern regions are in far worse shape. Though caution is still warranted I think. They say that this earthquake could trigger a bigger one, plus tremors still continue to shake the ground for the last 2 days now. It maybe paranoia, but there is something to be said about being prepared. But no sense worrying about it Tokyo… let’s enjoy the sunny day! Tokyo is relatively back to normal and our prayers should be for those further north. I hope for the best and that things don’t get worse. I pray that the worst is over now.

2011年03月10日 Toy Vehicles from Japan

Vroom vroom!
In February my preschool kids were studying about vehicles. While heading back to Osaka from visiting Kobe all day I came across these nifty toy vehicles in one of the underground stores leading towards the station. I thought to myself my kids would get a kick of of these if I got them and it would help reinforce the month’s theme. They were inexpensive so I thought to myself why not!

It turns out they were a hit! The vehicles were pretty cool… you could roll them on the ground and they would shoot off, though a bit noisy. A month later all the vehicles don’t roll anymore and the ladder to the fire truck is nowhere to be found. They failed the durability test, but still fun.

The simplest toys are usually the most fun… Until they get broken.