First, some personal observations. I was watching the Ume (Plum) trees when the great earthquake struck. I can honestly say that at the time I was in shock, but that the effects while surprisingly strong did not indicate outright destruction around me. As the Bus proceeded up the main street in Mito, I could see some cracks in the pavement, broken glass, and in some places shattered facades, and crumbled bricks. When we got out of the bus and went up to the station it was clear that everything was shut down, the power was out and lots of bottles were smashed. Outside the station people were milling about. I noticed a couple of Chinese girls taking pictures. I myself started to film, but I also realized that the aftershocks were likely to come and it was better to get in an open space away from big buildings.
Together with Yumi I stood around for a bit, before we decided to follow some of the groups of workers making their way to a evacuation center, which was basically the school grounds of a large elementary school. Once there there were heaps of people milling about, and aftershocks coming now and then. We eventually left there and made our way back to the station. Long lines had formed around the taxi stand, and in addition all the buses were stationary. We waited around in the cold for a bit before going into a building entrance that was opened, and then a bus which had the heaters turned on. After that we made our way to the highschool near the station where they had set up blankets and space heaters. Along with a bunch of other people we would spend the next couple of days there just waiting.
The weather was quite nice the following two days but I spent most of it just sitting on the floor trying to stay warm. The Japanese were incredibly ordered and calm under the circumstances. We were fed at regular intervals and the various people camped out shared whatever food they had. The elderly women, who themselves had been in Mito to view the Ume trees had copious amounts of food on hand. I was continually surprised when they would bring out yet more food. They had an especially large quantity of Nauto, the famous fermented soybean dish.
I also managed to use my iphone to keep everyone updated on my condition. It was remarkable that even when the cell phone voice network was down I was still able to access the internet and post messages. Once the power was restored I was able to borrow a charger and keep my phone charged. Finally, on Sunday we had had enough and decided to try to get to Tokyo. We got a bunch of people together and rented a car, and drove to the last station that was still connected to the Tokyo grid.
That was 10 days ago. I had planned on going down to Osaka, after arriving here in Tokyo but I never made it. Yumi was distraught at the notion of me going down there.
So much has changed in the past week. Basically the western media was screaming murder about the radiation danger from the fires and explosions at the plant in Fukushima. I was in turn bombarded with warnings from my friends and relations on Facebook. At the same time BBC experts were saying there is nothing major to worry about. Nevertheless I thought seriously about going down to Osaka, not the least because I really enjoy it down there.
Well as suddenly as the delirium built it evaporated, thus confirming that it was all trumped up in the first place. But, I`m still a little nervous about proceeding North back to Ibaraki. I`ve spent the last week here in Tokyo and really started to enjoy the lifestyle here again, not to mention I`m well aware the at the US advises a distance of at least 80km from Fukushima, whereas Hitachi is only 100 km away, not a huge margin of error. Of course at the same time the Japanese are saying you should be at least 30 km away, so maybe the proper distance is a medium between 30 and 80?
I have heard that many foreigners have left Tokyo, but thus far I`m not entirely sure that this is the case. I will call some of my friends to confirm. I know I ran into a girl who was president of Temple, and she told me that most of the TUJ students had already left, and Temple in fact had rented a plane to fly a number of them out.
I guess the few days dealing with the earthquake took a lot out of me, because I`m only now beginning to feel more rested and normal. I certainly didn`t feel like the event was traumatic at the time but maybe it was. I have no idea if on a subconscious level I wasn`t deeply disturbed.
For awhile I thought this might be one of those profound life changing moments, where you realize what is important to you. I`m not sure that this has happened.
I will say that all that I`ve experienced confirms to me that the Japanese more or less have it right, and that we in Canada or less right, and in the US even less. The storm that struck New Orleans is proof enough that a similar event in the US would occasion massive unrest and crime, simply because of the difference in social conditions, and the atomistic social life.
