11/3/11 - two years later.

Right now, I am sitting in my parents' kitchen in North Wales, warming my hands on the radiator and planning my return to Prague, where I currently live. The snow swirling around through the window reminds me of some of the images on screen two years ago today.

I was sitting in the teachers' room at my main junior high school, writing my "About Me" page for this very blog, when the ground started to sway. It didn't feel like an earthquake - it was more like a giant ship swaying back and forth. I glanced up at the secretary and asked "Jishin?" She nodded. A few second year girls cowered on the floor and squealed, one of them holding her arms over the others and shouting "I am desk!" for my benefit, while Mr Ohuchi, the English teacher, yelled "Urusai! (Shut up)" The ground continued to sway, and a siren started to sound. Panic gripped my stomach as my Facebook newsfeed was flooded with messages - "Earthquake!" "OMG, there are cracks in the ground in Tokyo!" "They say a big tsunami is coming!"

At that point, I wasn't sure of where the earthquake was centred. The ground continued to sway, and nobody thought to translate the message on the loudspeaker for the ALT - I caught the words for earthquake and tsunami, though, and knowing that the Hamamatsu was expecting a massive earthquake and was on the coast, I couldn't help but worry. I picked up my phone to text Jeff, my boyfriend, and see if he was OK - but the phones had stopped working.

New pages!

Hey guys - I'm not sure if you will notice, but I have added some new pages to this blog!

We have the old "Help Japan" page, full of information about volunteering and donating to help the earthquake/tsunami victims. I added an "About Me" page for a lovely bit of self-indulgence, although it's more about my journey and how I came to be teaching English in Japan. The latest addition is "Live, Work and Teach in Japan" - a comprehensive FAQ in which I try to answer questions from imaginary people. The questions are based on things I've seen often asked in forums, as well as things that various people have asked me in the past. I hope that it's helpful!

Just look up and click the buttons on the bar... click "Home" to return to the main blog. I'm sure you could have worked that out for yourselves, but hey.

Golden Week: Yokohama, Nikko and exploring Tochigi-ken

Since the big earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant incidents, tourists have been avoiding anywhere north of Tokyo like the plague. Perhaps it's the media's fault; their addiction to sensationalism overriding any pangs of guilt for causing unecessary panic. Perhaps it's down to the embassies advising against non-essential travel to anywhere north of the capital. Perhaps people are generally just keeping on the safe side, and don't know what to expect.
 
Well, I visited Yokohama, the second largest city in Japan, a few train stops before Tokyo (from Hamamatsu) and then I visited Nikko, a three hour train ride north of there. Neither were disaster zones, and even the "blackouts" didn't extend to more than a slightly inconvenient train schedule and a few escalators turned off. It seems that some places are making only a token effort to close down electricity, perhaps turning off one or two lights while most things go on as normal. Nikko is in Tochigi prefecture; the prefecture just next to (south-west of) Fukushima. Does this strike fear into your hearts? I'll tell you about it, and you can decide what you think.

10 days later...

It's been 10 days since the big earthquake hit, and the Western media seems to be bored already. The positive side to this is that Libya is getting some headline space again... I see that the U.S./U.K. couldn't quite manage to sit back and watch, after all. The nuclear reactor situation in Fukushima is still causing panic and hype, but it feels as if the constant panic has eased off. Perhaps enough scientists have published statistics and reassuring words. However, the death toll keep increasing. It currently stands at 9000 and is expected to rise. Today, I heard that a JET teacher from Miyagi had been found dead. Of course, that isn't to say that the situation is suddenly only tragic when a foreigner is caught up in it - but I think that all of us, as English teachers, feel a pang of sadness when we hear that one of our own group has passed away. I suppose that it also brings a cold shiver or reality - how that could have been any one of us.

Don't Panic!

Before you freak out about nuclear fallout in Japan, take a deep breath, and read this.

The media is creating a LOT of hysteria at the moment. In the last few hours, I have seen links to news sites from a lot of countries claiming that there is a "mass exodus from Tokyo". Fox News showed a map of "nuclear plants in Tokyo", listing a place called "Shibuyaeggman". This turned out to be a club in a popular area of Tokyo.

While newspapers are acting as if this is a nuclear apocalypse, throwing around terms like "worse than Chernobyl",  

Earthquake links page...

I have now added news feeds relating to the Japan situation, as well as a Twitter feed. I have been re-tweeting informative posts and giving some updates as to the situation. On my "Japan's Crisis" page, I have compiled a list of links for those who want to help. I will update it when I receive new information. I have also linked to Hamamatsu City's Earthquake guides (in English)!

Just click "Japan's Crisis" on navigation bar.

The Disaster

I feel that it would be insulting to write about anything else right now.

I'm pretty sure that you don't need me to tell you what happened in Japan on Friday. An earthquake (I've heard estimates from 8.8 to 9.1 being thrown around), triggering a 10m tsunami. Hundreds of aftershocks. Fires. A death toll that could hit 10,000. Half a town missing. Then the nuclear reactors started overheating.