Sunday, March 27, 2011

Cherry Blossoms in Bloom-still waiting!!

The Tohoku Earthquake, with its tragic ramifications, has dominated the thoughts and lives of all in Japan......over 27,000 people confirmed dead or missing! Understandably, the arrival of the festive cherry blossom season has been overshadowed.

Nature has prevailed though, as it always does, and begun creating canvasses of pink and white across the land. Blooming time is determined by geographical location.......the milder the climate the earlier the blossom opens! In tropical Okinawa, the blossoms begin in January and in, the far north island, Hokkaido, they bloom as late as May. Current weather conditions in each area, also affects the blossoming time. It is such a special time in Japan that, the Weather Bureau via nightly forecasts following the weather segment of news programs, gives updates of the approaching 'Cherry Blossom Front' as it moves northwards!!   

The front signals the opening of the first blossoms (kaika) rather than the arrival of full bloom (mankai). Wherever and whenever they bloom, they signal another stage in the seasonal cycle....!! The 'cherry blossom season' in each area lasts about two weeks.....the first week when the buds are opening and then by the end of the second week when the blossoms are falling from the trees.

Cherry trees (known as sakura) are part of the Prunus family, the same family that plums, peaches and apricots are members of. So it's not only the cherry tree that blossoms.....white magnolia and plum tree blooms precede the cherries. With their natural beauty, they add colour to the very sombre tones of the city. Winter in Japan sees the trees shed their leaves and the grasses in the parks die off. The soil, like our skin, is dry and cracked. The greens only return when spring and summer return. Once spent, these less famous blooms make way for the much awaited 'Star of the Show', CHERRY BLOSSOM!!! .............the national flower of Japan. Originally sakura  was used to divine the year's harvest as well as announce the rice-planting season.

On a recent trip to Atami, at the top of the Izu Peninsula, we were treated to some early blossom.
Cycling around our stomping grounds in Yokohama, I snapped some shots of the plum trees and magnolias in their final days of bloom.

Walking around Minami Osawa, near Hachioji, we came across more magnolias in various stages of bloom. They are very beautiful!
As the blossoms fall to the footpaths and are lifted by the wind, it takes a great deal of patience for the many people employed to keep the streets clean. In the autumn, a multitude of people continually sweep the streets to remove falling leaves, now it's flowers they must sweep away.
'Hanami' is the centuries-old practice of picnicking under a blooming sakura. In modern-day Japan, hanami mostly consists of having an outdoor party beneath the sakura during daytime or at night. Hanami at night is called yozakura (literally meaning night sakura). Thousands of people fill the parks to hold feasts under the flowering trees. These parties often go on until late at night. In more than half of Japan, the cherry blossoming period coincides with the beginning of the school and fiscal year and so welcoming parties are often opened with hanami. The Japanese people take part in processional walks through the parks. Hanami is a time for contemplating and renewing spirits.

Many famous wood block prints, such as the one below, have cherry blossom themes. 

But guess what?? 

We are still awaiting the arrival of the 'Cherry Blossom' season......so for the moment there are no pictures!!! I am on daily 'cherry blossom patrol' but to date nothing!

All I can say is....'Mat te-kudasai!!!'

Monday, March 21, 2011

After the Earthquake!

At the moment it is very strange living here in Japan!!! This wonderful country has been thrown into chaos. The worst disaster since World War 2.....the largest earthquake ever recorded in Japan, the fourth largest earthquake ever recorded in the world, a monstrous tsunami with devastating consequences and a nuclear catastrophe. Now, unusually hide Spring tides are causing flooding along the coast, a coast which is now lower as a result of the quake.
Naturally, we have been under immense pressure from family, and friends, to return home. 'Get out now!', 'Don't wait until it's too late!', 'Come home now!' Nanny it's time for you to come home from Japan!' were common pleas. We were taking the situation very seriously and assessing it constantly. The whole scenario was unnerving and scary. We wanted to return to our family and the safety of Australia but we also wanted to show support for Japan, by merely staying. Yes, we have a choice we can leave but on the whole the Japanese people don't. Listening to horrifying news reports has, naturally, made people all over the world aware of Japan's plight. In spite of the large numbers of expatriates fleeing the country, 60 from our apartment building alone have left, we remained. By the end of the week, it seemed we may be evacuated but then certain conditions and circumstances meant a change of plan!! Dependant on the Fukoshima Nuclear Plant, we still may move out.....Steve to another work location and me to Melbourne.

It's all very unsettling....... six hundred+ aftershocks (quakes), with the majority of them between 4 and 6, have created uncertainty. When we get one we nervously hold our breath until the shaking subsides. It's quite the norm now to be rocking around on our 16th floor, some days we feel quite dizzy. They appear to be decreasing in frequency but two nights in a row (nearly a week after the mega earthquake) we had quakes of 6.1 and 5.7........ strong in normal times but now just a, 'Thank God it wasn't stronger!'

It's almost impossible to get fuel, at our local supermarkets bread is now being rationed , milk soon disappears off the shelf and many other shelves are bare. Rationing of bread is a good idea though, as it means more people get the chance to buy it. Add to this the fact that many restaurants are closed and those that are operating close at 9pm due to power saving. Rolling blackouts or controlled power outages mean trains and traffic lights often just stop. People suddenly find themselves sitting on a train going nowhere or at an intersection, where safety is up to them until a policeman takes over. The impact on industry, infrastructure and the economy has been huge and will take many years to overcome. We try to pretend things are normal but truthfully they are not.

The disaster puts everything into perspective and the suffering of so many people is horrific. With the death toll sure to exceed 20,000, the suffering and grief of the survivors is incomprehensible. The dignified and stoic response of the survivors is inspiring to the rest of the country.

Survivors, rescuers and doctors are plagued by ongoing difficulties. Hospitals, with depleted and damaged medical supplies and no power and therefore no equipment, struggle to cope. Large numbers of survivors were dragged out of the debris and rubble with hypothermia. Having nearly drowned, and some with core body temperatures of 24.8, their lungs were filled with a combination of water and fuel. When this disaster occurred we mustn't forget winter had just passed. Sea water and air temperatures were low, so low that it snowed soon after. It is rare to see a headline like this-

Rescuers find 80-year-old woman, 16-year-old grandson in rubble 9 days after quake      Sunday 20th March, 07:30 PM JST

Electricity partially installed at one nuclear reactor           Sunday 20th   March, 07:50 PM JST

Medical staff say that survivors are shell shocked and bottling their feelings up. They can't imagine a future and are having difficulty articulating their feelings. Many are apologetic for surviving and not having tried harder to save others as they were swept along!!! They have expressed guilt at having made one decision rather than another at the time of the tsunami!!  It is heart wrenching for those who have survived and still wonder about their loved ones. The children who have survived this nightmare are also particularly vulnerable.
Even in our immediate area, things are very different. Walking around the other night we were instantly aware of the disaster's impact. Normally crowded with people, brightly lit and noisy the streets are deserted, tall buildings are using minimal power and many shops are closed.      
Now.........Cosmo World is dark and closed, the Red Brick Buildings on the waterfront dark and silent!
Before......Cosmo World 
 
Now......a view from our apartment, not the normally bright outlook!
 Before..... the normal view.
As we ride our bikes around we see evidence of minor damage....

March 19th-21st was a long weekend to celebrate the Spring Equinox. How difficult it must be for the Japanese people to celebrate at such a time. When related to the seasons, it is rebirth, renewal and regrowth that bests describe the season of Spring. For me, Spring is signalled by flowers, blossoms and green leaves as plants spring to life, baby animals and a sense of relief that warmer weather is on the way.

In Japan, 'Cherry Blossom Time' is normally an exciting and celebrated time, a time when tourists flock to the country. This year the tourists won't be flocking here and the celebrations will be absent. Think of Cherry Blossom time and visions of Mt Fuji with blossom laden trees in the foreground come to mind. Upon investigating the definitions of the word 'spring' I felt that, at this time, many of them could be applied to Japan.......
to spring back.........spring away from an impact..........the season of growth where emerging buds appear on trees .............. a natural flow of ground water........ a device that returns to its shape or position when pushed or pulled or pressed ....... 
a point at which water issues forth!!   
How apt I thought!

On the Saturday of the long weekend, we decided to just get away from the apartment, TV and city with some friends. Wanting to conserve our half  tank of fuel in the car in case of an emergency, we caught a train to Yokohama and then simply headed south. We had no real plan and just transferred to another train when the one we were on terminated. After 3 hours we found ourselves in the town of Fuji. This was not as expected because, by this stage, we had formulated a loose plan and decided to head down the east coast of the Izu Peninsula. Fuji is actually to the west of the peninsula. We did get a great view of Fuji-san from a different aspect, so I was happy.
We caught another train and finally reached Atami, which was a bit short of our chosen destination of Ito.
The sun was shining, we had found some blossom trees and the streets were lovely.
This seaside town is no different to the towns that were destroyed in the tsunami and looking out to sea it was hard to imagine what chaos it had caused.




In a different way, we too felt guilty to be enjoying ourselves. Maybe though, it is what Japan needs.....the country will not recover if the tourist trade dies and businesses go broke. Slowly, ever so slowly, Japan and its people will recover, but they will never forget.

Fishermen will return to the sea
.......to the sea that......
on
.........Friday 11th March 2011..........
created such destruction and mayhem!!!

Friday, March 18, 2011

Disaster Befalls a Nation!!

It has happened!!
It's a 7.9..... no it's ....... 8.4 ......... 8.9.......... finally (days later) ....... it's classified...... 9.0!!!! No amount of preparation saved Japan from the ultimate assault of this record high score! Never in recorded history had Japan experienced such a severe earthquake.
This shows the location of the earthquake.
We had joked about the prospect, talked about National disaster plans and, naively, even wondered what it would be like to experience some seismic activity. Living in this country, used to regular seismic activity, we had experienced many minor tremors. Perched on the 16th floor, in a building designed to move like a pendulum, we had become sensitive to any movements of the earth. Evacuation points are familiar landmarks in all areas, particularly as the Tokai earthquake is now 25 years overdue. Japan's history has been built around wars and earthquakes and museums are full of information. From an early age school children are taught how to respond in an earthquake and all families have emergency kits ready to grab. In reality, the ferocity of Friday's earthquake put everything into perspective. No amount of preparation could have overcome the speed with which this monster moved.

Having delayed my return from a trip in Australia by a couple of weeks, I had only returned to Japan early Wednesday morning. I, lightheartedly, made comments on Facebook about Japan shaking with excitement at my return as the next couple of days were punctuated by regular tremors.

Friday dawned cool, clear and sunny and, as usual, I began my day by going out on the balcony to say 'Good morning' to my friend, Fuji-san. He is still wearing a long, Winter coat of snow and since the quake there has been no smoke coming from his chimney!!
Keen to overcome a virus that had been plaguing me I decided to go for a run. Donning my running gear I headed off. Passing through the hills of Yamate to the south, I then headed north through Yamashita Park along the picturesque waterfront and past all the normal view points to Minato Mirai and Rinko Park. As I ran I couldn't help but marvel at the beauty and diversity of this area.

Heading inland I made my way to Yokohama, taking a shortcut through the typically crowded station. Yokohama Station sees at least 2 million people per day passing through.
Turning southwards I headed through the back streets of Yokohama, Sakuragicho and Kannai back to the apartment. I had been gone 2.5 hours and covered about 13 kilometres, no record breaking times for me, but alternating between jogging, sprinting and walking I felt invigorated.

I had developed quite an appetite so I quickly knocked up a snack and sat down for a rest.
At 2.26pm I made this silly post on Facebook......
'It sucks!! Just went for a 2.5 hour run and when I got back silly iPhone hadn't recorded distance because I hadn't registered the program. Lulu Lemon's didn't suck though!!

As I nibbled away on my lunch I checked my e-mails. It was 2.46pm. Suddenly without warning the apartment began to shake. Uh oh!! Here we go again I thought. Within seconds I realized this was serious, the shake was not abating......with the adrenalin pumping I quickly typed a comment on Facebook....my fingers couldn't hit the keys.......
' Having a seriousw earthquake, never felt anything lijke it. Can stand shit im scared'  (should have said 'can't stand' but the room and my hands were shaking too much)

The shaking intensified.... getting stronger and stronger ......... faster and faster. I waited for it to subside but subside it did not! It went for so long! The building shook violently and ferociously. So violent and intense was the movement.....I  still could not hit the correct keys.....too bad.....I hit post without even correcting.

At that moment my mobile phone rang......it was Steve. We maintained a phone connection for the next couple of minutes and then, satisfied we were both OK, Steve proceeded with evacuation procedures at work. At work, he grabbed his emergency bag and hard hat and ran out of the office with his work colleagues. Watching as the next quake began, Steve witnessed the awesome rocking of the buildings from outside. I was still in the apartment and held on as I went for another ride. Within minutes of the quakes the phone systems, mobiles and landlines, went down and Steve and I didn't have contact for a couple of hours. Throughout the disaster Facebook and Twitter remained strong, except for a rapid slowing down of the Internet speed.

Hiding under my desk during the initial earthquake and praying that the building would remain standing, my greatest fear was falling to the ground with the building. Each time we have an aftershock now, I have visions of riding a chunk of concrete to the pavement 16 floors below. I felt surprise and fear as the quake continued to shake with fury for not 1 minute, not 2 minutes but more!! This was no gentle rocking, the shaking was fast, aggressive and furious. As I hid under my desk I watched the  wall opposite me moving backwards and forwards about a metre. My initial thoughts, which sound a bit dramatic,  were..... 
'Please don't let me die in my 16th floor apartment, alone and in Japan away from my family.'

Suddenly the TV flew across the floor, I listened as the heavy double sliding doors between the lounge room and dining room slid shut and then repeatedly banged open and shut, drawers in the kitchen fell out, chopping boards, cutlery and bottles fell on the floor and were flung into the hallway. In the midst of this clatter, the fire door between the kitchen and living area slammed shut with a resounding bang. Decorative vases fell, curtains quivered as they swung backwards and forward, drawers in the dressing room slid open then fell over, pretty well anything loose fell.

In a word I was 'terrified'! But what could I do? Nothing but hold on and wait! The building creaked and groaned and the elevator pulleys clanged and banged. At its peak I could not walk and found myself crawling in and out of my hidey hole under the desk. It sounds a bit dramatic now, but at the time it was very real. Sometimes, certainly at this stage, two and a half minutes is a very long time!!

Like a predator shaking a victim in its jaws, the earthquake shook Japan. A whole nation became a seismic victim of this fierce foe.

The map below shows the recordings taken at the time of the earthquake and just after. Pretty amazing! Quite clearly the whole country was being ravaged!!
Even as I am writing this we have had another aftershock which registered 6.2 north of here. In excess of 350 aftershocks have been recorded.

Once the shake subsided the building continued to and swing and rock.  Eventually, as its pendulous motion lessened, the building 'regained its feet'!  Unbelievable!!

The hallway was littered with our fallen bikes and, at this stage, I called down to the main desk. Our Japanese concierges, Reyna and Naoko were equally scared and really had no advice to give. For them it was their first serious earthquake also. They invited me down but I felt happier staying where I was.
The lifts were still operational and, half an hour later, Reyna came up to see that I was 'daijoubu desu' (alright). Always considerate and in typical Japanese fashion, she even picked up the bikes in the hallway. At no stage did we lose power in the building and our elevator remained operational.
With a record force sufficient to move the position of this country 2.4 metres and move the earth 10cm on its axis, it goes without saying that the effects of this seismic attack were enormous. As one tectonic plate slid under another, the recipe for an enormous tsunami was complete. With the plates running parallel to the country, the newborn tsunami was able to vent its force unopposed. Unbeknown to those in the cities, who were assessing the damage and wandering around shell shocked, further away the worst was still to come.

North east of us, nearer to the epicentre, a monumental disaster was unfolding.  Within ten minutes a tsunami with such force, moving at such speed, wiped out entire cities and towns, turning houses into matchsticks and felling multi storey buildings in seconds. With each cubic metre of water weighing one ton, what chance did anything let alone a mere human have against this onslaught? In an instant, thousands of people died as water engulfed their homes and towns. Tsunami walls, common place throughout Japan, held tight but were unable to restrain the massive flood of water. Television footage has shown it all. Worldwide, everyone is familiar with the shocking reality of the tsunami and its ensuing side effects. Ships, boats, cars, trucks, buses, tanks, buildings, trees and people......this monster consumed whatever got in its way and swirled it around. What it left behind was reminiscent of a bomb site.
For the rest of the day, naturally, I was very nervous. I remained in the apartment, where I felt more secure, in an environment that I knew. At 3.10pm we had another very strong quake, not as bad as the first one but I was glad I hadn't picked anything up. Like before the building took a while to settle. The television, which had been flung off its perch at the height of the main quake, came to life as I lifted it up. From that moment, like so many, I remained glued to the screen as news from the disaster area was broadcast across the world. The enormity of this violent foe's assault was impossible to comprehend.

For those in Tokyo and Yokohama, a normal Friday had been transformed instantly. The railway system shut down immediately and, suddenly, millions of people were stranded. In the cities, which are reliant on public transport,  everyone was faced with the difficulty of getting home. Just after 4pm, Steve finally got through to me on the phone and said that he and some of the others from his office were on their way home. Unable to catch a train or taxi, like everyone else, he was compelled to walk home. Three hours later he arrived at the apartment, by this stage it was dark and cold. Amazingly, as he had left the office snow had been gently falling. Others work colleagues took 5 hours to return to their homes in Tokyo and some didn't even get home. Many people who work in Yokohama and Tokyo commute long distances each day, often catching more than one train to reach work. They were forced to spend the night in hotels or with friends. Throughout the rest of the day and evening the aftershocks came every 20 minutes. Very unnerving and unsettling. Finally, well after midnight we fell asleep but were often rocked out of our slumber throughout the night.


Saturday morning dawned sunny, clear but cold. We decided to ride around our local area on the bikes rather than sit around watching TV. We started off riding around the back streets of Kannai where cracked sidewalks, broken tiles and walls with jagged cracks were evident.  Cracked windows were taped up and the corners of many buildings showed signs of structural damage. We rode down Motomachi Street normally bustling with people on the weekend, but like a ghost town today.  Along the foreshore in Yamashita Park, families were out walking and pampered dogs were enjoying leashed walks.
We even witnessed a bride and groom having their photos taken.
Further along a juggler was entertaining the crowds.
It didn't feel right to be enjoying the beauty of the area while in the disaster area  the struggle to survive continued. But beauty and sunshine aside, something was different.......down the length of Motomachi Street shops were closed, the major stores in Minato Mirai were closed, the ferris wheel was still, Cosmos, the amusement park silent.  With an almost total reliance on public transport, the shutdown of the railway system had had a huge impact. No trains, meant the cities had virtually ground to a halt. The normally busy, crowded and frenetic streets of Yokohama were almost silent. Restaurants were closed and shelves in most convenience stores were soon stripped bare......no milk, no bread, no bottled water! The nation was in shock.....nervous.....waiting. It was very strange.
At about 12.00 before returning home we visited a friend in Minato Mirai. He had a dilemma! His wife, with two of his children, had planned a visit. They should have arrived on Friday but, with Narita Airport closed, all flights had been cancelled or postponed. After an overnight delay in Singapore they were due to land at 1pm. Normally travellers then catch a train or a Limousine Bus into Tokyo or Yokohama, or if you don't mind paying a taxi. On Saturday all buses had been cancelled, no trains were running and taxis at the airport would not take any one beyond Tokyo.

There was nothing to it....we opted to take the car and head off to Narita. Sounds easy .....normally is....but not today.  All the elevated major expressways were closed which meant we could not even use the bridge near our apartment to get across Yokohama Bay. So after turning around we headed for Kawasaki and onto a toll way. Initially, we made good progress but then suddenly the four lines of traffic ground to a halt.
Our route to Narita was also the same route going north to the disaster area. Progress was slow......it took 4 hours to cover 39 kilometres, which included 2 hours to do 2 kilometres. Phonecalls between us and the travellers let us know that we still needed to get to Narita. Finally after 4 hours, by which stage the car travellers were getting hungry and in need of a rest room, we received another call to say the travellers were going to be catching a series of trains, which had started running, to Tokyo! That was good news because we still had 113 kilometres to go to the airport..... We eventually got off the tollway and made our way to Ginza, just north of Tokyo. We had arranged to meet there because it would be easier for each party to find the other.

Even though the roadways were clogged Tokyo was very, very quiet and it was easy to drive through the streets. That was quite bizarre! We headed back to Yokohama and covered the same 39 kilometres in about 30 minutes. Thank goodness!
 
Had Japan only experienced an earthquake the damage would have been so much less....strict earthquake building codes had saved most buildings. But a tsunami of such monstrous proportions was overwhelming. The tragedy and horror created by the tsunami is beyond description. Surely that would have been enough... but no.... why not throw in a nuclear crisis to complete the trifecta. Nuclear power plant explosions. A nation in crisis!!
As I am finishing this post news has come through, nearly a week since the horrific earthquake, saying that radiation levels have spiked and are higher than any previous reading. When will this nightmare end....when will Japan be given time to mourn? The whole situation is so extreme!

The sadness, loss and tragedy that this nation is dealing with is beyond comprehension.  It took only minutes for the earthquake and tsunami to devastate Japan's northeast. Rebuilding will take years - if it can be afforded. The relentless wall of water unleashed by the quake killed countless thousands, swept away whole towns, inundated roads and knocked ports, oil refineries, steel plants and factories out of action. 
The world is now seeing what we have grown to love in the Japanese people......grace, dignity in the face of adversity, honesty, care, respect, no loss of law or decorum, no looting, no complaining or asking for some magical 'other person' to fix their problems!! The world has responded to this shocking catastrophe but stories are widespread of people, who have already lost everything in the tragedy, helping others in need.

From a personal aspect, we are living in very uncertain times....will we have another large earthquake? Will the nuclear situation worsen? The country has had over 400 aftershocks since the big one and we, in Yokohama, have had too many to count. When the building starts rocking you hold your breath and hope it is not another big one. Some have been very strong....we had a 6.2 just 54 miles west of us at about 10.40 pm the other night. It was very near to Fuji-san. This one started quite differently, with a deep pulling and shuddering sensation under the building before the normal shaking. It was a very shallow quake, only 1 km deep!! The next night we had another one at the about the same time. Makes it hard to settle at night!! Using an application on my iPhone I am able to get accurate feedback of quake data.
This has been a very difficult post to compose. At the time I was too scared to take any photos, so I must rely on photos I have taken of the TV coverage. My normal enthusiasm to record everything photographically has  been dampened. Never again will we look at a warning sign and glibly dismiss it!!!
So many children, babies, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, grandparents, spouses taken by this shocking monster.
So much grief and loss!!! Daijoubu ja nai desu!!!