It snowed yesterday in Tokyo, the first snow in this winter. Here is a photo in the centre of Tokyo.

Any person must have tried once to spin a pen. A student of Keio University formed a pen spinning society. Look his beautiful tricks.

In the night sky of Japan, there was the moon disappearing. It was a lunar eclipse, gesshoku in Japanese. How beautiful feeling the entire universe.

Tokyo Sanpo Michi by Natsuko Nakabayashi

 

The 42nd Tokyo Motor Show has just started in Tokyo Big Sight in Odaiba (お台場).

I found a "Dokodemo Door (どこでもドア)" at Toyota booth.

"Dokodemo Door" is one of the gadgets of Doraemon (ドラえもん) by the way. Have you seen it?

 

The winter is just around the corner of Touhoku area in Japan and there is a huge shrotage of heating system. Why don´t we help them by sending socks?

6th of August was the Hiroshima Memorial Day. It´s been 66 years since the atomic bomb was dropped over Hiroshima but why so important for Japan after so many years?

People in Fukushima are angry. They need to know the clear solution instead of feeling being abandoned. This video really shows how Japanese system works.

A huge earthquake shock Japan on the 11^th of March. The fear continues since then. Not only successive aftershocks but other problems one after another.

 

I like to record all the incidents happening here in Tokyo, in Japan as much as possible.

 

One warm afternoon in March, suddenly the earthquake shock the island. It was just before 3pm when I felt something unusual in my office which is the last floor of the building.

 

First I thought it was me feeling rocked because of the tiredness. Then I realised it wasn't me.

 

I've never tried but it must feel like that if you stand on a jelly, those colourful ones the kids would eat. The office waved just like that.

 

Because we've been seeing the images of the buildings falling down in NZ during the quake, although it must've been much safer to remain inside the office, we all went outside. Perhaps even without the disaster in NZ, we would have been out anyway.

 

The instinct rushed me into running away as far as possible.

 

The director of the company himself was scared.

He directed us to go home then left the office first.

It gave me some sort of impression of our company's future…

 

In the meantime, I was still in the office, I mean I couldn't leave the office.

Japan is a country of earthquakes and well prepared but actually the big cities like Tokyo have less resistance. Trains and tubes had stopped immediately. I thought about getting a taxi but the streets were full of cars, all rushing to get home.

 

I had no choice other than staying in the office and watching TV news to get more information about the quake.

… The images coming out from the screen gave me the confusion, as if it was like unrealistic Hollywood films done with lots of CG.

 

Tsunami…

 

Sanriku coast near the seismic centre of this earthquake is famous for its beautiful saw-toothed coastline and is a popular touristic spot.However this time, that coastline became a deathblow as it actually increased the power of the tsunami.

 

The waves suddenly grew bigger and wiped out the cars (probably people too) parked in a parking tower. In the below level, streets and houses were being swallowed in a muddy stream in such a short time.

 

Was it a mass media spirit or simply they wanted higher audience ratings, all TV stations continued showing tragic images.

Now I understand what terror exactly means…. this.

 

I was in Tokyo, more than 200km away from the seismic centre, and yet the fear crept up my body.

 

200-300 of dead bodies had been found on the shore, the news reported.

It was terrible enough to sacrifice, then the mayor of one the devastated cities announced…

“The victims will reach more than 10,000”.

 

I always think of the worst case of scenario.

When I heard 200-300 of death, I immediately thought of at least 10 times more of victims from the images showing on TV. I was stunned as if someone hit my head hard when I heard the mayor.

 

On the 17^th of March, the number of victims are much higher than that mayor predicted, by today, more than 15,000 people are dead or missing.

 

I don't feel this real.

 

I saw someone's  saying in his blog,

"Japanese people won't give up."

 

Many Japanese people would've been encouraged by his word.

 

Only if there was another menace waiting for us after tsunami….

(continue)

 

More about 3.11

M8.8 quake attacked Japan

A year after in Japan

A year after the story of Japanese people

11th of March at 14:46 Japan time, M8.8 scale earthquake attacked Japan's north-east coast. Majority of Tohoku region has been damaged. In Tokyo resistered an intensiry of 5 and all the tubes in Tokyo have been suspended after the earthquake. There are many power stations in the north region in Japan and all have been stopped the generations. 

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The numbers are magnitude and the cross mark in the ocean is the hypocentre. This is the northern region in Japan.

 

It's still quaking, 3,000 people are stuck in Shibuya station due to the suspention of all public transport, they have been adviced to remain in the office and not try to go home.	Kasumigaseki, Tokyo Saitama Office in Tokyo
Urayasu area in Chiba is a pure made ground and now liquefaction is happening. This is a taxi in front of the station stuck in the water.
Smoke is coming out from some buildings in Tokyo
Destroyed shops in Tokyo
Tsunami attacked Fukushima region and a fire broke out
The oil refineries in Chiba have exploded

There is limited power source in Japan, no power in Tohoku area (northern region) and Yokosuka area and some places in Tokyo. At this moment, many people are missing in especially in Miyagi area and at least 26 peole died.

On BBC news there is a live news. BBC LIVE NEWS.

There is a risk of Tsunami to other Pacific area including Taiwan, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand.

Now according to the latest news from Vienna, all five nuclear plants have been shut down safely and no danger of leaking.

 

 

More about 3.11

M8.8 quake attacked Japan

A year after in Japan

A year after the story of Japanese people

Tokyo report