Aisling Posted March 19, 2011 Report Share Posted March 19, 2011 (from a friend Bill, who's friend Eriko wrote him) A personal update on Japan. I met my friend Eriko when I was visiting Japan a couple years ago. She lives stateside now, but still makes frequent trips back to visit her family there. She sent this letter from her sister in Tokyo for any who wanted to hear about life there now: I have talked with my sister, Hiromi today on the phone. There are still many after shakes, one yesterday was 3.0 in Tokyo. She says that the shortage of the supplies were caused by selfish people who try to over stock water, rice, toilet paper, etc. to themselves. Hiromi said that she can not find any toilet paper in anywhere. The shelters are overwhelmed by so many refugees and the government is going to bring some of them to even Tokyo but precedes seriously ill patients and the numbers of people who can be rescued is very limited. Most gas stations are closed by their supplies sold out They are going to limit the use of gasoline for the civilians even in the cities of Kansai area. ( The west Japan) The official announcement from the Tokyo Electric power co. is very unclear about the safety of the ***ushima nuclear plant area. They started to limit the use of the electricity to 3 hours a day for the residents in Tokyo area and reduced the numbers of trains to operate in Tokyo causing a big jam in the commuting time in the evening. Yes, people in Tokyo still commute to their work, including my brother. About her friend, Mrs. Ohtsuka. She left Tokyo immediately (next day?) after the first earth quick and tsunami to find her mother. She text my sister earlier this week to let her know that her mom was miraculously ok. She lives in Miyako, Iwate, the fisherman's town right on the pacific coast, north of Sendai. The tsumani damage was quite a big there. She lived alone and most houses there were swept by tsunami but she was saved by her neighbors. Mrs. Ohtsuka said that her mother's village is such a tiny village in the town and no govenment or Army help is there. Maybe the shortage of the rescuer and the gasoline? Also you have to cross the river by getting in to the water to get to the village because the brige is gone. There is no phone reception in the village so she had to cross back the river to call my sister. Mrs. Ohtsuka and her brothers were going to bring their mother to Tokyo with them but now, they are staying there to help people who survived in the village. They need a lot of help, cooking meal for them, trying to find a body of the family members who are missing, etc. Hope that someone will send some kind of help there soon. -Eriko P.S. Please share this e-mail with whoever you think would like to know. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 This comes from a friend of a friend on FB. She's amazingly positive! Hello My Lovely Family and Friends, A letter from Sendai 3/14/2011 ..."Things here in Sendai have been rather surreal. But I am very blessed to have wonderful friends who are helping me a lot. Since my shack is even more worthy of that name, I am now staying at a friend's home. We share supplies like water, food and a kerosene heater. We sleep lined up in one room, eat by candlelight, share stories. It is warm, friendly, and beautiful. During the day we help each other clean up the mess in our homes. People sit in their cars, looking at news on their navigation screens, or line up to get drinking water when a source is open. If someone has water running in their home, they put out a sign so people can come to fill up their jugs and buckets. It's utterly amazingly that where I am there has been no looting, no pushing in lines. People leave their front door open, as it is safer when an earthquake strikes. People keep saying, "Oh, this is how it used to be in the old days when everyone helped one another." Quakes keep coming. Last night they struck about every 15 minutes. Sirens are constant and helicopters pass overhead often. We got water for a few hours in our homes last night, and now it is for half a day. Electricity came on this afternoon. Gas has not yet come on. But all of this is by area. Some people have these things, others do not. No one has washed for several days. We feel grubby, but there are so much more important concerns than that for us now. I love this peeling away of non-essentials. Living fully on the level of instinct, of intuition, of caring, of what is needed for survival, not just of me, but of the entire group. There are strange parallel universes happening. Houses a mess in some places, yet then a house with futons or laundry out drying in the sun. People lining up for water and food, and yet a few people out walking their dogs. All happening at the same time. Other unexpected touches of beauty are first, the silence at night. No cars. No one out on the streets. And the heavens at night are scattered with stars. I usually can see about two, but now the whole sky is filled. The mountains are solid and with the crisp air we can see them silhouetted against the sky magnificently. And the Japanese themselves are so wonderful. I come back to my shack to check on it each day, now to send this e-mail since the electricity is on, and I find food and water left in my entranceway. I have no idea from whom, but it is there. Old men in green hats go from door to door checking to see if everyone is OK. People talk to complete strangers asking if they need help. I see no signs of fear. Resignation, yes, but fear or panic, no. They tell us we can expect aftershocks, and even other major quakes, for another month or more. And we are getting constant tremors, rolls, shaking, rumbling. I am blessed in that I live in a part of Sendai that is a bit elevated, a bit more solid than other parts. So, so far this area is better off than others. Last night my friend's husband came in from the country, bringing food and water. Blessed again. Somehow at this time I realize from direct experience that there is indeed an enormous Cosmic evolutionary step that is occurring all over the world right at this moment. And somehow as I experience the events happening now in Japan, I can feel my heart opening very wide. My brother asked me if I felt so small because of all that is happening. I don't. Rather, I feel as part of something happening that much larger than myself. This wave of birthing (worldwide) is hard, and yet magnificent. Thank you again for your care and love of me." To joining together in love how we can friends xoxo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skandinavec Posted April 14, 2011 Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 30.3.2011 <iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MognnB0g56Y" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe> 13.4.2011 <iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/S0H-mtsdsgg" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gcarve Posted April 14, 2011 Report Share Posted April 14, 2011 Tragically fascinating videos. Nuclear power plants have too many unimaginable consequences when things go wrong. Scary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.