Quakocalypse

**Update: OK, maybe I am a teeny tiny bit worried. And also just plain tired of the aftershocks. I booked a ticket to Osaka, leave in 25 minutes. Stay safe everyone!

Updated Tuesday March 15th, 11:20**

 

It's now three days since the first quake struck. I'm fine and spending most of my time in front of the computer trying to make sense of all the information coming my way. I am now completely avoiding foreign media, except for the odd peek at the BBC, as it is just way too sensationalist. Fears of a nuclear apocalypse have been greatly exaggerated, and while I am a bit worried, I'm not even close to panicking. Nobody is, not in Tokyo anyway.

Yesterday, Sunday, we walked through the park on the way to shopping. It was full of people enjoying the beautiful weather. Families having picnics, kids practicing on their bikes and rollerskates, participants in a fun run cooling down. It was so weirdly normal. I kind of got the impression that people were going out of their way to be happy and normal, so as not to worry the kids. Which is exactly what's supposed to happen when kids are involved. Babies are a different story. Shuma has no clue what's going on, and if were to actually notice the tremors he'd probably love them. He's very happy with all the extra cuddling he's getting, and if things don't get back to normal he's going to be (even more) spoiled.

At Akachan Hompo (baby goods store) diapers were fully stocked. We bought one pack (all we could carry) and then headed to the supermarket to stock up on basics. Everything looked fairly normal, except that water and toilet paper were in low supply.

Hideaki left for work early this morning. He's supposed to be on evening shift this week but was asked to come in four and a half hours early. Hey, what's a little (gratis) overtime when thousands are dead? I've spent most of the day trying to figure out the rolling blackout schedule. I can only imagine how hard something like this is to plan, but the information has been confusing and constantly changing. It seems like my area has been spared for today though. I asked my landlady (who lives next door and came to check on me right after the first quake) if she knew anything and she seemed to not know what I was talking about. So obviously not everyone is worried about losing power.

And when I went out this morning it at first seemed to be business as usual. The usual oldies were in their places on the park benches. This lady was weeding and raking up leaves at the park. Construction workers on a few area sites were working as usual.

Flowers were announcing the arrival of spring, including this magnolia. Beyond it is a communications tower inside the local Jietai (Self Defence Forces, Japan's de-facto army) Base. The base itself seemed deserted- perhaps troops were mobilizing to head up north, or already there?

Then I got to the first stop on my shopping route, the 100 Yen Store. A line about 50 people deep snaked around the store, peoples baskets full of toilet paper, water, first aid supplies and other stuff. It was fun checking out peoples' baskets. Some folks had totally random stuff, like the girl with school supplies and a birthday card. Others had sensible things, like paper plates and cups (perfect for when the power and water is out) and chocolate wafers (just the kind of non-perishable, calorie-rich foodstuff I should have in my emergency kit) that made me wish I had them in my basket, but once I was in that line I wasn't giving up my spot.

They were using a third of their lights, and most other shops I saw were doing similarly conserving energy, but I didn't see any open shops that were completely dark and a few convenience stores were at full power. There are no pachinko parlours in my immediate neighborhood, so I couldn't do what one of my favourite tweets from yesterday instructed: "If you see a pachinko parlour open, throw a rock through their window".

All regular batteries were sold out. Just a few of the tiny ones, two of those rectangular ones, and a handful of AAA's (that were snatched up just after I took this).

At the drugstore, toilet paper was sold out.

So was water, although other drinks were well stocked. They were out of gas canisters for portable gas burners, which was what I most wanted to buy, but still had a few supplies so I joined the long line up. Amazingly they still had a few batteries, including the rechargeables I bought.

The next supermarket didn't have anything I wanted, and the lines were insane. At the next shop, a greengrocers, everyone was cheerful and extremely apologetic about not being fully stocked. A clerk brought out a flat of bread and didn't even bother displaying it, instead handing it out to people in line. The bread was gone in 15 seconds.

I like this greengrocers because it's cheap and the people are nice. They were always nice to me, and now they are nice to my baby. They were nice to my dad when he was here last year. They thanked him for coming to their little country. Here is more proof that they are nice: face masks going for 98 yen for a box of 50. This is incredibly cheap, and for an item that was in high demand (earthquakes can kick up a lot of dust, and power outages can create quite a stink). The opposite of price gouging.

My favourite supermarket was just as crowded as the other stores, but amazingly the lines were only two or three people deep. Every cash register was going, each manned by two cashiers- probably most of their workforce. Everything was neat and orderly, and except for the crowds and a few empty shelves (that's the bread section above) it seemed totally normal.

Today I bought: latex gloves, ginger cough drops, several packs of kombu (kelp) in crunchy snack form, a few packs of wakame seaweed in sour snack form, two bottles of green tea, paper cups, small plastic garbage bags, rechargable betteries, one large daikon, a bunch of bananas, a sports drink (I was thirsty and realized I hadn't eaten), a box of Ritz crackers, four bottles of nori no tsukudani (a paste made of nori seaweed simmered in soy sauce), a can of sardines, a tub of yogurt, two cartons of soy milk (they were sold out of real milk), a yummy lookong dip/paste made of miso, chili peppers and buckwheat, shiokombu (salted kelp), and tororo kombu (yet another form of kelp).

All the seaweed was for its iodine, to protect against radiation poisoning. Surprisingly all seaweed products were very well stocked, so it doesn't look like anyone's worried by the nuclear reactor troubles.

I didn't buy rice or bread, partly because I bought five kilograms of rice at Costco recently and a breadmaker just one day before the quake. And partly because if we lose power and stores close I want to eat as few nutritionless carbs as possible. But people were snatching up bread like crazy. And toilet paper. There's nothing that scares the Japanese more than the thought of going without toilet paper.

Here was my lunch today: sliced apple, buntan (a great big citrus fruit, this one given to me a few weeks ago by a student) segments, and toasted whole wheat bread (baked in my awesome new breadmaker) with butter and nori no tsukudani. That stuff is usually eaten with rice, but it's also really nice spread on toast. Kind of like Vegemite or Marmite, only with anti-radiation properties.

Comments

[illahee]

those empty shelves are unreal!

stay safe amy, i'm thinking of you and your family!

[kat]

take care, will be thinking of you.

[Sherry]

LOL That is so true about the toilet paper. But don't forget the tissue.

[Pei]

LOL!! Great post and its assuring to know the media is sensationalizing the news about the nuclear radiation. Its a relief to know you and your family are safe. 3 days ago I would never have said this. Aren't you glad you have pancakes enough for an army :)

Yes, those pancakes really came in handy! -Amy

[Mariko]

Glad you are doing okay.

[gretchen]

great report on life in tokyo during all this. enjoy those extra baby cuddles and all that delicious kelp. take care.

[Jeanie]

i love your posts. I'm so glad that you and Shuma are doing well. Thanks for sharing the pics from shopping and of your delicious looking lunch. My mother loves nori no tsukudani and always has it in our fridge, but I'd never have thought to put it on toast. What a fabulous idea! (We do however occasionally put furikake on oatmeal for breakfast.)

Nori on toasts needs lots of butter to really work. And furikake on oatmeal! Not sure about that... -Amy

[A San Franciscan]

Thanks for posting! Glad to read that your family is safe. Really appreciate a local's perspective. Thinking good thoughts for those affected.

[Yvonne Chan]

Thank you for the candid report on how things are for you and your family in Japan. I hope things get better for everyone sooner then later.

[paro]

I was thinking about you and your family since the earthquake. Glad to know you are all doing fine. Stay safe.

[Robyn K]

Really glad you and yours OK and I'm glad to hear that the state of affairs is really not so bad as the American news stations seem to be making it sound. Still, really terrible news and we're hoping for the best.

[Rachel D.]

You guys were the first people I thought about after hearing news of the quake. Glad that you are safe, and I will pray that you guys remain that way!

[Pei]

You did the right thing with little Shuma around. Glad you are able to make it to Osaka! Take care! Our thoughts are with your family

[Minke]

What a relief to hear that you're travelling to Osaka. I wish good luck and good health for you and your family (and everyone else in Japan for that matter).
What a stories you can tell little Shuma when he's older! Remember when you were a baby....
Thank you for keeping us updated. You're in my thoughts.

[Cecilie]

I kept thinking about you yesterday, and today when I read the news and saw that radiation has gone up in Tokyo, I had to check your blog. I`m so glad you decided to go to Osaka.
Stay safe! I`m sending you good thoughts from the other side of the world. :)

[gretchen]

so glad to hear you bought the tickets to osaka. the news this morning was not good. and it's usually better to be safe than sorry. all good wishes to you and your family.

[heidih]

Thank you for letting us know how you and your family are. I hold good thoughts for you- but good to hear you are taking the "safe rather than sorry" approach and going to Osaka.

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[Desiree]

Glad to read that you and your family are safe. Take Care!

[Helen]

I love your blog and read it regularly. I love looking at all the pictures of Shuma - very cute with all his interesting outfits. Thanks for sharing. I'm a regular traveller to Japan and I'm supposed to go to Kyoto/Osaka in the first week of April but now not sure if I should go. What's the gound feeling like in Osaka? Any advice for me? Thanks.

I'm so sorry to reply so late. I was going to say that Kyoto and Osaka are not only fine, but this is a great time to travel- far fewer tourists than usual so you'll enjoy crowd-free traveling. Now I wonder what you ended up doing. -Amy

[Lori]

I've been following your blog for a couple of years now. I'm so glad to hear you and your family are safe! My thoughts and prayers are with you and everyone in Japan.

[T]

Glad to hear you are making the trip to Osaka as was thinking of you and little Shuma today.

[Project Hyakumeizan]

Many thanks for your reassuring and commonsensical post today. It's good to know how things really are in Tokyo. Over here in Zurich, our thoughts are with you. Especially as, just down the road, we have a nuclear power station that is a twin of the Fukushima ones....

Thanks for the comment. The Fukushima power plant survived the earthquake beautifully, it was the tsunami that did it in. You should be fine over there in Zurich. -Amy

[Kyoko.I]

I'm really releaved to hear you and Shuma left Tokyo, because ,especially for your son, due to his tiny body the effect of radioactivity will be more than for grownups. I hope you will stay Osaka for a while and stay safe and sound. Kyoko

[SOL's View]

It's good you know you and your family are ok. Stay safe and well. :)

(I was brought to you by Joe in Vegas)

[Tiny]

I hope you and your family are somewhere safe.

[pockosmum]

That's good, you're in Osaka! Cool! Get some rest, just enjoy Shuma-chan.

[Zarko]

This is so cool !

[Zarko]

Make sure to write a sequel :-)

[Amy]

Thank you all for the comments and good wishes. Reading them really cheered us up!