On the school/work side of things...
There was an earthquake during the graduation ceremony, but resolve was not shaken. I've been told that the school principal started out as an opera singer. He has a deep, bellowing voice, and the eyes of a sad catfish (trust me on this). He was in the middle of a speech when the tremor hit, but his voice didn't so much as pause or fluctuate in intensity. Whether or not going through with the ceremony was a good (i.e. safe) idea, I have to acknowledge that the guy is resolute.
The ceremony seemed like it would last forever (2 hours, I think). We teachers bowed at least fifty times throughout the ceremony before it was over. The homeroom teachers of the graduating student were well-dressed and clearly proud. Looking at their faces and posture, made me feel sad for not being able to spend more time getting to know these students before graduation. The choral performance was really very impressive, though. I had convinced myself that the ceremony was sure to be interrupted by a violent quake or news of some worsening crisis that when it finally ended, I realized my nails had left little white impressions in the meat of my palm. Needless to say, I was enormously relieved when it was over and nothing had happened...maybe my fear was a little irrational?
Now for the real news...
The chances of a major aftershock are now 40%; on the 17th, that will change to 20%. After I wrote that, there was a relatively big one in Shizuoka (near Mt. Fuji, I guess you could say). Some people were asking experts if this could wake the dormant volcano up. Luckily that seems about as likely as me getting a sex change. The quake was strong/long enough here in Narashino to actually make me stop typing for a few minutes, but nothing fell over in the house...the whole place just moved quite a bit. Some good news: the Tokai nuclear plant is in good shape, and the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant is almost totally "cold" now. This is very encouraging. There have been a few (brief) radiation spikes in areas as far from Fukushima as Tokyo, but things have dropped backed down. The wind is has now shifted towards the ocean (thankfully for us, but still not a good thing for the environment).
A lot of people are reportedly having trouble buying provisions. Many things are sold out, but not everything. On Tuesday night, I visited a 24-hour supermarket about half a mile from my home. Here are some photos:
Sold out of refrigerated natto (I'm not a fan of this slimy stuff anyway) and tofu:
Why would refrigerated products be flying off the shelves? Since natto is already "spoiled" you don't have to worry too much about it getting worse (that makes sense in a Japanese way, at least). What about tofu, though? I think it's because it can be eaten cold and is actually quite delicous that way when you add a little ginger and soy sauce (see hiyayakko)
Almost completely sold out of canned food:
Completely sold out of cup noodles:
The guy wearing the surgical mask is trying to order more. The guy with the basket is considering buying some powdered soup (just add water!). This sign regretfully informs customers that bottled water has sold out for the day:
It's not just bottled water. Most dairy products were quickly swept from the shelves by anxious buyers.
Not everything is sold out, though. In fact, certain kinds of food are fully stocked:
Doesn't that look delicious? Produce in Japan tends to be of a higher quality that what's sold at Wal-mart in the US (but you pay for it. Fruit can be 2-3 times as expensive as the average price in the US). People aren't buying fresh produce, because of fear of spoilage (or yet-unfounded fears of contamination by radioactive dust). Isn't now the time to buy fresh things--before the power outages/loss of refrigeration? Even with the planned outages, power shouldn't be out in areas where the grid is still intact for stretches longer than 5 hours at a time. If you are careful about closing your refrigerator door (I'm assuming most people are), spoilage from heat shouldn't be a problem.
I don't think we have to worry about food shortages in my city just yet...my city is supposed to participate in planned power outages, but so far it hasn't happened here. Radiation levels are still safe here (Narashino/Tokyo), but who knows what we'll wake up to.
The Japanese population here doesn't seem freaked out at all...of course they're sort of conditioned not to panic in the event of an earthquake nor is this the first nuclear crisis connected to a major earthquake that they've had here, either. I'm really tired, so I'm going to try to sleep. Thanks for your messages.
Some people overseas are trying to advise me to take iodine tablets..I figure they're talking about this.
From what I've read, taking idione supplement could be harmful in itself (besides, survival rates for thyroid cancer in the developed world are very encouraging:>80% for women and 74% for men). Seriously though, for now the reports of elevated radiation in and around Tokyo are being misinterpreted. The increase is only marginally above the average, and thus isn't serious enough to warrant panic.
From what I've read, the brief spikes around here were "not immediately dangerous to human health." They never reached higher than 0.8 microsieverts (I'm up on the lingo!). As grounds for comparison, one chest X ray is roughly a 0.02 millisievert (20 microsieverts) dose of radiation. While it's nothing to celebrate, it certainly isn't causing me to worry whether or not your poop may start to glow. I wish there were some continuous official Geiger counts available to the public, but I could see how that could incite panic. There's a guy in Tokyo taking continuous readings from out of his building window. There are readings being recorded in Chiba City, but it doesn't seem as if the results are available to the public (at least not online).
Yes, the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are worrisome, namely Reactor 2. The spent fuel in a neighboring building caught fire today and the smoke produced was likely very hazardous. They've suffered several strong shocks there today as well (rated between 5-6.2). If that reactor were to detonate, it could cause the other reactors to start heating again. If that happens, I think we'll leave Kanto ASAP.
The unfortunate thing is, it sounds like even in the best-case-senario, it still may take weeks to get these reactors at Fukushima Daiichi cooled down completely. I think there will be rolling blackouts in most of Kanto throughout April. Narashino has been scheduled to participate in these planned power outages since Monday, but so far we haven't been cut off once.
That's it for Tuesday in Narashino. As of this moment, my house still has running water and electricity. Expect another update soon.
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