My thoughts on Day 6 after the 3/11 earthquake in Japan
16 Mar
Hi everyone, I decided to break my silence on this blog after five-ish days of relative silence. To those who follow me on Facebook and Twitter, thank you for your sweet messages and concern. I am well and in a small town in Kyushu 90 minutes away from the prefecture’s city, Fukuoka. For the sake of those who do not know why I would leave Tokyo, the devastating earthquake last Friday, March 11, and the hundreds of aftershocks and volatile nuclear reactor problem in Fukushima pushed me to leave Tokyo to appease worried family and to get a peace of mind because I hardly slept a wink for 48 hours after the earthquake hit.
Before I elaborate more, i would like to say that I want to be honest with what i am going through and if any part of this post offends, my view is really just one of many and please do not judge me or others in this situation. I am quickly learning what is it like to be in the midst of a disaster and all it’s implications. For example the media, especially some international media sources, have been whipping this situation into a scare-mongering frenzy which is driving our families back in our home countries crazy with worry. Right now i am only following NHK, BBC, and the Japan Times for what I think is reliable information.
I also didn’t surface on Twitter or Facebook much except to say I was okay. I felt and still feel guilty for leaving Tokyo and compared to others going through much more severe hardship than I am, my random tweets and updates seemed mundane and maybe even insensitive.
What am I doing to pass the time here? Watching the news, checking emails, and relaxing. I even did a bit of sightseeing to clear my mind. Yesterday was a friend’s birthday (one of the few I left Tokyo with) and we had a home-cooked dinner with wine and then headed to his mother’s bar for some karaoke. We sang enthusiastically, in part to celebrate a friend’s birthday and to relieve our stress.
It is stressful to see Tokyo spiraling into infrastructure chaos what with the food and gas shortages plus Facebook reports of foreign friends fleeing the country or to other parts of Japan. Yes I’m looking from afar while it seems to get worse day by day but it is still distressing nonetheless.
I thought I would be back in Tokyo by now but it looks like we will be moving to Fukuoka or overseas on Friday.
What does this mean for my business? I don’t know for now. There are orders coming in but we just put a notice on our store to say deliveries will be delayed. My greatest fear is to shut it down and is probably not a wise public relations move but I think it is better to be honest and clear about my intentions now.
I hope to return to Tokyo if the situation improves but if it does not i will not return.
We are all sleeping better here in Kyushu but not sleeping much. We are just mostly monitoring the situation but got tired of that and walked around to run errands and even found a Uniqlo store where we bought more clothes and underwear to tide us over. It was pleasant not to be looking at nuclear reactor reports but it hit home that we were staying here beyond three days.
Please donate money to the disaster victims in Iwate, Miyagi and Sendai who are the worst hit.
I will check in again and please forgive the lack of posts or social media updates. I simply have no heart to describe a blow by blow of what I am going through now because I am not doing much anyway.
No related posts.
I’ve been thru a flood back in 2005, so I can kinda say I can understand a bit of what u are saying….but actually you are in the situation right now so are the best judge of what to do….how & when….take care
I’m glad you’re safe! I feel the same as you, guilt. My family were so worried thatbthey told me catch a plane as soon as I can. You made a wise decision to move south. I doubt I could do that since I had to cope with the aftermath of earthquake modally by myself since my husband flew to Taiwan on the day the earthquake hit. i hope the situation will improve too. I’m just watching nhk world, BBC and read kyodo news updates time to time. I agree the media is definitely bloeing somethings out if proportion but NHK is only broadcaster to be the most accurate right now. Take care!
I’ve been checking in your blog wondering if you’re alright there. Good to see this post!
Keep safe and hope it’ll all be sorted soon…
The best place to be is clearly a long way away. Not being used to having the earth move, I might well have decided that moving somewhere not near a fault line was an excellent idea. Visiting earthquake prone areas is one thing, but living there…you can only really comment after living through one yourself. If I had kids anywhere near there they’d be on a plane to “visit grandma in Sydney” ASAP.
Not sure about the media coverage though. The less hysterical outlets here are rather worried about the nuclear power plants, though that takes second place behind the flattened towns. Some have started to focus on the “Australian angle”, ie omg, 100 Australians missing, forget the tens of thousands of Japanese.
Stay safe.
thinking bout u babe…..
Hi, came across your site sometime back whilst in Japan. My gf is currently still in Akita Prefecture. Since the earthquake on Friday, I barely had any sleep. I would wake up in the middle of the night just to check the developments. Thankfully she’s ok to date. But with the situation getting from bad to worse, I just hope she could move somewhere safer. Anyway, I just wanted to say though you might feel as if you are forsaking your friends in Tokyo and running away from danger, perhaps you feel you should rough it out with them, you also have obligations towards your friends and family. Your decision to move to Kyushu might be a difficult choice, but I only wish my gf could do the same.
Glad to hear you’re okay and safe!
Oh Yu Ming, I came to your site to see how things were with you and just read your update here. I cannot even begin to imagine what you and the rest of those affected are going through. We continue to hope for the best for you and the country. I know its not your country but now that you’ve been there for so many years, I guess you have come to see it as your adopted country. I still have a few friends and all are well as can be given the situation. We hear on the news about the nuclear possibilities and it reaching Tokyo. I cannot even imagine how things are there. What I have to say though is that its inspiring how organised and orderly Japan has remained (at least what we are seeing from the outside). Our prayers with you and your friends.
Hello,
Just wanted to say how heartbreaking the images coming out of Japan are, and that my thoughts and prayers are with you and all those in Japan.
I have read your blog for some time and almost feel like I know you! I have always wanted to thank you for how interesting and motivational your blog was as a fellow expat I find your blog a source of comfort…. when I heard about the events in Japan you were the first person I thought about.
I truly hope that all this ends as soon as possible and your life returns to normal ( or as close to it as possible)
You are all in my thoughts x
@sonum: oh dear a flood….where?
@nic nic: glad to know you are in the UK. My fiance was away in Oz for business as well so thankfully I had a friend to stay with on the night of the earthquake just to cope better.
@elaine: thanks for your concern!
@Chris: I heard from friends who left japan that there were many families at narita leaving en masse…
@mel: hugs babe.
@Chris: sorry to hear your gf is still in Akita. I think she must be there because her family is there. I think many Japanese are staying put for one reason or another though they might feel it is wiser to leave home. But it seems that radiation levels are decreasing from this morning’s reports so am feeling v encouraged.
@David: thanks!!
@Vivienne: yes, it was so hard to leave – it really felt like I was running away and abandoning my friends. I only left with two friends and the decision was made in a huge hurry because of a large earthquake that shook Tokyo. Completely unnerved us too that it was in Fukushima where they were struggling with the nuclear reactors. The radiation levels in Tokyo are far from dangerous now but it is the possibility of them rising that scares people. I heard that even Japanese are joining the crowded shinkansens to Osaka and other western cities. thanks for your kind message – it means alot to me.
@Anna: yes the images of the tsunami and victims without food, water, or heat in snowy north honshu break my heart as well. I really hope Tokyo can return to normal and help Japan get back on its feet. The economic repercussions are made even more disastrous with what seems a very quiet metropolis since the nuclear situation worsened over the past few days.
Hey Hon
Sounds serious that you are thinking of moving away from Tokyo for a time.
Hopefully see you in oz if by overseas that’s where you meant.
I’m definitely interested in donating and would appreciate if you knew any Japanese organisations that I could donate directly to. I’ve given to the Red Cross and would like to give more directly to the people of Sendai Iwate, Miyagi if possible
@mindy: well we are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst…will see what i can dig about donation proceeds. All I can find are various people or groups who are raising money and then donating it to the Japanese red cross.
Hmm, our ambassador to Japan is advising Australians to get out unless you really need to stay…