Why is there no tp? Part 1
I am currently in Osaka. I came down yesterday, after realizing that my nerves had got the better of me. Despite the first two or three days after the earthquake being pretty constant for aftershocks, I thought I was handling it OK, but by Tuesday I realized that I was starting to go down hill. My head felt as though I was viewing everything through a haze, I couldn't sleep, and throughout the days I was constantly experiencing fake earthquakes - it was either in my head, or my heart beating so strongly that I the rest of my body was shaking. By Thursday evening, I found myself in my friend's bar with my legs and hands shaking almost non-stop after having two strong aftershocks inside 10 minutes. I had also taken to sleeping fully-clothed, with the light on, too scared to even take a shower for fear of another shock.
My boss very graciously gave me yesterday off work, so I could have 4 days rest - this being a long weekend anyway. My two other jobs have cancelled everything until next week at the very earliest. The Omotesando job is bravely toiling ahead - they say they have no choice but to carry on - they have no where else to go, and a business to run.
Since coming to Osaka, I've met up with quite a lot of other people who have also left Tokyo - and the reasons are a mixture. Some, like me, cannot deal with the constant aftershocks and the fear of another big quake, whilst others are much more concerned with the nuclear situation in Fukushima, I've spent a lot of time researching the reactors, and trying to find out as much as possible about the likelihood of a meltdown and it's possible effects. Most information seems to point to things being unlikely to get as far as the need to shelter indoors whilst a radioactive cloud passes overhead, but as the days go on and the British Embassy edits its advice (they have now started distributing iodine to British citizens), one can't help but start to feel a little anxious about what we are not being told by the Japanese authorities. Despite people doing their best to carry on as normal, there is a palpable tension to daily life.
On Monday I went down to the station as I had heard it was crazy busy. There were people queuing out of the building to get on a train. Allegedly it took a friend an hour to get from the entrance onto a train. The supermarkets were also bare by Sunday night - no rice, no water, no bread, no noodles. I would like to show you pictures but my friend took them and I am unable to snatch them off of Facebook for you. Anyway, I'm sure you've seen plenty of that on TV already. Despite the state of the the supermarkets, the smaller stores were and are still operating extremely well. Local bakeries are making a killing as they don't rely on a supply chain for bread, and the vegetable stores are still selling produce. In fact, one supermarket in town managed to restock on Wednesday morning, though it was almost empty again by the early afternoon.
I'll continue more tomorrow. I've got to go out!
My boss very graciously gave me yesterday off work, so I could have 4 days rest - this being a long weekend anyway. My two other jobs have cancelled everything until next week at the very earliest. The Omotesando job is bravely toiling ahead - they say they have no choice but to carry on - they have no where else to go, and a business to run.
Since coming to Osaka, I've met up with quite a lot of other people who have also left Tokyo - and the reasons are a mixture. Some, like me, cannot deal with the constant aftershocks and the fear of another big quake, whilst others are much more concerned with the nuclear situation in Fukushima, I've spent a lot of time researching the reactors, and trying to find out as much as possible about the likelihood of a meltdown and it's possible effects. Most information seems to point to things being unlikely to get as far as the need to shelter indoors whilst a radioactive cloud passes overhead, but as the days go on and the British Embassy edits its advice (they have now started distributing iodine to British citizens), one can't help but start to feel a little anxious about what we are not being told by the Japanese authorities. Despite people doing their best to carry on as normal, there is a palpable tension to daily life.
On Monday I went down to the station as I had heard it was crazy busy. There were people queuing out of the building to get on a train. Allegedly it took a friend an hour to get from the entrance onto a train. The supermarkets were also bare by Sunday night - no rice, no water, no bread, no noodles. I would like to show you pictures but my friend took them and I am unable to snatch them off of Facebook for you. Anyway, I'm sure you've seen plenty of that on TV already. Despite the state of the the supermarkets, the smaller stores were and are still operating extremely well. Local bakeries are making a killing as they don't rely on a supply chain for bread, and the vegetable stores are still selling produce. In fact, one supermarket in town managed to restock on Wednesday morning, though it was almost empty again by the early afternoon.
I'll continue more tomorrow. I've got to go out!