There was an earthquake the other day in Kyoto prefecture. It was a M3 at its epicenter, but it hit us around an M2. Basically, this means it was just enough to feel, but nothing serious. I was underground in class at the time, and things shook a bit, but it was over within a second. Since Kyoto never really gets these, it was somewhat unusual, but it was fine.
Kan's promised to step down after settling the budget for this upcoming year. He didn't even make it a year without calls for him to step down, which is rather sad.
I went the Kobe yesterday, and had a great time. It was my friend's first time there, so it was a good experience. Slowly, but surely, I'll learn to make my way around Kobe. It's actually rather simple to navigate, much easier than Kyoto. Then again, anything is easier than Kyoto. People who visit here frequently comment on how easy it seems to navigate, in comparison to Tokyo and the like. However, once they manage to get themselves lost once, they learn just how hard it is to get un-lost (yes, I'm making that a word). Kyoto is in some ways convenient. It's set up on a grid pattern, but the problem is navigating where you are on that grid. All of the houses look fairly similar due to the building laws here, and the streets that are fortunate enough to have names frequently end in something-something-temple. Since you can walk anywhere in Kyoto and run into a temple almost as often as you run into a konbini, this makes the city almost impossible to navigate. I actually discovered the other day that there's a song or rhyme that the elderly teach to the youth in order for them to learn the streets. It goes from north to south, and east to west. Learning this song months ago would have been good for me. Needless to say, Kobe is easy to navigate, and I'm really thankful that I was able to go again yesterday.
Showing posts with label Kobe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kobe. Show all posts
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Of a Return to Normalcy?
Not quite so. Those here in Japan right now are trying their hardest to return to normal life. Companies are attempting to stay open, people are going to work, and students are preparing to start school again, but things aren't quite normal. In fact, they definitely aren't normal. Companies are closing around 6, even here in Kansai where the power outages have not been put in place. Workers are still staying home sometimes, finding it difficult to get to work, or their companies are asking them to do work from home. Students, despite getting ready for school, still have the feeling in the back of their minds that their classes might be delayed. And some even know that their classes are delayed. Those of us in Kansai aren't really sure how to react. We watch our neighbors up in Kantou and Touhoku suffer power outages, etc. We hear of food shortages, possible radiation, but yet we're - at least directly - unaffected. The collections for the earthquake and tsunami continue, but we all wish we could do a bit more.
Possibly the first US death was identified the other day. It was a young woman, serving as a JET here in Japan. She had stayed at school despite people telling her to leave. Her reason? She felt that she had to make sure her students all made it home safely. After the last one left with their parents, she started to bike home. Around 10 or 15 minutes later, the tsunami hit.
To those that fled Japan or fled to safe-havens, they are finding it difficult to return to work. Their coworkers are ostracizing them for abandoning their community when they were needed the most. It's a shame. On one hand, you completely understand their flight. They wanted to ensure their safety and reassure their families and friends as well. On the other hand, those people that fled would have been extremely useful in helping to rescue survivors, hand out food and supplies, or just generally help the community with whatever it needed.
Those in Tokyo have been advised not to give their infants (less than a year old) tap water for fear of radioactive iodine. That requirement does not hold for anyone older.
Here in Kyoto, classes at Rits will start up in just 13 days. The placement test for Japanese level is in 8. I'm studying for the JLPT, hoping that will also count as studying for this placement test. Those around me are also job hunting. The job hunting process has been delayed as well, which is rather telling of the effect of this disaster. I'm actually considering buying some job hunting books. When you apply to a company here, like many in the States, you take a test that is extremely similar to the SAT or ACT. These tests are basically full of math that you have not used in years, language skills, problem and puzzle solving. Since I'm planning to come back here to work, I'll likely have to take these. I looked at some online, and they are helpful, but I'll be honest, I haven't done some of these things since high school, and even middle school if you consider word analogies. Anyway, the point of this is that the books are not only helpful for preparing for those tests, but they also help me to learn and use words that I might not use normally.
I've been keeping up with the U.S. news recently and there seems to be this fear that the radiation from Japan will reach the U.S.' West Coast. I admit, I'm a little upset by the whole matter. There have been so many people who have died from this quake. The estimates for the initial cost of the quake alone to infrastructure is in the hundred billions. I believe I saw 300 bil on the WSJ yesterday? There are even people who survived the quake only to die in the shelters from the cold and starvation. I know of course that this is not the majority of the population, and that this also extends to people out in Europe, parts of Asia, etc. but all some of these people can think about is how they might possibly be exposed to a tiny amount of radiation. With everything that's going on here, it's frankly just upsetting to see that it's come to this. To all those news sources that are supplying the nonsense, or the chain letters fueling the panic, I'd just like to point out that if you don't have anything constructive to say, then perhaps you shouldn't say anything at all?
So moving back to the original topic of this post. When will the return to normalcy occur? Weeks? According to news sources, it looks like most of the important work of dealing with the nuclear reactor will take another couple weeks. Months? It will certainly take that long to continue to build houses. Years? For the Japanese economy and for those who have lost everything, it will definitely take years. Just like the earthquake that occurred in Kobe in 1995, this earthquake will haunt people's memories. So, therefore, the complete return to normalcy? Perhaps never. People will remember what happened to their family, friends, and complete strangers as they made frantic phone calls while watching their tvs or listening to their radios.
But Japan survived, and even thrived after the atomic bombs. It rebuilt Kobe after the earthquake. The Japanese have proven they can overcome seemingly impossible hardships in the past, and so, with time, they too can overcome this one. It certainly won't be easy, but by no means is it impossible. This earthquake will live on as a horrible tragedy, but it will also be learned from and used to develop new methods to protect people in the future.
Possibly the first US death was identified the other day. It was a young woman, serving as a JET here in Japan. She had stayed at school despite people telling her to leave. Her reason? She felt that she had to make sure her students all made it home safely. After the last one left with their parents, she started to bike home. Around 10 or 15 minutes later, the tsunami hit.
To those that fled Japan or fled to safe-havens, they are finding it difficult to return to work. Their coworkers are ostracizing them for abandoning their community when they were needed the most. It's a shame. On one hand, you completely understand their flight. They wanted to ensure their safety and reassure their families and friends as well. On the other hand, those people that fled would have been extremely useful in helping to rescue survivors, hand out food and supplies, or just generally help the community with whatever it needed.
Those in Tokyo have been advised not to give their infants (less than a year old) tap water for fear of radioactive iodine. That requirement does not hold for anyone older.
Here in Kyoto, classes at Rits will start up in just 13 days. The placement test for Japanese level is in 8. I'm studying for the JLPT, hoping that will also count as studying for this placement test. Those around me are also job hunting. The job hunting process has been delayed as well, which is rather telling of the effect of this disaster. I'm actually considering buying some job hunting books. When you apply to a company here, like many in the States, you take a test that is extremely similar to the SAT or ACT. These tests are basically full of math that you have not used in years, language skills, problem and puzzle solving. Since I'm planning to come back here to work, I'll likely have to take these. I looked at some online, and they are helpful, but I'll be honest, I haven't done some of these things since high school, and even middle school if you consider word analogies. Anyway, the point of this is that the books are not only helpful for preparing for those tests, but they also help me to learn and use words that I might not use normally.
I've been keeping up with the U.S. news recently and there seems to be this fear that the radiation from Japan will reach the U.S.' West Coast. I admit, I'm a little upset by the whole matter. There have been so many people who have died from this quake. The estimates for the initial cost of the quake alone to infrastructure is in the hundred billions. I believe I saw 300 bil on the WSJ yesterday? There are even people who survived the quake only to die in the shelters from the cold and starvation. I know of course that this is not the majority of the population, and that this also extends to people out in Europe, parts of Asia, etc. but all some of these people can think about is how they might possibly be exposed to a tiny amount of radiation. With everything that's going on here, it's frankly just upsetting to see that it's come to this. To all those news sources that are supplying the nonsense, or the chain letters fueling the panic, I'd just like to point out that if you don't have anything constructive to say, then perhaps you shouldn't say anything at all?
So moving back to the original topic of this post. When will the return to normalcy occur? Weeks? According to news sources, it looks like most of the important work of dealing with the nuclear reactor will take another couple weeks. Months? It will certainly take that long to continue to build houses. Years? For the Japanese economy and for those who have lost everything, it will definitely take years. Just like the earthquake that occurred in Kobe in 1995, this earthquake will haunt people's memories. So, therefore, the complete return to normalcy? Perhaps never. People will remember what happened to their family, friends, and complete strangers as they made frantic phone calls while watching their tvs or listening to their radios.
But Japan survived, and even thrived after the atomic bombs. It rebuilt Kobe after the earthquake. The Japanese have proven they can overcome seemingly impossible hardships in the past, and so, with time, they too can overcome this one. It certainly won't be easy, but by no means is it impossible. This earthquake will live on as a horrible tragedy, but it will also be learned from and used to develop new methods to protect people in the future.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Kobe Luminarie
I decided to take a little trip the other day to Kobe for a really interesting experience. Kobe is known for a variety of things: Its beautiful ocean, its beef, and most importantly as the site of the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995. This earthquake occurred on January 17, 1995, and although it hit the entire region, Kobe was hit the hardest. It took thousands of lives and did trillions of dollars in damage. When you visit Kobe today, you would not even think of this tragedy. It's revived into a bustling city, but the memory of it is still fresh in people's minds. So, I took a few trains with some friends for 600 yen, and we were there in and hour and half.
Every year since the Great Hanshin Earthquake, Kobe holds a festival called the 神戸ルミナリエ (Kobe Luminarie). Basically, lights are strung around the city for 2 weeks, and it's free for anyone to enter. Donation boxes throughout the area go toward not only providing the light show, but also go toward helping those in need in case of another earthquake.
You walk in through a line of lit up trees as you approach the picture below. I'll be honest. I've never seen anything like this before, and it's amazing.
Every year since the Great Hanshin Earthquake, Kobe holds a festival called the 神戸ルミナリエ (Kobe Luminarie). Basically, lights are strung around the city for 2 weeks, and it's free for anyone to enter. Donation boxes throughout the area go toward not only providing the light show, but also go toward helping those in need in case of another earthquake.
You walk in through a line of lit up trees as you approach the picture below. I'll be honest. I've never seen anything like this before, and it's amazing.
Keep walking and you get to go underneath all those arches.
There are entire structures built out of lights.
Even though there were a lot of people, things moved pretty quickly. We were able to move around with no problems whatsoever, and it was amazing. We also had the best からあげ (karage) I've ever had as well as something new called ベービーカステラ (baby kasutera), which was essentially little dough balls.
Anyway, all in all, it was a great trip, even though we were only there for a few hours. Next time, we'll go see the ocean and visit Chinatown. I already can't wait to go back. For now, here's a picture of Kobe at night.
Later!
Michelle
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