Some Love for Japan

Only a few weeks ago, I was writing about the devastation we were witnessing in Christchurch after their 6.3 rated earthquake, which claimed 166 lives. It came on the back of Australia's own series of natural disasters, and was yet another incident that made us wonder if just maybe 2012 was coming early. But even the horror of Christchurch could not compare to the events that unfolded in Japan on March 11, and the days that followed. Like thousands of others around the world, I first heard of the earthquake through Twitter, and as I watched my timeline transform from news reports of ‘a large earthquake’ to ‘a massive quake and potential 10 metre tsunami’, I realised that yet again Mother Nature was letting loose on one of our Asian-Pacific neighbours.

As it turned out, the quake itself, which struck around 70 kilometres off the coast of the Tōhoku region and approximately 370kms from the capital Tokyo, was to become one of the least of their worries. Tsunamis struck the coast, water rushing up to 10 kilometres inland, and reactors at several of the country’s nuclear power plants were shut down but were unable to be cooled efficiently without their back-up power supply, leading to the ongoing nuclear emergency in the nation. More than six hundred aftershocks rated above 4.5 on the Richter scale have occurred since the initial quake, now officially declared as being of magnitude 9.0 – the most powerful earthquake to have hit Japan, and one of the five most powerful in the world since 1900, when record-keeping began. Amazingly, the quake moved Japan’s largest island, Honshu, almost 2.5 metres east, and actually shifted the Earth almost ten centimetres on its axis. To date, there have been 11,004 deaths, with 2,778 people injured, and 17,339 people missing.

Watching the news reports brought back memories of my own high school tour of Japan, in April 2005. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and they were two weeks I will never forget. I was especially interested when reading reports talking about effects experienced at the Disney resort in Chiba, and at Odaiba, a man-made island off Tokyo, both of which I visited on my own trip. It made me get out my photo albums and remember what a great time I had, and also made me hope that even in this difficult time, people will continue to show their support for our Japanese friends by donating to relief funds, and by continuing to visit the nation to support its now fragile economy.

These were a few of my favourite photos from my trip – if you have been fortunate enough to have visited Japan, you might recognise some of these places, and if not, you should definitely try to get there someday!

Shopping in Asakusa, Tokyo

There was an unusually long cherry blossom season that year, meaning we were lucky enough to see these beautiful trees in full bloom.

A picture of the Daikanransha ferris wheel, taken from the train on our way to Odaiba. At this point, everyone was super-keen to go on it…

And then we saw it up close, and changed our minds!

The Tokyo Disney Castle! I had never been to Disneyland before, and then the day we were going, there was an earthquake in the morning, and it poured with rain all day! Unfortunately that meant some of the rides were closed, but we still had a great time acting like little kids all day =)

The statue of Sadako in Hiroshima. We spent the months leading up to the trip folding cranes, and we hung our thousand in one of the booths, along with our message of hope and peace for the people of the city.

Kinkaku-ji Temple in Kyoto. The upper two stories are covered entirely in real gold leaf...

A maiko, or apprentice geisha, in Kyoto

Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture, a sister-state of Western Australia. We had a great time here, despite many of us hitting our heads on the low cross-braces above many of the staircases! It was a long climb to the top, but was worth it for the views from the top. However, it was very disappointing to realise – once we had already come all the way back down again – that we could have got souvenirs proving we had made it to the top while we were up there! Next time…

When the (elderly) husband of my Japanese teacher offered to take a picture of me ‘with the castle’ I didn’t realise he was going to lie on the ground to make sure he got the whole thing in!

Our host mothers at our second sister school in Oya were kind enough to lend us their own kimonos for a traditional tea ceremony. Getting dressed took so long, but it was an incredible thing to have the opportunity to experience.

After the ceremony (and after we regained feeling in our legs, after kneeling for almost an hour), we had photos outside the school. These are two of my closest friends from the trip.

If you can, please give generously to the Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami relief fund.

The following organisations are all accepting donations:

Australian Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org.au/japan2011.htm

Global Giving: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/japan-earthquake-tsunami-relief/

World Vision Australia: https://trans.worldvision.com.au/appeals/japandisaster/donate.aspx

Until next time,

Claire xoxo