A reunion in 23 years

I couldn't wait for her to come visit Tokyo.

Christin, a classmate of mine during Junior High, whom I have not seen in 23 years!

After the quake, not many people chose Japan as a sightseeing destination.

Many people even cancelled the plan to visit Japan.

I understand why people have this concern. What with the endless aftershocks, nuke crisis, radiation leak, etc .. Japan does not seem to be the best place to visit at this very moment.

The situation in hardest-hit Tohoku area is still half-paralyzed. The ongoing nuke crisis is also a concern, but things move on.

As far as the impact in Tokyo, apart from power concern in Summer, people go on with their life, as normal as it can be as in other places of the world.

Yeah, but how about radiation leak? So, the question popped. Japan -before the crisis- has always enjoyed a low radiation level compared to other places.

I won't mention the name of the city, but they say the radiation level measured in a certain polluted city is way higher, and people there are exposed everyday.

A CT-scan will expose one to a high level of radiation too.

Japan -after and now during the crisis- is being very strict on the measurement.

Veggies, seafood, meats, are constantly measured in order to check if they are contaminated.

Anyway, so far life in Tokyo is getting back very much to normal.

So, I was really really happy that she decided to spend a day in Tokyo. Yes!!

Originally I was thinking of a Tokyo day-trip below.

●lunch at Lalaport Toyosu→take a cruise to downtown Asakusa→take subway to Akihabara to visit one of those maid cafes→dinner at izakaya●

A day is definitely not enough ... I was surprised of how fast time went by!

Well, we made it for lunch and dinner, gave up the rest, but managed to visit Tokyo Tower.

It was a good decision after all to visit the tower, 'cause in 2012 Tokyo will have a new tower (Tokyo Sky Tree) which is twice the height of current one. They will probably close down the old one.

I managed to take a snapshot of the tip of the tower, which was slightly bent during the earthquake last month.

Back to the reunion in 23 years .. soooo much to talk, to catch up on things! We had a long long chat over lunch and dinner.

In no time, a day was over ...

I bet Christin and Nick are the handful of tourists who visit Tokyo at this time. It's good to have you guys here!

And, thank you for the sweet easter bunny :) can't eat them ... too cute ...

Hanami お花見❀ with a twinge of sadness ...

Every year this time around is supposed to be a "welcoming" happy season in Japan.

Sakura❀ in full bloom...

new school term...

new graduates with new jobs ...

Normally people are looking forward to start a new beginning in Spring.

However, this year it feels different ...

The tragedy caused by the quake&tsunami

(Mar.11, 2011)

blankets Japan

with grief. But, people still do hanami though ... in a more quiet way.

※hanami→picnic under the cherry blossom

The park near my place -which is famous for hanami- was crowded with people eager to do hanami. So relief to see the park filled with people, compared to the quiet scene I saw last month when sneaking into the temporarily-prohibited park due to the cracked-alley from the quake.

There was a signboard stating that due to the quake, the Sakura Matsuri (festival) was suspended.

Throughout Japan, people are encouraged to do "ji-shuku" (self-restraint) ...

Many Sakura Matsuri were cancelled, so this year there isn't any single food stalls or night stands in the hanami area.

Sakura in full bloom is really lovely.

Too bad, it only lasts for about 10 days .. such short-lived, but because of that, much loved.

Supermarket also decorates some corners with posters on populer hanami places, complete with the snacks and sweets to bring to hanami.

I couldn't resist myself to one of those o-dango (sweet rice-cake shaped like a ball, put in a stick just like satay).

I bought the Sakura-dango, whose color is pinkish just like Sakura.

Hmm... feel a bit guilty to indulge in sweets, but no way i can get this limited-edition o-dango once the hanami season is over!

Quake after quake ...

Again!!! Another shake ...

the biggest aftershock after the BIG one that struck last month ... so scarry! :(

It was around 11:30pm last Thursday (Apr.7) when I felt the shake. Strong one ...

Isamu and I switched the channel right away from CNN (need to brush up our broken English) to Japanese channel to get the latest news on the aftershock.

The epicenter was roughly at the same place as the BIG one in Miyagi prefecture. ... magnitude 7.1 ...

Even in Tokyo, it was shaking quite hard ... scary really.

It was a little traumatic to hear that high-pitched sound from the live broadcasts warning ppl when earthquake strikes:

DING-DIIING!!! DING-DIIING!!! DING-DIIING!!!

The urgency in the sound was infectious ... I could feel my heartbeat raced faster and both my legs kind of went jelly.

I found a you-tube video recording the warning for aftershock on April 7, guess the owner was ready to run w/ his/her cat if the situation got worse.

The Tsunami warnings was issued for those who live near the coastal area.

But fortunately, the warning was lifted and no further damage from Tsunami.

The following day, when damage/death can finally be confirmed, it was in the news that 3 ppl died from the aftershock and some damages were also spotted in hardest-hit area.

One man died from shock.

One woman died when her medical ventilator lost power due to the blackout that followed. Another woman also died falling from the veranda when the blackout hit.

It's been sad, sad, sad news most of the time for the past month ...

My heart goes for the victims and the ppl in affected area.

I love Japan. I really hope for its recovery.

It will take time, probably a long one. But, I believe in it.

頑張れ日本！