Tag Archives: tsunami
On volcanic slopes
After the farce of Monday`s mini-heatwave, today did February proud. While walking up the slope to Nishiogi train station, the howling wind blew snow under my transparent umbrella and straight into my face. It felt exhilarating. And very cold.
A schoolboy`s tsunami
Last year Oishinbo, a long running manga series about cooking, published a few episodes featuring the tsunami-hit coastline. I read one of them today, the story of the lead characters` visit to Yoboso, a natural food restaurant on the Aomori coast in north-east Tohoku.
Searching for shelter
The sky was grey and the rain torrential. In the small coastal town of Oga, the station kiosk was closed for lunch. I was stuck until a shy man at the tourist information lent me his brand new umbrella. Clutching it grimly, I climbed the hill to … Continue reading
3 Wrongs of Fukushima
The tsunami caused the nuclear crisis. In combination with the huge tsunami, the earthquake was a freak unforeseeable event. Fukushima is now a no-go zone. These are three popular misconceptions I have come across recently.
Robot Guts
For ten years, a spaceship has been parked in the port of tsunami-hit Ishinomaki. The locals don`t mind though. Inside the 3 storey landmark is a museum dedicated to the works of local man, Shotaro Ishinomori, the `king of manga`.
Stepping sometimes stumbling
5 years ago I entered a 15 legged race. Not on my own. That would have been ridiculous. I was racing alongside 13 Japanese teachers at a High school sports day.
8 nights in the north
I lost my guesthouse room key a couple of weeks ago. I don`t know how. It takes a seriously high level of stupidity to lose something in a dwelling as small as our guesthouse, yet I managed it, and now because of my … Continue reading
The Big Buddha
The big bronze Buddha in Kamakura does not look too happy, and to be fair he has good reason to be upset. First, his wooden temple home was washed away in a tsunami, then his chair was damaged by a huge earthquake, and now his … Continue reading
Guesthouse character
A girl in my guesthouse, Megumi, is fed up with the blanket news coverage of the crisis. Last week, together with another guesthouse resident, she went out to rent a video for a change of atmosphere. Surprisingly, they picked 2012, a disaster film about city-swallowing tsunamis.
The Earthquake
I am now in the Japan Sea coast city of Kanazawa, unaffected by the tremors. I do not have any friends in any danger. When the earthquakes struck, I was 500 miles away in Hiroshima with a group of American tourists. The first I knew of it was … Continue reading
Shimaguni 