Tokyo after Earthquake: March 11, 2011

Japan was hit by a series of big earthquakes and Tsunami on March 11th. Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima Prefectures in Tohoku district, north of Tokyo, were seriously damaged. More than 1000 people were killed and tens of cities and towns were washed out by Tsunami and completely destroyed.

Tokyo was hit by a level 5 quake. I was then in a room at the 19th floor of an office building. The waves continued about 2 minutes and it swung widely and slowly. I felt seasick. There ran cracks in the walls of the room.

Outside the window, the antennas of Japan Meteorological Agency (about 20 meter high) were swinging widely. Highways were closed. There wewe no cars in the highway below me.


Trains and subways stopped operations throughout the day in Tokyo. Many people were forced to stay in the offices and public shelters. Many walked to their home.

I left Otemachi, central Tokyo, at around 9 pm to Setagaya, western Tokyo.

The pedestrian roads were crowded with business persons. I could not walk quickly.

The traffic jam on main roads was so terrible. There were so many cars. I wondered how much gasoline would be used in the night.

I walked through Kasumigaseki (where Japanese ministries are), Akasaka (commercial and but it hhad already stopped receiving new peoples. The staff said that they had already accepted as many people as it could.

I walked through Shibuya station. There were long queues in front of the public toilet.

There were also long lines at the bus stops.

The ground floor of a department store, banks and other offices were open to the public. Many people abandoned to go back to their homes and stayed in such places. (see the top picture)

I walked westward and arrived in my house midnight. It took about walked 3 hours and half.

No serious confusion was found in towns and streets. Convenience stores and mini super markets were open throughout the night. They opened their toilets to the people. Bread, rice balls and other easy-to-eat foods were all sold out.

The garbage boxes at the convenience stores were overflow. This was one of the differences from usual situation.

Many ambulance cars ran throughout the night.

Tokyo’s damage was limited. I feel big sorrow for the victims in Tohoku.

Parks & Museum @ Komaba: March 5, 2011

I visited the Museum of Modern Japanese Literature in Komaba.

The museum is in Komaba Park, which has been developed on former Marda family’s house. Maeda family was the ruler of Kaga region (today's Ishikawa Prefecture) in the Edo era.

A special exhibition on Japanese literature in the Meiji period was held at the museum. The works of Japan’s great novelists including Natsume Soseki and Mori Ogai were displayed.

Their works are not so famous outside Japan. (The most well known Japanese literature works may include “The tale of Genji”, waka (tanka) and haiku and Kawabata Yasunari’s novels). However, their influence has been strong inside Japan on the nation’s culture and people's life.





I walked about 500 meters from Kobama park and arrived in another nature-rich park. It is called Komabano Park. The country’s first agricultural school was open here in the Meiji period. The school later developed into the agricultural department of the University of Tokyo. The place was later used by the Tokyo University of Education. It became a public park after the 1980s.

Natural forest remains here. Many birds were flying.

The members of a local community group were making charcoal today. A member explained --

They made instant furnaces using drum cans in the ground this morning. Then they put wood peaces in the furnaces and heat them up at about 300 degrees C. It woul take about eight hours to complete.

The group is trying to grow fireflies in the park. The insect grows only where the nature is clean. So, if they successfully grow fireflies, it means the park keeps clean environment.

The charcoals will be put into the creeks in the park to clean the water. It is an interesting story.

Map: The Museum of Modern Japanese literature

Map: Komabano Park