It was really unfortunate that such a catastrophic disaster hit Japan - so suddenly and so horribly. Monica-san (the Hakuba Yamano hotel co-owner) broke the earthquake news to us on our way back from Happo-one ski resort. That was about 3-something pm on 11 Mar; and we cldn't quite believe our ears until we stepped into the hotel lobby and there it was LIVE on TV - the terrifying tsunami fast advancing towards the coastal region at Miyagi prefecture, quickly sweeping away houses, cars - igniting fires and perpetuating fires as it engulfed anything and everything in its way. It felt all too surreal - until I saw the damage the tsunami had caused close-up later that day and repeatedly on tv over the next few days.

We were lucky not to have really felt it in Hakuba - except for like a cold draft that hit the slopes when skiing (which according to Monica-san was probably due to the earthquake). Another 6. something magnitute earthquake did hit close to where we were though (in the Niigata/northern Nagano region) ard 4am on 12 Mar - but thankfully nothing worse than the brief shaking of our hotel building was felt.

The rest of our trip became a lil 'out-of-whack- but it was really not that bad already. I consider it amazing how the JR service and Tokyo metro subway around our area resumed almost the day after... and most of the train lines were pretty much in operation ard Tokyo. Contrary to some somewhat misleading reporting on CNN, the 'wiped out' kombini stores sight was likely only limited to the Sendai area (At one pt, I got a little annoyed how CNN kept playing up the extent of damage and horror of the whole episode without giving viewers that much detail on the specific areas affected/ where the scenes/ photos were taken. But I suppose that's what catches ppl's attention/ glues them to the TV - rather than the mundane and un-newsworthy fact that ppl's lives in many parts of Japan also went on pretty much as usual).

In fact, much of Tokyo seemed so normal that I would scarcely have imagined that a huge earthquake had hit the country just a few hundred kilometres away... It's heartening though that ppl appear to all be chipping in to reduce energy usage. Some shops were closed/ dept stores had shortened opening hrs - and McDonalds at Narita airport even removed their electronic menu display and guests only had paper menus to refer to.

I hope that Japan recovers from the disaster soon. News of the nuclear crisis at Fukushima is rather disturbing - really hope that the worst is over. It's sick how some folks exploited the earthquake/ nuclear crisis to spread false rumours about radiation leakage:
http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/this_urban_jungle/577284/its_a_hoax_radiation_from_japan_nuclear_leak_spread.html

Some folks created a 'facemap' and placed it near the Meiji-Jingu bridge near Harajuku station in Tokyo for people to leave encouraging messages.

Maybe we can all do our part by giving a little to help the people in need in Japan:

Donate to the Sg Red Cross via Groupon: http://www.groupon.sg/deals/singapore/support-emergency-relief-efforts-in-japan-and-other-affected-areas-all-donations-will-be-given-to-the-red-cross/715829794

You can also give a little via global websites such as Global Giving: http://www.globalgiving.org/

ありがとう。