I reach Tokyo at 4 am in the morning. I checked in at the hotel closest to the airport.(Could not remember the name as it is complicated:/) I took a short nap in the hotel but I ended up sleeping for 7 straight hours:P I woke up, make my way down to the cafeteria for lunch. I ate some sushi, some tempura before ending of with some of their local mint ice-cream!! It has been a long time since I last ate Japanese food and to be able to eat it in the country of its origin, it was simply marvelous.
After lunch, I took a cab down to Shibuya 109 building. This shopping mall was famous for Japan most fashionable clothings. Unfortunately for me, most shops are for girls:( But I still bought some V-neck tee and some jeans! Though it is nice, the prices for each item is very nasty. It is so expensive!!!! However, thinking that I wont be here again for a long time to come, it was worth it. I also managed to buy some Anime like Naruto , Bleach , One- Piece from a shop that is located a few street down. I ate raw salmon for my dinner with some wasabi toppings at a small 'restaurant' that is located near the Shibuya 109 building, before heading back to the hotel.
The next morning, I woke up at 8am, had breakfast at the same cafeteria that I had lunch the previous day before hiring a guide to bring me to Iwate Prefecture in Sendai. I could not take a domestic flight to Sendai Airport as it is still in the process of rebuilding. Therefore me and my guide had to take a bus from Tokyo to Iwate Prefecture. Luckily for me, my guide is able to speak English and it allowed me to communicate and ask him some questions!
He told me that the Iwate Prefecture was very badly affected by the Earthquake and Tsunami that was struck a year ago around the same time. Much of the buildings there were brought down and the people living there had to quickly adapt to such situations and think of how to rebuild their city. I was stun at what he said as I thought that usually after an earthquake, the people would be traumatized. He told me that the people living there are mentally strong and not easily brought down though some lost their love ones.At that instant, knowing myself, if Singapore were to suffer such damages and I lost my family to it, I would be on the verge of a mental breakdown. He further told me that Japan actually had frequent earthquake but it's magnitude on the richter scale is so little that it could be felt.
This Tohuku earthquake and tsunami however measures 8.9 on the richter scale which is one of the most powerful earthquake the world have ever experienced. As the bus drives along some street in the region of Iwate Prefecture, I could see that many houses were brought down, many broken cars were stacked up neatly and some of the highways actually collapsed. Roads are also badly destroyed.
I thanked my guide for showing me around after I have arrived back at my hotel. I felt that Singapore is a very lucky country due to its geographical location as it had never suffered such a disaster and during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, our country were safe as neighboring countries protected us from it, like Sumatra.Though earthquake is rare in Singapore, we should be like Japan which schools there, conducted drills regularly to familiarize and educate people on what to do in an event of earthquake. Students have to crouch under the nearest table when the earthquake warning signs goes off.
Credits: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_T%C5%8Dhoku_earthquake_and_tsunami
Geography Textbook.
Some pictures that I took:
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| Raw salmon that I have eaten there!! (YUMMY!):P Source:http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lv5aun127R1qaregt.jpg |
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| Japanese Tempura! Source: http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID1445/images/tempura.jpg |
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| A picture of the damaged caused to Iwate Prefecture by the Earthquake and Tsunami! Source:http://www.globalpost.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/medium/japan_debris_us_coast.jpg |
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