Category Archives: japan

A Post-Earthquake Pilgrimage to Kiddy Land

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It’s now been two weeks after the earthquake and while things are still dire, Tokyo has returned to a certain level of normalcy. So far, amidst the heartbreaking suffering in the tsunami’s aftermath, there have been food scares and now a water scare. I plan on writing about that in the next post, but for this one I want to take you along on an afternoon stroll through these pictures I took while taking my sister to Kiddy Land, a famous toy store in Harajuku. Continue reading →

On Panic, Fear and Reality: Six Days After the Earthquake

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By now I reckon I’ve received at least a few hundred emails, facebook wall posts, and skype messages asking about my and my family’s well-being, offering support, including plane tickets to Germany (thanks Katja!), and sending words of encouragement. It’s beyond moving to know that people are concerned so much about us. I want to thank you all again and again.

I’m not going to tell you everything is rosy here. Obviously, it’s not. In Japan’s northeast there are whole cities and towns full of displaced people who have been living in freezing shelters, eating very little, with a shortage of medicine. There are thousands more still trapped in the wreckage. And there are courageous people helping them, including over a 100 search and rescue specialists from my very hometown of Los Angeles working this very minute.

But what seems to be alarming the world right now the most is the nuclear reactor crisis. This issue seems to be creating the most fear, pushing all kinds of buttons in the most people. And rightfully so, we should be very concerned. I’m not going to tell you not to be afraid. We’re not robots after all. And I’m not going to tell you to completely trust the authorities. They are fallible humans in a chaotic situation dealing with their own fears. And if you believe in a conspiracy to keep the populace ignorant, I don’t have anything to say about that. Who really knows.

This is what I do know. Fear and panic makes everything worse. Continue reading →

The Earthquake

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8.9 on the Richter scale.  That’s one way to get me back writing on this blog of mine.

Thank you everyone for your messages of support and well-wishing.  Everyone I know is safe.  I had friends walk for 2 to 8 hours to get home last night.    News reports showed all bicycles had been sold out in Tokyo. My father-in-law drove through streets with no working traffic lights. He said the traffic was slow but orderly with drivers hand-signaling each other at intersections.

We were most worried about Tomoko’s 90 year old grandmother.  She lives by herself in a small farming village near the epicenter.  But we got word that she was perfectly fine. And her village, inland and on high ground, was largely unscathed.  What a miracle! Continue reading →

The Tokyo Toilet

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urinal

Japan is known for its high-tech innovations. The Washlet comes to mind. It warms the toilet seat, self-cleans, and it’s primary function is to give you a hands-free bum cleaning, with sprays of water, then a dryer. Some of the advanced ones play soothing music and analyzes your stool.  The control panel for this thing sometimes resembles a control panel on Star Trek.

After five years in japan I’ve never taken advantage of the Washlet. I’m old school, preferring good old toilet paper and a high fiber diet. It reminds me of the study in the US which found that recent immigrants don’t use the automatic dishwasher, instead using the appliance as an expensive dish rack.

I can’t fathom using jet sprays that emanate from the toilet, even though I know it’s just as sanitary as toilet paper.

In Japan it’s all about making life convenient and this idea manifests in numerous designs that smoothes every day processes. These are my favorite low tech things I like about the Tokyo Toilet. Continue reading →