Today (2013 March 11) is the second anniversary of the biggest earthquake in Japan’s history and also one of the world’s top ten biggest.
The “2011 Tohoku-Region Pacific Earthquake” occurred at about 2:45PM on 2011 March 11th…two years ago today.
The terrible tsunami that did more damage than the earthquake that caused it.
It shook buildings, including my house, even done here in Tokyo very strongly! It was an experience that I hope never happens again.
On the day of the earthquake, I wrote a post…click here to read it.
At 2:46PM today, all over Japan people will have a minute of silence to remember those who suffered and those who died in that tragedy.
In Tokyo, the Emperor and Empress of Japan will attend a ceremony to remember the victims.
Tokyo Five 
Thank you for keeping the BLOG messages flowing. I experienced numerous temblors while in the Navy after WWII and afterwards my family and I lived in Wakabayashii, none as devastating as the one you tell about. In my book “Skivvy Girl” that reflects the trials of a young girl and her U. S. Navy lover during the Japanese recovery after WWII, I describe in freightening detail two earthquakes that occurred during the time reflected in the novel.
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There have been two major earthquakes in Japan since I came here…
the 2011 Sendai Earthquake ＆ Tsunami, and
the 1995 Kobe Earthquake.
I never want to see another one!
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I will never forget this date. We were in the subway when the earthquake struck, and it stuck with us. A moment of peace to remember those who lost everything.
I was amazed at how calm everyone was, despite the catastrophe. No riots, no looting. Just coming together to try and make it better. A testament to an amazing people.
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The attitude that people have here is one of the things that make living in Tokyo so nice.
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Of course, we all know how awful the tsunami was. However, when we stood on a hill in Sendai and looked out around us at the devastation, it was incredibly shocking. We didn’t truly realize the magnitude of that devastation…. to see so much flattened space. Tragic.
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Yeah, it was a real tragedy!
But they built the area back up quickly!
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I don’t know what thery’re telling you down in Tokyo, but nothing has been built back up in Miyagi. All they have done in the past two years is clear away some of the wrecked buildings, so all that is left along the coast is the foundations of buildings and tons of weeds. In fact they said the other day that people would probably still be living in temporary housing for the next few years. They still haven’t fixed half of the roads yet, and it’s been two years!
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Eric … long time, no “see” !
Have you given up your blog?
I have seen some pictures of Tohoku just after the disaster and pictures of the same area now … and it looked much better.
But, I’m sure, it will take awhile to repair all of the damage that has been done by that giant wave!
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I’m sure those pictures are just to make it look like things are progressing well. You’ve been here long enough to know that the government can be kind of dubious sometimes (Fukushima as an example). Beside I don’t think anyone should live along the coastline anymore anyways. It’s kind of dangerous. And lets face it it probably won’t happen again for a long time, but it will happen again some day. They say Sendai area historically has a large earthquake every 40 to 50 years.
In terms of my blog. I guess it’s on a sort of “hiatus”. Basically I don’t have anything interesting to write about (at least in my opinion, haha). Also I’m so lazy! I’ll get back to eventually.
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Are you suggesting a government conspiracy to make the disaster repair look better than it is?
I can’t imagine that that would work. In this internet age, someone would show the reality.
And … if you leave your blog for a long time without a new post, you will lose regular visitors.
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