Today is 2015 January 17th…the 20th anniversary of the huge 1995 January 17th earthquake in 神戸 (Kobe), Japan.
I’ve experienced many earthquakes since I came to Japan in 1990…but only two that were big enough to destroy a city:
the 1995 Jan 17th Kobe Earthquake, and
the 2011 Mar 11th Sendai Earthquake and Tsunami.
Memorial ceremony in Kobe for victims of the 1995 Jan 17th earthquake. (Photo © Getty Images)
I never want to experience such a massive natural disaster ever again!
Since the 2011 March 11 earthquake that struck 東北地方 (the Tohoku Region of Japan), the overseas media have reported extensively on Japanese manners and the excellent rescue and repair work conducted by the Japanese…especially those willing to risk their lives.
But with a disaster of this scale it goes without saying that Japan needs help. And people from all over the world have been extremely kind and generous. Immediately after the tsunami destroyed the lives of so many in the Sendai area, rescue teams and donations came to help from many countries.
I saw a news report on TV here in Japan that focused on the U.S. military’s relief assistance in Sendai and Fukushima.
The U.S. military has a number of bases in various parts of Japan and the Japanese people understand the sacrifices that those in the military make and most of the Japanese people appreciate the protection that the U.S. military gives to Japan by having bases here.
But it’s a bit of a perennial problem in Japan. The U.S. bases take up valuable land in this small country, there have been a number of crimes, sometimes violent ones, committed by American servicemen stationed here, and some of the bases are for the Air Force and have noisy jets flying overheard all day everyday which greatly disturbs the people who live in the vicinity.
But since America has sent over 18,000 American service-people from the bases around Japan to help with the rescue and rebuilding of the Sendai area and also helping to cool down the nuclear plant in Fukushima, the people of Japan have seen the U.S. military at their best.
And they’re quite good!
The U.S. military has named the work they’re doing 「友だち作戦」 (“Operation: Tomodachi”).
「友だち」 (“Tomodachi“) is Japanese for “friends“.
They have a patch on their sleeve of the Japanese flag with the Japanese character 「友」 which says “friend” in Japanese. And 「がんばろう日本」 which means “We can do it, Japan!“.
The TV news program I saw showed the U.S. Marines giving bottled water, food and blankets to the people left with nothing since the tsunami. But it also showed them giving American candy and toys to the children who lost everything they own. Toys and chocolate may seem unimportant…unless you saw the big smiles of those children. It was very heartwarming and thoughtful of the Marines to remember to bring something for those kids.
But the most impressive things I saw the U.S. Marines do in that report was when they quickly restored electricity to a town that was without power since the earthquake two weeks ago. And also, the Sendai Airport was such a mess and covered with so much debris since the tsunami that the Japanese authorities believed it would take too long to clear the runways for the airport to be of any use to bring much needed relief to the city…but the Marines got busy clearing the mess as soon as they arrived in Sendai and later the same day, the runways were cleared enough to be used!
Even the people who would like the U.S. military to not be stationed in Japan are extremely impressed and grateful for their help!
Thank you U.S. military. You really are a 「友だち」 (tomodachi)!
This year 憲法記念日 (Constitution Day) was on a Sunday, so it’s observed today.
So today is the last day of 黄金週間 (Golden Week).*
(* GW is a common written abbreviation for Golden Week in Japan. Thus the title of this post.)†
Tomorrow most everyone goes back to school or work.
Many people take a trip either overseas or domestically during Golden Week in Japan. So airports, train stations, and highways are crowded at this time.
At the beginning of the holidays, 下り (away from Tokyo) trains and highways are crowded…and at the end of the holidays, 上り (to Tokyo) is crowded.
Yesterday at about 2:00PM on a highway from 仙台 (Sendai, Japan) heading back to Tokyo there was a head-on collision between a passenger car and a mini-van.
Four people were injured and three elderly people died.
The accident caused the highway to be closed for a few hours, resulting in a huge traffic jam.
++++
This Friday (8 May 2009), my oldest daughter’s high school class will take a field trip north of Tokyo to the countryside.
They’re going to make 「うどん」 (thick Japanese noodles), have a バーべキュー (BBQ), and go ライン下り (white-water rafting in a Japanese-style boat)!
I’ve been white-water rafting in the countryside in Japan with friends before…but I’ve never gone on such great field trips when I was a student in America that my kids do with their schools!
The biggest school field trip I ever took as a kid was from one side of Florida to the other for a trip to NASA Space Station…it was interesting, but not as fun as the places my kids have gone over the years.
What types of school field trips have you gone on as a student in your country?
++++
† As I wrote above, GW is a (written) abbreviation for Golden Week in Japan. But there are many other abbreviations in Japan. For example, if you are in Japan, have you ever noticed “W” written on an ad. “W” is a Japanese abbreviation for “double“.
You might have seen, for example, “W (double) point-card points” or “Kirin W (double) Tanrei beer” (I show a photo of this beer in another post (Click here)).
Tokyo Five 
Recent Comments