WebCanada Inc - Greetings from shaky Tokyo

Go Back

Greetings from shaky Tokyo

Submitted by Peter Pietrzkiewicz on Mar 14, 2011 - 2:13pm

Posted in

help japan There are no words that can account for the tragedy resulting from the earthquake that Japan experienced on Friday. The loss of life and damage from the tsunami that followed the earthquake itself is heartbreaking.

Prior to this situation, I had made arrangements to meet with customers in several Asian countries, including Japan. With some uncertainty and a desire to keep my commitment I arrived in Tokyo on Sunday. The flight over took a small detour to avoid the badly damaged area, and any possible radiation, around Sendai. Upon landing at Narita, it seemed like business as usual. Other arrivals and departures are on time, train service to the city restored, and passengers busily moving around the terminals.

I'm not sure whether I've been feeling a false sense of security since arriving or not. Although everything seems normal, clearly it's not. Connecting with customers has been a challenge; we're all having to shift our schedules around. Rolling blackouts are planned to conserve energy. Explosions at nuclear plants north of Tokyo threaten the population with fallout radiation. Early this morning, I was working in my hotel room and all of a sudden, my chair began to shake. Seconds later I started to hear squeaking noises coming from the walls of the building. It took me a few moments to figure out what was going on, as I've not experienced a quake of that size before. Although this only lasted for about two minutes, it seemed like an eternity. I learned from Japanese news that aftershock measured 6.2 on the Richter scale. In other parts of the world, that kind of earthquake would in itself be an event of epic proportion, and here, it's almost a footnote.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, there have been 17 tremors measuring 4 or higher, just today.

My trip to Tokyo wraps up in the next couple of days, and I feel I will be lucky to leave while many other Japanese are dealing with the aftermath of this horrible tragedy.

If you're able to donate, the Red Cross is actively working to bring relief.

2 COMMENTS

Kathi Black (Chick) wrote 03.15.11
at 12:08 We will be happy to hear that you have landed safely in North America. Be safe in your travels and thanks for keeping us posted! So sad. Especially after our "I love Japan" lovefest the other day! My whole head was "in Japan" for a few days afterwards.....

Peter Pietrzkiewicz wrote 03.15.11
at 14:02 I do love Japan - it's such a unique and exciting culture. This is a horrible tragedy that's affecting the entire country. This morning I made the decision to leave Tokyo a day early. There was another earthquake that hit near the city, which woke me up, and another explosion at the power plant. My prayers are with them!!

Name:

E-mail: (WebCanada will not sell or publish your email address)

Add your comment:




	Type the two words: Type what you hear: Incorrect. Try again.

Post Comment

Date

August, 2011 (12)
July, 2011 (4)
April, 2011 (3)
March, 2011 (4)
February, 2011 (2)
January, 2011 (4)
December, 2010 (6)
November, 2010 (3)
October, 2010 (4)
September, 2010 (5)
June, 2010 (6)
May, 2010 (5)

Latest Posts

Pin-To-Win-Over-Your-Clients
Zappos Delivers Happiness Inside & Out
The Concierge Plus team mingles with a full house in Vegas at the CAI Annual Conference
Concierge Plus Debuts in Washington DC!
Concierge Plus goes to Miami!

Posts By Author

Colin Waite (1)
Daniel Okorn (4)
Ian Walker (9)
Mike Little (13)
Peter Pietrzkiewicz (12)
WebCanada (19)

Greetings from shaky Tokyo

Categories

Tags

Date

Latest Posts

Posts By Author