This afternoon I went over to Tracey’s to hang out and bake bread. I took my video camera along with me for the journey because I wanted to show you what Tokyo looks like today.
Each day, more trains run and commuting schedules are getting back to normal. It’s still complex with service outages, but the transportation chaos is settling down.
There’s still no milk. Bread is starting to make an appearance, particularly in bakery shops – oddly, bagels are abundant. Bentos and deli lunches at the conbini are still understocked but it’s not a big deal and getting better each day. I hope that any shortfalls we are experiencing are due to food being routed to the 450,000 earthquake/tsunami survivors in shelters up north. They are stuck on slim rations, I’ve heard. I wish I could send them some of my food…
Power conservation has expanded today. Escalators were shut down and barricaded in subway stations, the stations were dimmer in general and the interior lights on the Odakyu trains were off during daylight hours. On the walk home tonight, I noted that the streetlights on Kasuga Dori are off except at intersections. Streelights on the side streets are all still on. TEPCO was warning about unplanned blackouts in Tokyo tonight because it is freezing cold out there but I haven’t heard of any happening yet.
Aftershocks continue daily. I seem to be adjusting because quakes that would have put me on high alert a few weeks ago now pass with only a thought to whether the shaking is getting bigger or not. No? Ok, good. Carry on.
Which is what we all must do every day here. Carry on. I’ll have a new adventure and notes to report tomorrow.
