Tokyo daily.

Last Friday, the north east part of Japan got hit by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake.
Since then there has been lots of bad and sad news... Nuclear plants blowing up, Tsunami's, masses of dead bodies been washed up etc...
We only hear negative news hear and from all around the world.
People are starting to freak out here in Tokyo, people buying out the supermarkets and convenience stores with food and general supplies.

Dan who is a fashionista blogger here in Tokyo wrote up a great article about this saga that has been going on here in Tokyo and Japan.
Have a read see what you think...
By the way I totally agree on his thought!

*courtesy of Dan's blog, http://www.commons-sense.net/

"Life in Tokyo Right Now"

So much has happened in Japan in the past 7 days that is going to take so long to try and comprehend. The word disaster doesn’t seem strong enough. I just want to address the current situation here in Tokyo. International press are calling the city a ‘ghost town’, saying we are out of food and water, have no supplies, are fleeing. British news papers are going with the headline ‘GET OUT OF TOKYO NOW’ quoting the British Embassy here. Whilst it’s true the Embassy has encouraged people to CONSIDER leaving, this is due to the problems with logistics and infrastructure and not any threat of radiation. Boats can’t dock due to damaged ports, some countries don’t want to dock, and people here in Tokyo are bulk buying due to the chance of further earthquakes.

You wouldn’t blame us for wanting to leave. Less than a week ago our world was literally shaken and it has continued to shake since. Add to that the uncertainty of the nuclear situation and the most hardy of us are bound to want a change of scenery. The most frustrating thing for some is the lack of a trustworthy and reliable news source. Our mass media culture offers an abundance of information but in this case it’s simply too much. The Japanese government, TEPCO, foreign news agencies, embassies, news papers, worried friends, re-tweets and facebook statuses are all stirred in a pot with a large dose of poisonous tabloid hysteria.

Tokyo is doing OK. Those who want to leave have been able to, whether that be elsewhere in Japan or overseas. Lot’s of people are going about there lives as normal, there are markedly less people out on the streets but the streets are definitely not empty. Bread and rice sells out quickly, as does water, but stocks are being replenished. The top few photos below were taken yesterday in Shibuya where i met with some mates and had a few drinks. Just now I read some shocking reports on the lack of food here in Tokyo so I went on a 10 minute wander around my house to see how things were. If your not familiar with Tokyo, it’s a huge sprawling megalopolis with hundreds if not thousands of mini-central business districts around each station. I live in Meidaimae which is 7 minutes from two of the huge main hubs, Shibuya and Shinjuku. Whilst this may be the situation at my station, it could be completely different at a station 2 minutes away, i am aware of that, but this is how things are for me. TESCO is open and has loads of fruit and veg and even cans of baked beans. Convenience stores have any drink you could imagine and more, girls who’ve just finished school are picking out cakes and at the station trains are running normally with the usual amount of commuters on the platform. The drug store has water and everything else you would expect, other supermarkets are open and fully stocked and the usual cast of Japanese boys are stood reading questionable manga in Convini’ windows. THIS IS NOT A GHOST TOWN. How dare you call Tokyo a town this is one of the greatest cities in the world. Shame on the media that continues to make a drama out of a very human crisis.

Now compare the photos above to these from the North of Japan. The cars that we saw being tossed around had people in them. As did the houses. Whilst we worry about fuel for cars Miyagi have said they have run out of fuel for burning the bodies that lie in pools of water and debris in what were once towns of thousands. It’s snowing and cold, kids have no blankets, people have lost everything.

I’m no fucking Bono but please direct your concern to these people in desperate need. Japan has given so much to the world in terms of business, technology, art, fashion and culture. It’s time to give back. I mean this especially for brands and businesses. So many people tell me how much they love Japan, Japan needs our love right now so let’s show Japan just how much love we have.

You can google the aid agencies you trust, here are few links…..

I know for a fact that Second Harvest are on the ground NOW getting aid to people who need it…..

http://www.2hj.org/index.php/eng_home


GLOBAL GIVING

American Red Cross

LADY GAGA CHARITY WRIST BAND

SAVE THE CHILDREN

Pray for Japan/Help Japan/Stay Strong.

R.I.P. to all those who have been lost in this earthquake.

3/11/2011