Ho wrote:I haven't heard much news about the aftermath of the earthquake lately. How have things been lately? I still hear the odd story about how the supply chain for some product is still all messed up, but I haven't heard a whole lot as to whether some semblance of "normal life" has returned to the region.
Outside of the coastal areas that got hit hard (and nuclear exclusion zone), life is pretty much back to normal.
The most visible parts of it here in Fukushima City are the
temporary houses you see as you go around the city. There's also the large amount of people who now have dosimeters and/or Geiger counters. Go into any school and you'll probably see a few.
There's also a national consciousness of 節電 (setsuden), meaning "conserving electricity", due primarily to the power supply shortage and secondarily to curb emissions/global warming. It's been hot and humid recently, and many places have set the AC temperature slightly higher than in previous years. Personally I enjoy not walking into a store and being blasted with arctic air.
Now talking about stuff that doesn't directly affect me... farmers in the area are having trouble selling their produce. This has also been hampered by reports of some farmers/stores selling beef and spinach(?) (or was it broccoli?) that exceeded safety regulations for radiation. There's a lady I sometimes talk to who works part-time at one of my schools and farms full-time with her husband. She lamented to me how she won't get any help from the government because her rice is within safe radiation levels, however no one will want to buy rice grown in Fukushima.
Going further on that note, in the supermarket all fresh produce is marked with it's prefecture-of-origin. Before the earthquake, I tried to buy produce grown as locally as possible. Fukushima primarily puts out rice (and peaches/fruit in the summer), so most of the veggies I bought were from surrounding prefectures. However recently I've noticed that up to half of all the veggies being sold were grown in Fukushima... I assume because other regions aren't buying Fukushima-grown produce, so it gets pawned off on Fukushima residents.
Ho wrote:And now, my random question about Japan:
I've noticed that when I look at profiles of Japanese people that their blood type is often listed. Even Bemani does it in character listings for games like DDR and beatmania. Is this a thing in Japan? Do people really care about it? Heck, I don't even know my own blood type!
Think of blood types here being similar to astrology signs in western culture except that a lot more people hold belief that it matters. Blood type in Japan is like super-astrology. I get asked my blood type all the time :/
Ho wrote:I went to an onsen with Jon and Rik on my first trip to Japan in 2009. It was pleasantly relaxing. Like Adam, I enjoyed the experience. I've only been to one, but I would go back (to it or another) if I had the opportunity.
I got the impression that both(?) times you came here you primarily stuck to urban areas. If you travel in the countryside there'll be plenty of onsen opportunities.
Ho wrote:Jon and I noted that saying you've been to Japan because you were in Okinawa is like saying you went to the United States because you were in Hawaii.
I say the exact same thing when people here say they've been to America because they went to Hawaii (or Guam).
Ho wrote:I've been lucky enough to be with Jon the two times I've gone out, and he's gotten us some spectacular military discount deals on lodging. However, the nights we had to stay in normal hotels, they were comparable to prices here. Those nights were all in the Tokyo (big city) area, so they were in the $100/night range.
I'm jealous of his discounts...
The few times I've been to Tokyo by myself I've usually stay in a hostel, which usually run about $20/night. When I go with my ladyfriend we like to stay at
this hotel (ignore the bad website). We're actually going down to Tokyo next week, so I've already made reservations there for two people plus a really nice breakfast for a total cost of ¥7,810.
If Japanese doesn't scare you away,
jalan.net is a good place to find good hotel prices.