Monthly Archives: March 2011

2 Bottles of Water & 1 Box of Kleenex

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Chie went to the grocery store on her way home after work. To her surprise she found 1.5 liter water bottles in the shelves. Maybe the explanation was that they had introduced a limit of 2 bottles per person. They also had limits on tissues (Kleenex), 1 box per person. Milk and yoghurt, 1 liter of each per person.

There were also limits on toilet paper. 4 rolls per person. Though it seemed strange at first when I heard it as they usually come in packs of 12. The solution? Unpacked and sold 1 by 1.

Basically all things had limitation on how many or how much each person could buy, except meat, frozen food, vegetables and fruits.

Even with the limitations there were some food that were sold out, like rice, mochi (Japanese rice cake that gets sticky when heated), cup noodles, batteries, and bread. Seaweed was also sold out as some professor happened to mention on TV that it contains iodine so it protects somewhat agains some of the radiation (if you eat a ton of it?).

Chie also noted that the gas station in front of BALS Tokyo had opened again. The result? Cars lining up to buy a maximum of 20 liters per car. Even a police car was waiting on its turn to get their 20 liters.

Risk Going Up?

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Again, the information regarding the Fukushima #1 power plant provided by TEPCO is below expectations in this type of situation. Also their history includes previous situation where they have hidden information. This makes it difficult not only for normal people to understand what is going on but also for external experts.

The latest development is that it is now feared that the spent fuel rods on top of Reactor #4 is fully exposed. Meaning the radiation levels there may be lethal and may prevent counter measures needed to keep Reactor #3 in a safe state. This has caused US government to recommend evacuation of US citizens within at least 80 km radius from Fukushima #1, or about 1/3 of the way between the power plan and Tokyo.

The strange thing is that this information is coming from CNN and not from Japanese government and TEPCO. It appears that US officials arrived today and they did not see what they expected in terms of the situation at Fukushima #1, which have lead to the evacuation recommendations etc.

While Chie and I are getting ready to go to the office we are also considering staying home. Reason? If the situation is as US government believes then the situation in the other reactors may deteriorate quickly since people cannot get close without risking death or at least severe health consequences.

The only positive news is that TEPCO think they have found a way to redirect electric power to the plant. This means that it may be possible to get the the cooling system running again, and pumps to pump water into the storage compartments of the spent fuel rods.

Risk Going Down

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The risk for after-quakes in the 7+ magnitude level was estimated to 70% directly after the earthquake on Friday and has remained at that level until today, when it was lowered to 40% 🙂

Survival Dinner

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What do you eat to survive in Tokyo in the aftermath of earthquakes, tsunamis, and nuclear power plant failures and crises? Bacon and tomato sauce pasta with parmesan cheese and salad is quite OK.



As I wrote earlier, we are doing what we can to keep going as normal as possible. But it feels strange living in luxury like this when you know that not far away there are more than 450,000 people living in shelters with limited food supplies, limited water supplies and with poor sanitary facilities.

Today I tried to donate money to Red Cross via Google, but did not succeed. So tomorrow I am going to my bank to transfer the money to the Japanese Red Cross Society. Please, if you have the means then consider given a donation following any of the above links.

Second mission I have is to do volunteer work. I am looking for the possibility now but have not found anything so far. Sony seems to be planing some volunteer work for employees within the Sony Group so that would be one possibility.