My family has now joined me here in San Diego, and we’re enjoying our time here even as we worry about the situation back “home” in Japan. We’re here for an important family event and will be headed back to Japan next week.The problems continue after the earthquake that hit just Japan 17 days ago, though it sure seems like a lot longer. Life is slowly returning to normal, with food and other products increasingly showing up on shelves, and even gasoline is starting to flow regularly (excuse the pun). Some “necessities” are still difficult to find, for example Japan Tobacco announced it would be halting distribution of cigarettes for two weeks due to procurement issues related to the earthquake, making it potentially difficult to find your favorite brand. Damage has been severe in some areas, for example the parking lot of Tokyo Disneyland — which was built on reclaimed land that’s fundamentally less stable than normal land — was deeply warped and cracked. Tokyo Disneyland itself escaped serious damage, although it’s been closed since the disaster and can’t reopen until the rolling blackout issues are behind us.
Japan prepares to rebuild the ravaged regions in the north.
