I just overheard an older man come in to this Starbucks and start talking to the barista about how he has a friend in Tokyo and how "it's amazing to hear what he (the Japanese friend) has to say and then compare it to what the media here is saying. Apparently, it's not that bad. They're getting rolling blackouts and such, but other than that it's life as usual in Japan. The American media is really blowing it out of proportion."
The tsunami did not hit Tokyo. The tsunami hit up in Northeastern (Touhoku) Japan and destroyed whole towns in the Miyagi Prefecture, especially Sendai where many thousands of people have died. Although Tokyo did feel a major earthquake, the brunt of it was felt by Sendai. I know that a majority of people understand this, but I just wish that the minority would figure these things out before they make broad statements about what's going on in Japan, because it's sad to imagine that people are not fully grasping what's happening there.
Hopefully, this helps.
So we can get some perspective, here's a map...
1) The largest red circle is Miyagi Prefecture, where Sendai is.
2) The smaller circle below that is Fukushima, where the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is failing.
3) Below that is another smaller circle- that circle alone in the center of the map- and that is Tokyo, the capital.
4) For the record, that small dot in the very South is Fukuoka, where I was and where almost all my friends are. Thankfully, they are all safe.
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