On March 11th, most public transport stopped running even in Tokyo, and many people could not go home after work. Some people walked many kilometers in the darkness to get home. Did I have a hard time too? Not really. I was in my office at work, and kept working until late. As always, I sent some emails to my colleagues and clients before leaving the office. Then I was lucky enough to catch one of a few subways that resumed service.
A couple of days after the quake, the city where I live, Urayasu, was reported by the media as the "disaster area nearest Tokyo." As around 70% of the city is on land reclaimed from the sea, many roads, roadside trees, bridges and buildings were severely damaged by liquefaction of soil caused by the intense shaking of the quake. Tokyo Disney Resort, which is my wonderful neighbor, was one of the many areas affected. What about my apartment? Well, it is on the inland edge of the old coastline, and there was no damage except that some of the water in my aquarium was spilled. The roads and sidewalks in front of my place are as flat and smooth as a skating rink.
The water supply in most areas in Urayasu city was disrupted after the quake. That was the case even in those areas which are not on a landfill. The block where I live was a fortunate exception. I missed the notification from the city authorities that the water supply was stopped in the entire city while I was taking a shower. Also, a few days later, I realized that the gas supply was suspended in many areas of the city. At my apartment, of course, the gas supply has never stopped since the quake.
To cope with electricity shortage caused by the mega earthquake, Tokyo Electric Power Company started to carry out area-by-area power rationing with rolling blackouts in the Kanto region surrounding Tokyo. Urayasu city, however, was at first exempted from the blackouts in consideration of the above disruption to gas and water supplies. As a result, my family and I have had the perfect services of basic utilities. I have no trouble at work either.
My good luck did not end there. Since the earthquake, many shelves have been half-empty in convenience stores and supermarkets as people stock up. Even now, some people are still frantically buying excess food and supplies. When I went to a supermarket last Sunday, I could not help laughing at the sight. While rice was sold out completely, there were so many bags of flour left unsold. Nothing seems to hold me back from living my normal life. I baked good bread that night.
As time goes by, people's interest shifted from the earthquake itself to the nuclear reactor in Fukushima. Even from the greater Tokyo area, some people started to flee to the western regions of Japan. Interestingly enough, most of the evacuees from Tokyo I know are people who have always been unreasonable and demanding. All the ones whose wisdom and abilities I have always admired have stayed in or around Tokyo. The M 9.0 earthquake blew a lot of interpersonal stress away from me.
I believe there are tens of millions of people who are perfectly safe and fine just as I am in the eastern Japan. It is our responsibility to stay calm and suppress any panic. Don't pass on chain emails. Use your wisdom to quiet groundless rumors. Help everyone to access correct and unbiased information. We are the lucky ones, and Japan will never be destroyed as long as we are here.