Daily life now

So as spring approaches, days are finally getting warmer...and by warmer I mean finally hitting the 60s. The tsunamis made the temperature take a BIG drop, so much that hanami forecasts have been delayed by 2 weeks. I am very happy though that they're finally blooming in Kyushu and lower Honshu at least. Here's the forecast as of last week (3/23) for when cherry blossoms will begin to bloom:

For the first week, all television channels had 24/7 coverage of the earthquakes and tsunamis then shifting towards radiation. But this week, a lot have begun to show specials with time slots for making donations to help victims, and yesterday I was watching a music program that had a song I really liked. It's a Japanese duo called Yuzu and they have a new release entitled "Hey和" (pronounced Hey wa). The title has a double meaning as the word heiwa means "peace" in Japanese, but the kanji 和 means Japan, so it's like they're also saying "Hey, Japan!" The lyrics really got to me, so figured I should post the song here too - very inspirational, as the group based the song on their travels throughout 3rd world countries.

I haven't found any translations to the song yet, so figured I'd make one, enjoy ;)


Hey 和 by Yuzu (ゆず) (Translated by me)

God lives in all of our hearts
In every single life
If you atune your ears, you'll hear it
Voices of lives you never noticed before

When I look up at the night sky, I think of you
And I feel a sense of warmth
Wherever you are, you're not alone
Even if the tears fall and you're feeling lonely

Wow...
I'm going to sing again today as if it's a prayer

Hey wa born into this world
Hey wa we were able to meet
What's something I could do for you?
Hey wa a never fading smile
Hey wa a song of joy
This brightness will continue burning and never fade
Because you're all here

God tests us with questions
History looks back on past sins and errors
With unhealed wounds that remain
We cannot forget them as we live on

Why do people hang onto this sadness
These wars that steal away so much have still not ceased
Children's laughter, and eyes that reflect the future
With hands linked during these precious days
And love...

How long do we have to walk to reach an end?
Looking for endings and beginnings
Closing our eyes, we try to ask that question
And then there's a light that shines through between the clouds

Hey wa born into this world
Hey wa we were able to meet
What's something I could do for you?
Hey wa like a flower in bloom
Hey wa the world comes alive
I'm going to continue protecting these hopes I won't throw away
And our thoughts filled with wishes are what connect us now
Because you're all here

Also, as far as radiation goes in Tokyo, here are the updates I've found this morning. Overall radiation in Tokyo is going DOWN - water is now safe again (readings last Wednesday were at 210 becquerel/kilogram, while yesterday they were back at 30). As reference, the legal limit for adults is 300 becquerel/kilogram for adults and 100 for infants. Also, the main radioactive elements being recorded in the air have gone down from 0.120 microsieverts/hour on Saturday to 0.115 microsieverts/hour on Sunday. As a reference, the typical amount people receive in Tokyo from bg radiation is 0.035-.044 microsievert/hour & a typical chest X-ray equals about 100 microsieverts. So at the current rate of radiation, it'd take 36 days to equal 1 chest X-ray if you're here in Tokyo (as opposed to 94-119 days normally). Of course these figures don't include all the other types of radiation we get daily (from eachother, microwaves, electronics, etc). At any rate, I'm glad to be getting so educated about radiation through all of this, and I hope the information is helpful to those reading as well ^^

The only other problem with radiation has been vegetables. I think the "increase" in radiation being reported isn't based on vegetables becoming MORE radioactive (because remember radiation in a particular item can only decrease as the elements divide and become safe again) but the fact that more places are actually testing the food. All vegetables from the prefectures around Fukushima have been banned from entering Tokyo, and I'm trying to eat safe by only buying produce grown south of here. And I think the major thing affected anyway is actually milk (which I don't drink anyway), so just waiting for things to pass. I do worry about dairy and vegetables farmers north of here, since they're losing at least $1000/day from not being able to sell things :/

And a LOT of people have been asking me about good news sources in English, so thought I'd share a few more. They're updated daily and provide more accurate reports than the media:

World Health Organization - provides 20+ page daily summaries about EVERYTHING going on in Japan
http://www.wpro.who.int/sites/eha/disasters/2011/jpn_earthquake/list.htm (downloadable pdfs)

International Atomic Energy Agency - provides daily updates in blog format
http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html

If anyone has questions I haven't answered yet, feel free to post and I'll try to include some explanation in my next post :D