Nihon de kio tsukete kudasai

I'm at home today and have been watching the unfurling news coverage of the Sendai / Tokyo earthquake and tsunami warnings to other south pacific countries. It is terrifying.

My thoughts are with Japan and its neighbours. Apparently the tsunami was travelling at 500mph at one point, the speed of a jumbo jet. I think it has since slowed down. But, who knows the damage it will cause on its travels.

I lived in rural Japan in 1994-1995 teaching English in a high school. What a place it is - the landscape, the people, the culture, the struggle between traditional and contemporary Japan (or it was back then). I was 21-22 years old. It was one of the most vivid experiences - and I met some true, lifelong friends.

We felt the tremors from the Kobe earthquake that struck in January 1995 - we were two hours north of the epi-centre. We didn't experience the extremities of the quake like those in Kobe - but the earth did move and each aftershock was terrifying.

6,434 people died and 300,000 were left homeless. I remember Kobe kids arriving at our school - they were shipped to family and friends across Hyogo and wider probably. It was a tense and scary time.

I've been in touch with friends today hoping that they're safe.

Blippers in Japan and Nihons - kio tsukete kudasai. You are such a resilient and resourceful people. Big love, my thoughts are with you.