Random Picture 67

One lasting effect on me from my post-quake (March 11, 2011) experience is that I never allow my toilet paper supplies to run low. Now, the moment I open a new bag, I make sure to pick up a second one. The inexplicable TP hoarding that followed the quake has convinced me that I need to keep certain essentials on hand in abundance. For greater Japan, the focus appears to be on other types of essentials, as this vending machine with but one choice reveals.

My husband and I both have noticed that there are immense amounts of water for sale now as compared to the pre-quake stock. We don't know if people ordered a lot and now it isn't selling or if they stock a lot because it is still selling well with the ongoing nuclear issues at Fukushima. The only thing I can say is that I have not bought one bottle of water since the quake. I may one day glow in the dark, or disintegrate into a puddle of goo from drinking tap water, but I'll be damned if I'll give into what feels like (hopefully) unfounded fear.

Random Picture 55

So, it's come to this. The idea that there is bottled water on the market shelves is so novel that I'm posting a picture of it. As of this posting, the situation at Japanese Tokyo markets is starting to improve. Though there are still large gaps in stock, and toilet paper is still a rare and valuable commodity, most food and drink is generally available in some quantities. It probably doesn't hurt that stores have started to restrict the quantity of items that are popular in the post-quake/nuclear-scare panic-buying and  hording. The signs in front of these say that each customer is limited to buying two 2-liter bottles of water and six 500-milliliter bottles. It's my hope that this means people are settling down a bit, and life is returning to normal.

Update: As of this afternoon, it was announced that levels of Iodine-131 in tap water in Tokyo was tested at a level which is unsafe for infants but within the safety margin for adults. This is almost certainly due to the fact that we had our first rainfall since the situation in Fukushima went sour. Radioactive particles in the atmosphere washed into the drinking water supply. The level was 210 Bq/kg  and the limit in Japan is 300 for adults (note that other regulatory entities and countries have higher limits than Japan). I expect this will set off a new round of panic-buying of bottled water and beverages as people will freak out over this news. :-p I was lucky to get this shot between rounds of panic purchasing.