Excited about visiting Japan

[Oglethorpe1983]

Hello All

Its been a long time since Ive been here...

But Im coming back to announce my excitement about a possible trip to Japan.

Ive wanted to go for years... and even in the face of the recent natural disasters (earthquakes, tsunamis, and radiation concerns) that wont deter me...

Im, excited to visit the country and perhaps help the local businesses or volunteer in some small way to help some of the affected people...

If you agree with me that Japan is a place that foreigners should not still be wary of... and that its important for us to support one of our closest allies with our presence and our dollars :P please agree and comment here..

thanks for your support and friendship.

[JohnBraden]

I already paid for my 18 day, two-city-based trip for March 2012 as my fourth visit to Japan. On the 11th, I will be spending time in Fukushima, Sendai, Matsushima and at 2:46pm JST, I will be in Ishinomaki, praying for all those who perished a year before.

The closest I'll be to Fukushima Daiichi will be 37 miles, so I'm not worried in the least bit about the radiation I may receive.

Perhaps someone here will be lucky and get one of the 10,000 free flights to Japan the government is thinking about offering to foreigners. That is, if the government agrees to the 1.1B yen the campaign will cost.

[JBaymore]

I was there back in May and June. Had a solo exhibition there and donated the entire proceeds of the show to the relief efforts. Also was doing some research on the status of things for a relief fund I was instrumental in setting up.

I just returned last week from taking a group of my BFA students over there.

Visiting Japan is not only fine....... it is a significant help for their economy....which really needs it.

Ignore all the Western media hype... it is not what you likely think if you haven't been there.

Go... enjoy Japan. By just being there you are helping them recover.

best,

....................john

[acjama]

There is absolutely no problem visiting Japan. Of course there are certain things to acknowledge to make the stay enjoyable. Personally I believe that the most important thing is to understand that fallout does not respect distances from the source. There are dangerous levels as far as Fukushima city, some 60km from the Dai-ichi, and quite safe areas within 10 kilometers. Stationary government radiation measurements measure average dose from decades ago, so it will take years and years until they get up to speed with the present situation. Instead, Safecast is doing a rather good job.

There have been instances of obviously doctored data from food inspections, and many food producers and local officials have no problem giving the dangerously contaminated food to schools with the premise that "it's ok as long as nobody knows". I support local economy as much as I can (the latest buy being the Pocket Geiger counter "Made in Ishinomaki"), but not when it sends the wrong message. I do believe they'll get the message in ten years or so, but it won't do any good, because it will be of the type "nyannyan, told you so".

Also, the free tickets to foreigners plan was published along with the plan to increase retirement age. These are often connected in angry comments all over the net, so if you get a free ticket, it might be a good idea to keep it to yourself while in here.

Japan is much better experience as long as you keep realism in your head.

[JohnBraden]

Originally Posted by acjama

Instead, Safecast is doing a rather good job.

I support local economy as much as I can (the latest buy being the Pocket Geiger counter "Made in Ishinomaki"), but not when it sends the wrong message..

Where would one get one of those?

[acjama]

They are made by hand, so the time frame they accept orders can get a little tight. Last time (started on the 27th of Sept.) they were sold out almost immediately, it seems. I kind of stalked the page a couple of days...
According to the above page they'll be accepting new orders again from around the middle of October.

It is a bit tricky to use on the count of being extremely sensitive to noise and misreadings, but it can be used in a way that corresponds to more expensive models. Their manual pages are excellent (albeit in Japanese).

[spicytuna]

I just booked my flight to Japan last week. I'll be there from Dec.12 to Jan.12 and I'm planning on spending the first 2 weeks volunteering in the Tohoku region.

I'm not too concerned about the radiation levels but like acjama hinted, you have to take their government statements with a grain of salt.