Monday, June 13, 2011

New blog

I'll hopefully return to this blog, but my latest travel plans have spawned a new one.
Look here if you're interested!

http://mrttravels.blogspot.com

at 11:36 pm 0 comments

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

...and still they come.

The Tsunami has caused the most devastation in Japan, but the earthquakes are still here. Normally when there's an earthquake in Japan, you might feel one or two more small aftershocks on that day, or the day after. There hasn't been anything near the 9.0 of last week (listed as a lower magnitude on these figures, before it was revised), but earthquakes have become a daily occurrence. Although just a moment or two of nervousness for most of us, nearer the epicentre these will damage already weak buildings and hamper rescue efforts.

To give you an idea of how often these are happening, here's the last week in figures from the Japan meteorological agency (http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/quake_singendo_index.html).

Issued at Occurred at Region Name Magnitude
13:20 JST 16 Mar 201113:14 JST 16 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.6
13:00 JST 16 Mar 201112:52 JST 16 Mar 2011Chiba-ken Toho-okiM6.0
12:56 JST 16 Mar 201112:52 JST 16 Mar 2011Chiba-ken Toho-okiM6.0
12:27 JST 16 Mar 201112:23 JST 16 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.6
10:49 JST 16 Mar 201110:44 JST 16 Mar 2011Shizuoka-ken TobuM3.2
10:11 JST 16 Mar 201110:08 JST 16 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.1
09:26 JST 16 Mar 201109:22 JST 16 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.5
08:45 JST 16 Mar 201108:40 JST 16 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken HokubuM3.9
06:19 JST 16 Mar 201106:15 JST 16 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM4.0
06:08 JST 16 Mar 201106:04 JST 16 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken HokubuM4.8
05:57 JST 16 Mar 201105:53 JST 16 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken HamadoriM4.5
05:34 JST 16 Mar 201105:30 JST 16 Mar 2011Chiba-ken Toho-okiM5.7
05:31 JST 16 Mar 201105:27 JST 16 Mar 2011Oshima-chiho SeibuM2.8
04:59 JST 16 Mar 201104:53 JST 16 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.0
04:19 JST 16 Mar 201104:01 JST 16 Mar 2011Miyagi-ken OkiM5.8
04:05 JST 16 Mar 201104:01 JST 16 Mar 2011Miyagi-ken OkiM5.8
03:36 JST 16 Mar 201103:33 JST 16 Mar 2011Gifu-ken Hida-chihoM4.0
03:23 JST 16 Mar 201103:19 JST 16 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM3.9
02:46 JST 16 Mar 201102:40 JST 16 Mar 2011Chiba-ken Toho-okiM4.4
02:17 JST 16 Mar 201102:14 JST 16 Mar 2011Shizuoka-ken TobuM2.8
00:42 JST 16 Mar 201100:39 JST 16 Mar 2011Gifu-ken Hida-chihoM3.4
00:28 JST 16 Mar 201100:24 JST 16 Mar 2011Sanriku OkiM6.0
23:34 JST 15 Mar 201122:31 JST 15 Mar 2011Shizuoka-ken TobuM6.0
22:46 JST 15 Mar 201122:43 JST 15 Mar 2011Shizuoka-ken TobuM3.6
22:43 JST 15 Mar 201122:40 JST 15 Mar 2011Yamanashi-ken Tobu-FujigokoM4.0
22:41 JST 15 Mar 201122:38 JST 15 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.6
22:40 JST 15 Mar 201122:31 JST 15 Mar 2011Shizuoka-ken TobuM6.0
22:36 JST 15 Mar 201122:31 JST 15 Mar 2011Shizuoka-ken TobuM6.0
22:15 JST 15 Mar 201122:10 JST 15 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.2
20:13 JST 15 Mar 201120:06 JST 15 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.2
19:37 JST 15 Mar 201119:31 JST 15 Mar 2011Chiba-ken HokutobuM4.5
18:55 JST 15 Mar 201118:50 JST 15 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM6.3
18:45 JST 15 Mar 201118:41 JST 15 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.4
16:53 JST 15 Mar 201116:48 JST 15 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.3
16:08 JST 15 Mar 201116:03 JST 15 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken HokubuM4.9
16:01 JST 15 Mar 201115:56 JST 15 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken HokubuM4.6
15:37 JST 15 Mar 201115:32 JST 15 Mar 2011Gifu-ken Hida-chihoM3.6
10:48 JST 15 Mar 201110:41 JST 15 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM2.0
09:57 JST 15 Mar 201109:54 JST 15 Mar 2011Akita-ken Nairiku-nambuM3.9
07:36 JST 15 Mar 201107:29 JST 15 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken HamadoriM4.4
07:25 JST 15 Mar 201107:20 JST 15 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM4.4
07:09 JST 15 Mar 201107:04 JST 15 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.8
05:44 JST 15 Mar 201105:40 JST 15 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM2.9
05:42 JST 15 Mar 201105:33 JST 15 Mar 2011Gifu-ken Hida-chihoM1.3
05:09 JST 15 Mar 201104:59 JST 15 Mar 2011Tokyo-wanM4.1
05:02 JST 15 Mar 201104:59 JST 15 Mar 2011Tokyo-wanM4.1
04:38 JST 15 Mar 201104:28 JST 15 Mar 2011Miyagi-ken OkiM5.0
04:33 JST 15 Mar 201104:28 JST 15 Mar 2011Miyagi-ken OkiM5.0
04:09 JST 15 Mar 201104:04 JST 15 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.5
03:45 JST 15 Mar 201103:41 JST 15 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM5.6
03:39 JST 15 Mar 201103:35 JST 15 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.3
01:39 JST 15 Mar 201101:36 JST 15 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM2.6
01:15 JST 15 Mar 201101:11 JST 15 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.3
20:16 JST 14 Mar 201120:06 JST 14 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.8
20:10 JST 14 Mar 201120:06 JST 14 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.8
18:11 JST 14 Mar 201118:07 JST 14 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.8
16:30 JST 14 Mar 201116:25 JST 14 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.8
16:29 JST 14 Mar 201116:25 JST 14 Mar 2011Nagano-ken ChubuM3.0
16:02 JST 14 Mar 201115:52 JST 14 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.2
16:01 JST 14 Mar 201115:56 JST 14 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.3
16:00 JST 14 Mar 201115:52 JST 14 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.2
15:49 JST 14 Mar 201115:44 JST 14 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM5.4
15:43 JST 14 Mar 201115:38 JST 14 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM4.0
15:27 JST 14 Mar 201115:18 JST 14 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.3
15:23 JST 14 Mar 201115:18 JST 14 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.3
15:17 JST 14 Mar 201115:13 JST 14 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM6.3
13:50 JST 14 Mar 201113:45 JST 14 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.7
12:13 JST 14 Mar 201112:10 JST 14 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM4.2
10:14 JST 14 Mar 201110:02 JST 14 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM6.2
10:07 JST 14 Mar 201110:02 JST 14 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM6.2
08:57 JST 14 Mar 201108:53 JST 14 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.9
08:50 JST 14 Mar 201108:47 JST 14 Mar 2011Nagano-ken ChubuM3.3
08:47 JST 14 Mar 201108:41 JST 14 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.7
07:51 JST 14 Mar 201107:46 JST 14 Mar 2011Akita-ken Nairiku-nambuM3.0
07:20 JST 14 Mar 201107:16 JST 14 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.3
04:32 JST 14 Mar 201104:27 JST 14 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.2
04:20 JST 14 Mar 201104:16 JST 14 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.9
02:33 JST 14 Mar 201102:29 JST 14 Mar 2011Chiba-ken Toho-okiM4.8
02:09 JST 14 Mar 201102:04 JST 14 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.4
00:15 JST 14 Mar 201100:10 JST 14 Mar 2011Chiba-ken Toho-okiM5.0
23:32 JST 13 Mar 201123:28 JST 13 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.4
23:32 JST 13 Mar 201123:28 JST 13 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM3.9
22:48 JST 13 Mar 201122:43 JST 13 Mar 2011Sanriku OkiM5.0
21:48 JST 13 Mar 201121:44 JST 13 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.7
21:00 JST 13 Mar 201120:56 JST 13 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.8
20:42 JST 13 Mar 201120:37 JST 13 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM6.0
18:56 JST 13 Mar 201118:52 JST 13 Mar 2011Miyagi-ken OkiM5.5
18:32 JST 13 Mar 201118:25 JST 13 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM5.5
15:23 JST 13 Mar 201115:19 JST 13 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM4.3
15:04 JST 13 Mar 201115:00 JST 13 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.7
12:39 JST 13 Mar 201112:34 JST 13 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM4.0
12:35 JST 13 Mar 201112:31 JST 13 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM4.2
12:14 JST 13 Mar 201112:09 JST 13 Mar 2011Chiba-ken NambuM4.1
10:34 JST 13 Mar 201110:26 JST 13 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM6.4
10:29 JST 13 Mar 201110:26 JST 13 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM6.4
09:44 JST 13 Mar 201109:41 JST 13 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.5
09:42 JST 13 Mar 201109:32 JST 13 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.8
09:36 JST 13 Mar 201109:32 JST 13 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.8
08:44 JST 13 Mar 201108:41 JST 13 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.2
08:39 JST 13 Mar 201108:25 JST 13 Mar 2011Miyagi-ken OkiM6.2
08:35 JST 13 Mar 201108:25 JST 13 Mar 2011Miyagi-ken OkiM6.2
08:29 JST 13 Mar 201108:25 JST 13 Mar 2011Miyagi-ken OkiM6.2
08:03 JST 13 Mar 201107:59 JST 13 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.4
07:37 JST 13 Mar 201107:31 JST 13 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM5.7
07:22 JST 13 Mar 201107:13 JST 13 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM6.0
07:17 JST 13 Mar 201107:13 JST 13 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM6.0
07:07 JST 13 Mar 201106:58 JST 13 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM5.4
07:03 JST 13 Mar 201106:58 JST 13 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM5.4
06:52 JST 13 Mar 201106:48 JST 13 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM5.5
05:45 JST 13 Mar 201105:41 JST 13 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.7
03:51 JST 13 Mar 201103:47 JST 13 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM3.6
03:14 JST 13 Mar 201103:09 JST 13 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.5
02:03 JST 13 Mar 201101:59 JST 13 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.4
00:48 JST 13 Mar 201100:44 JST 13 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM4.0
00:00 JST 13 Mar 201123:54 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM2.5
23:56 JST 12 Mar 201123:52 JST 12 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM2.4
23:50 JST 12 Mar 201123:43 JST 12 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM6.1
23:47 JST 12 Mar 201123:43 JST 12 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM6.1
23:40 JST 12 Mar 201123:35 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM4.4
23:39 JST 12 Mar 201123:33 JST 12 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.3
23:18 JST 12 Mar 201123:14 JST 12 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM5.2
23:07 JST 12 Mar 201123:03 JST 12 Mar 2011Miyagi-ken OkiM5.8
22:35 JST 12 Mar 201122:27 JST 12 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM3.9
22:35 JST 12 Mar 201122:27 JST 12 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM5.3
22:31 JST 12 Mar 201122:24 JST 12 Mar 2011Miyagi-ken OkiM4.8
22:25 JST 12 Mar 201122:15 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM6.0
22:19 JST 12 Mar 201122:15 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM6.0
22:09 JST 12 Mar 201122:05 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM2.6
21:59 JST 12 Mar 201121:54 JST 12 Mar 2011Sanriku OkiM5.9
21:38 JST 12 Mar 201121:34 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM3.9
20:52 JST 12 Mar 201120:46 JST 12 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM5.6
19:57 JST 12 Mar 201119:53 JST 12 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM5.8
19:11 JST 12 Mar 201119:08 JST 12 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM4.1
18:45 JST 12 Mar 201118:41 JST 12 Mar 2011Sanriku OkiM5.1
18:39 JST 12 Mar 201118:36 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM3.7
16:41 JST 12 Mar 201116:35 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.8
16:00 JST 12 Mar 201115:57 JST 12 Mar 2011Tokyo-wanM4.3
15:47 JST 12 Mar 201115:44 JST 12 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.7
15:45 JST 12 Mar 201115:40 JST 12 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.3
15:23 JST 12 Mar 201115:19 JST 12 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM5.4
14:57 JST 12 Mar 201114:55 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM4.0
14:53 JST 12 Mar 201114:50 JST 12 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM3.4
14:48 JST 12 Mar 201114:45 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.5
14:19 JST 12 Mar 201114:14 JST 12 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken HokubuM4.9
13:46 JST 12 Mar 201113:43 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM3.7
13:11 JST 12 Mar 201113:06 JST 12 Mar 2011Miyagi-ken OkiM5.2
12:59 JST 12 Mar 201112:54 JST 12 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM5.1
12:44 JST 12 Mar 201112:41 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM3.0
12:15 JST 12 Mar 201112:12 JST 12 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM5.6
12:07 JST 12 Mar 201112:02 JST 12 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM5.8
11:55 JST 12 Mar 201111:52 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.0
11:47 JST 12 Mar 201111:43 JST 12 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM5.2
11:37 JST 12 Mar 201111:34 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.2
11:36 JST 12 Mar 201111:30 JST 12 Mar 2011Sanriku OkiM5.3
11:23 JST 12 Mar 201111:19 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM2.8
10:52 JST 12 Mar 201110:46 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM6.4
10:45 JST 12 Mar 201110:42 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM3.6
10:39 JST 12 Mar 201110:35 JST 12 Mar 2011Sanriku OkiM5.8
10:36 JST 12 Mar 201110:33 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM4.0
10:21 JST 12 Mar 201110:17 JST 12 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.3
10:16 JST 12 Mar 201110:14 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.5
10:14 JST 12 Mar 201110:12 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken HamadoriM4.8
10:07 JST 12 Mar 201110:04 JST 12 Mar 2011Miyagi-ken OkiM4.8
09:32 JST 12 Mar 201109:29 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM2.7
09:28 JST 12 Mar 201109:25 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.9
09:06 JST 12 Mar 201109:01 JST 12 Mar 2011Niijima-Kozushima KinkaiM3.7
09:03 JST 12 Mar 201108:59 JST 12 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM5.5
09:01 JST 12 Mar 201108:57 JST 12 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM3.4
09:00 JST 12 Mar 201108:55 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.7
08:36 JST 12 Mar 201108:32 JST 12 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM3.9
08:29 JST 12 Mar 201108:25 JST 12 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM3.4
08:17 JST 12 Mar 201108:11 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken HamadoriM4.8
08:11 JST 12 Mar 201108:05 JST 12 Mar 2011Iwate-ken Engan-hokubuM4.7
07:39 JST 12 Mar 201107:36 JST 12 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.6
07:21 JST 12 Mar 201107:18 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM3.9
07:17 JST 12 Mar 201107:14 JST 12 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM4.1
07:04 JST 12 Mar 201107:01 JST 12 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM4.0
07:00 JST 12 Mar 201106:55 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM3.9
06:53 JST 12 Mar 201106:48 JST 12 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.6
06:39 JST 12 Mar 201106:34 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.8
06:39 JST 12 Mar 201106:34 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM4.2
06:35 JST 12 Mar 201106:30 JST 12 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM3.0
06:32 JST 12 Mar 201106:25 JST 12 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM2.5
06:25 JST 12 Mar 201106:18 JST 12 Mar 2011Kanagawa-ken SeibuM2.0
06:23 JST 12 Mar 201106:19 JST 12 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM4.1
06:15 JST 12 Mar 201106:11 JST 12 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM3.5
06:05 JST 12 Mar 201106:01 JST 12 Mar 2011Miyagi-ken OkiM5.4
06:02 JST 12 Mar 201105:57 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM3.2
05:55 JST 12 Mar 201105:51 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM3.0
05:46 JST 12 Mar 201105:42 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM5.3
05:38 JST 12 Mar 201105:34 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.0
05:32 JST 12 Mar 201105:25 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.9
05:23 JST 12 Mar 201105:21 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM3.7
05:17 JST 12 Mar 201105:11 JST 12 Mar 2011Sanriku OkiM6.1
05:13 JST 12 Mar 201105:08 JST 12 Mar 2011Akita-ken OkiM5.0
05:06 JST 12 Mar 201105:03 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM3.9
05:01 JST 12 Mar 201104:57 JST 12 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM3.8
04:55 JST 12 Mar 201104:47 JST 12 Mar 2011Akita-ken OkiM6.4
04:52 JST 12 Mar 201104:47 JST 12 Mar 2011Akita-ken OkiM6.4
04:51 JST 12 Mar 201104:45 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.2
04:48 JST 12 Mar 201104:44 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM4.4
04:46 JST 12 Mar 201104:42 JST 12 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM3.3
04:41 JST 12 Mar 201104:35 JST 12 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM3.7
04:35 JST 12 Mar 201104:32 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM5.8
04:33 JST 12 Mar 201104:28 JST 12 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM3.4
04:28 JST 12 Mar 201104:24 JST 12 Mar 2011Chiba-ken Toho-okiM5.7
04:24 JST 12 Mar 201104:21 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM3.9
04:22 JST 12 Mar 201104:16 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.1
04:20 JST 12 Mar 201104:16 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM3.7
04:16 JST 12 Mar 201104:12 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM4.3
04:15 JST 12 Mar 201104:09 JST 12 Mar 2011Nagano-ken HokubuM4.5
04:10 JST 12 Mar 201104:03 JST 12 Mar 2011Sanriku OkiM6.2
04:03 JST 12 Mar 201103:59 JST 12 Mar 2011Niigata-ken Chuetsu-chihoM6.6
03:48 JST 12 Mar 201103:44 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.0
03:43 JST 12 Mar 201103:40 JST 12 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.1
03:16 JST 12 Mar 201103:11 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM6.0
02:59 JST 12 Mar 201102:56 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.4
02:34 JST 12 Mar 201102:30 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.1
02:21 JST 12 Mar 201102:15 JST 12 Mar 2011Miyagi-ken OkiM4.9
01:10 JST 12 Mar 201101:05 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.6
01:05 JST 12 Mar 201100:58 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.2
00:45 JST 12 Mar 201100:42 JST 12 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM5.5
00:28 JST 12 Mar 201100:24 JST 12 Mar 2011Gumma-ken HokubuM4.3
00:24 JST 12 Mar 201100:19 JST 12 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM6.2
00:22 JST 12 Mar 201100:15 JST 12 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM5.4
00:17 JST 12 Mar 201100:13 JST 12 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM6.6
00:12 JST 12 Mar 201100:06 JST 12 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.3
00:01 JST 12 Mar 201123:54 JST 11 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM5.9
23:48 JST 11 Mar 201123:44 JST 11 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.8
23:14 JST 11 Mar 201123:10 JST 11 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.1
23:04 JST 11 Mar 201123:00 JST 11 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM5.4
23:00 JST 11 Mar 201122:56 JST 11 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.3
22:50 JST 11 Mar 201122:47 JST 11 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.9
22:42 JST 11 Mar 201122:33 JST 11 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.5
22:34 JST 11 Mar 201122:29 JST 11 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.5
22:20 JST 11 Mar 201122:17 JST 11 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM5.7
21:59 JST 11 Mar 201121:55 JST 11 Mar 2011Miyagi-ken OkiM5.1
21:37 JST 11 Mar 201121:33 JST 11 Mar 2011Sanriku OkiM5.2
21:26 JST 11 Mar 201121:21 JST 11 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.9
21:20 JST 11 Mar 201121:16 JST 11 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM6.0
21:18 JST 11 Mar 201121:13 JST 11 Mar 2011Miyagi-ken OkiM6.1
21:04 JST 11 Mar 201120:58 JST 11 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM5.5
20:51 JST 11 Mar 201120:46 JST 11 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM5.4
20:46 JST 11 Mar 201120:39 JST 11 Mar 2011Miyagi-ken OkiM5.6
20:41 JST 11 Mar 201120:37 JST 11 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM6.4
20:35 JST 11 Mar 201120:31 JST 11 Mar 2011Miyagi-ken NambuM5.3
20:25 JST 11 Mar 201120:21 JST 11 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM5.6
20:22 JST 11 Mar 201120:17 JST 11 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.7
20:16 JST 11 Mar 201120:10 JST 11 Mar 2011Tochigi-ken HokubuM3.8
20:10 JST 11 Mar 201120:07 JST 11 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.7
20:05 JST 11 Mar 201120:01 JST 11 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.5
19:50 JST 11 Mar 201119:46 JST 11 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.9
19:40 JST 11 Mar 201119:35 JST 11 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.1
19:25 JST 11 Mar 201119:21 JST 11 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.5
19:20 JST 11 Mar 201119:13 JST 11 Mar 2011Miyagi-ken OkiM5.3
19:15 JST 11 Mar 201119:11 JST 11 Mar 2011Iwate-ken Nairiku-nambuM5.7
19:12 JST 11 Mar 201119:09 JST 11 Mar 2011Ishikawa-ken Kaga-chihoM4.1
19:02 JST 11 Mar 201118:57 JST 11 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM4.7
19:00 JST 11 Mar 201118:55 JST 11 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM5.3
18:56 JST 11 Mar 201118:52 JST 11 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.8
18:47 JST 11 Mar 201118:42 JST 11 Mar 2011Sanriku OkiM5.6
18:41 JST 11 Mar 201118:37 JST 11 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM5.4
18:38 JST 11 Mar 201118:34 JST 11 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.8
18:32 JST 11 Mar 201118:27 JST 11 Mar 2011Miyagi-ken OkiM5.3
18:25 JST 11 Mar 201118:19 JST 11 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM5.1
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18:01 JST 11 Mar 201117:54 JST 11 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM4.8
17:52 JST 11 Mar 201117:47 JST 11 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM6.0
17:45 JST 11 Mar 201117:41 JST 11 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.8
17:38 JST 11 Mar 201117:35 JST 11 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM5.5
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17:23 JST 11 Mar 201117:19 JST 11 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM6.7
17:15 JST 11 Mar 201117:12 JST 11 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM6.4
17:09 JST 11 Mar 201117:05 JST 11 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.8
17:00 JST 11 Mar 201116:54 JST 11 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM5.5
16:44 JST 11 Mar 201116:38 JST 11 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM5.9
16:34 JST 11 Mar 201116:29 JST 11 Mar 2011Sanriku OkiM6.6
16:20 JST 11 Mar 201116:15 JST 11 Mar 2011Fukushima-ken OkiM6.8
16:13 JST 11 Mar 201116:04 JST 11 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM5.8
16:02 JST 11 Mar 201115:57 JST 11 Mar 2011Ibaraki-ken OkiM6.1
15:59 JST 11 Mar 201115:49 JST 11 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM5.8
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15:47 JST 11 Mar 201115:41 JST 11 Mar 2011Iwate-ken OkiM5.7
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03:51 JST 10 Mar 201103:45 JST 10 Mar 2011Sanriku OkiM6.1
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at 2:01 pm 0 comments

Friday, February 18, 2011

l'exposition d'art, or 美術展 (Bijutsu-ten)

I got a Kindle for Christmas but was halfway through a book ('The Corrections' by Jonathan Franzen) so didn't start using it until this week. There are a lot of older books which are no longer under copyright on a website called 'Project Gutenburg' available as ebooks. So I downloaded 'The Brothers Karamazov', 'The Odyssey', 'Don Quixote', 'A Tale of Two Cities', 'The Count of Monte Cristo', and a few others all for free!

I'm about half way through 'A Tale of Two Cities' at the moment and reading that on the train was part of my cultured day today. The other activity which made me a culture vulture was a visit to the National Art Center in Roppongi. They have a Surrealism exhibition on at the moment which is one of the few art movements I have an interest in. I don't pretend to know a lot about art and rarely visit galleries, but I like art that makes you think a bit. Basically people used to paint to capture images, and whilst I can appreciate that they look nice and the artists have a lot of skill they don't really hold my attention....I guess it would be slightly different if it was a place or a person I had a connection to though, then it would be like a photograph - reminding me of the person or the place.

When art doesn't imitate what you see then I tend to think about it a bit more. I can attach my own story or interpretation, or in some cases it just seems like a bit of fun and makes me smile. I wasn't that impressed by the exhibition to be honest, but there were a few interesting paintings and sculptures. I think I spent more time trying to work out what the titles were. The art was on loan from France and so all the information was in Japanese and French. Occasionally if it was an English or Spanish speaking artist the title was printed in the original language and Japanese, but most of the time I struggled. This isn't much of a problem with landscapes, unless you particularly want to know where the scene is, but when the painting doesn't replicate real life then the title often holds a lot of clues and can help you to understand it more.

It was another occasion which highlighted how bad my Japanese is. I've never studied French and can't speak it, but could often make more sense of the French explanations than the Japanese (despite being here for over 4 years!). Of course there are more similarities between the English and French language but, in the written form at least, it's a bit of a poor show that I can't understand a lot of Japanese. Anyway, here are some images from the internet of a few of the pieces I saw and thought were interesting...

'Loup Table' by Victor Brauner. I guessed this was 'fox table' but it seems to be 'wolf table'. Not sure why, looks like a fox to me. Maybe there's another level of meaning that I'm too dim to understand , or it makes sense in French.
Thought it was quite funny that he's included fox balls on the table, but nobody else tittered when they were examining it (the sculpture, that is...not the balls. Nobody paid them any particular attention while I was there).


'Lion, Cheval, Dormeuse invisibles' by Salvador Dali. This is where the language difference causes problems. I could understand the 'Lion' and 'invisibles' bit, and guessed that 'Cheval' was horse after studying the painting a bit. I couldn't see anything that looked like a door mouse though, which was my guess for the final word. Apparently, in English it's 'Invisible sleeping woman, horse, lion' in English. Wasted my time looking for a door mouse then...

Next we have 'Le Labyrinth' by Andre Masson. Nice and easy to understand this one. If you look closely you can see David Bowie with his crystal balls and the Bog of Eternal Stench. Only joking! it's nothing to do with the film. Slight Minotauric (I just made that adjective) feel to this one.


'Le Modele Rouge' by Rene Magritte, or 'The Red Model'. Another nice easy title. I could even understand this one in Japanese! It's difficult to see in this image, but the feet have laces like boots.

Anyway, that's the end of my presentation. There were lots more and I actually bought quite a few postcards. Not sure if I'll keep them or send them, but I'm sure some of these cheerful pictures would brighten most people's day if they popped through the letterbox.

at 9:34 pm 0 comments

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Singapore

I hadn't been abroad for about a year and had massive travel withdrawal. So over the winter holidays we visited Singapore. I didn't know much about it and had the image that it was a sterile city with no character. Not to let preconceptions get the better of me and tempted by the warm temperatures even in December, I went for 5 days between Christmas and New Year.

To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised. It was like a mini-Tokyo but more international. There were Chinese, Arab, and Indian areas of the city. Food was a mixture from these places and surrounding countries, like Thailand. There were even shops and brands you see in the U.K, and most of them weren't 10x the price as they seem to be in Japan. Everything worked efficiently (not really the norm in S.E Asia), there didn't seem to be any kind of crime or social disorder, and as English is (the?, an?) official language it was easy to communicate. Food was cheap too and it was nice to be able to eat a lot of fruit and veg for pennies.

Some of these features highlighted that despite the advances in technology it seems that Japan's geographical isolation still plays a major part in the country's economy and culture. There's not much space and no surrounding countries which produce a lot of fruit and so the costs are much higher due to transportation costs. Boo to high priced fruit!

As with most cities I've ever visited, about 3-4 days seemed to be about enough time so we struggled to find things to do towards the end of the trip. Not a big problem though. It was quite nice to do a bit of shopping and just wander around a bit more.

Do you remember how to see more photos? No? Pshhhh....just click the title of this blog post dummy!

at 9:04 am 0 comments

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Excuses


Only one post in 2010! So I've equalled that already in 2011, things can only get better.

I spent 2010 as a political prisoner, hence the lack of posts. My blog had been viewed as a threat to the current order in Japan and so the powers that be placed me under house arrest and took away my computer. During the Christmas Party I was able to ply my guards with eggnog and mince pies. The daring escape that followed involved bicycles, balaclavas, bananas, and tabasco sauce....that was too unbelievable wasn't it? Nobody would use a balaclava. Sorry....it was all a lie. I was just lazy.

After 4 years in Japan, it gets a little difficult to maintain a blog that had mainly focused on 'new' and 'strange' experiences. I'm sure that a lot of things I see are still pretty strange, but I'm more accustomed to them.

I also fell into the Facebook trap. It's much easier to send a single photo there than to write a blog post. After watching 'Social Network' and the extent to which Zuckerburg is portrayed as socially incompetent (the part of me that's jealous of the multi-billion earning youngster was very pleased that he has massive faults) I'm going to try and limit that a bit more. Obviously Facebook is one of the easiest ways to keep up with friends overseas, but it doesn't lend itself to rambling writing. And let's be honest, who doesn't like to rant or ramble every now and then.

Perhaps a new direction is called for. Instead of waiting for something 'blog worthy' to happen I'll stop trying to determine what I should put on here and just try to write more regularly. If it's interesting people will read, if not then it'll be a record of my descent into madness.

Soooooooo.....9 months. Pretty difficult to remember what I was doing, so in brief....

  • Dropped down to one job with massive amounts of holidays.
  • Finished most of the teaching course, but dragging the remaining parts out.
  • Moved to a nice big apartment.

at 5:38 pm 0 comments

Friday, April 09, 2010

Kanji - my nemisis!

One of the most difficult parts of learning Japanese is getting to grips with Kanji.
The other two systems of writing (Hiragana and Katakana) are more like English in that each symbol represents a sound. So each time you see the symbol you pronounce the sound connected to it.

In fact, they're simpler than the English alphabet as each symbol only has one sound no matter where it appears in a word. In contrast, the sounds of letters in the English alphabet are depending on where the letter appears in a word and the other letters around it.

Consequently many English learners are familiar with this chart, which lists the sounds rather than the letters of English. These are used in most dictionaries to tell you how to pronounce the word (although if you're a native speaker and not a teacher you may never have noticed them)

Kanji are not so much 'letters' but symbols derived from pictures which have a connected meaning rather than sound. Kanji normally have at least two readings and sometimes many more, so even if you know what the symbol means you might not make the right sound!

The usual method of learning Kanji is through making little flashcards and basically memorising the image, meaning and different pronunciations.

This didn't work too well for me, so i've started another method. It's just as long winded (if not more so!) and still relies on memory, but uses a different type of memory.

It's often said that people who are able to memorise massive amounts of information do so by making stories. I never really understood this and thought adding more information would surely lessen your chances of remembering. I.e if I'm trying to remember a shopping list then I thought it was easier to remember

Eggs
Brown bread
Butter
Coffee

Than...

My friend (eggs) benedict has a brown head (bread) he's fine, so is his girlfriend but her (butter) mother is a little coughy (coffee).

It's precisely this kind of elaborate story which I'm now using to memorise Kanji. The system starts with simple images from the the Kanji then builds more detailed stories as the Kanji become more detailed.

I'll give you a few examples...


This means 'child' as it looks a bit like a child with outstretched arms



This is 'complete', easy to remember as the child is incomplete, you need to complete it.




A child waving its arms at the sight of the dentist's 'hook' - it means 'cavity'




A child learns it's first 'characters/letters' under the 'roof' of it's home.



These are some of the early ones but they get more complex and the stories get stranger. It seems strange but sometimes the strangest stories are the easiest to remember.


This means 'prison' and the story I use is about a pack of wild dogs going to visit their cousin a domestic dog in prison and talking through an intercom.


I can now recognise a lot more Kanji and understand their meaning a lot better, but I still don't know how to pronounce most of them in Japanese!

The technique comes from a book called 'Remembering the Kanji' and has been adapted on a website called 'Reviewing the Kanji'. The website allows learners to add their own stories and choose popular ones that have already been added. Using this technique, you need to associate the English meaning to around 2,000 of the most widely used Kanji, before going back and adding the Japanese pronunciation and looking at common Kanji compounds.

I've learned about 450 so far, so only about 1600 to go....then learning the Japanese pronunciation, and common compounds.....*sigh*

at 8:52 am 0 comments

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Teach, teach, teach




Everything in my life at the moment is somehow connected to teaching and it's driving me a bit nuts.

I have two English teaching jobs and a few private students which means I spend between 40-45 hours a week preparing for or teaching English.

One those jobs requires me to give my students scores and comments after their lessons. Then twice a semester I need to write personal reports for those students.

I'm doing a teaching course so I'm reading books about English teaching, writing assignments about English teaching, designing a questionnaire about English teaching, keeping a reflective teaching diary, watching other people teach English and designing forms to record what I see when I'm observing those lessons.

It's peaking this week as I've got to write the aforementioned reports and I've also been observed as part of my ongoing assessment. Consequently I'll have to watch a video of my own teaching then have a meeting to discuss it.

Oh, almost forgot. My girlfriend is training to be a highschool English teacher and currently works part time. So quite often she has English teaching questions to ask me when I get home too.

First time I've tried writing this on my phone so I hope it works and the picture isn't tiny.

at 8:26 pm 0 comments

Friday, September 18, 2009

Festivities

Another big break from the blog. Lots of bits and pieces, no big news though.

I moved out of the guesthouse and in with Kazuko.
I went to the Koenji festival, a rainy day but it meant the crowds were smaller and I could get some photos.
Popped over to Odaiba and a little theme park type place called Muscle Park where you do different games - a bit like The Krypton Factor or The Crystal Maze. Didn't do too well at that, but we did win a couple of drinks by doing 100+ sit ups, press ups and pull ups between us within a time limit.
Also visited a very strange little Izakaya with games, toys and an owner who serves drinks as different people! I could describe it in more detail but it's better to go and experience it!

I'll be working at the university again from the middle of October which will eat into my time again. I've been trying to catch up with my course after the last term at Waseda but I've had to put off my teaching practice until next year. I'm slowly plodding through the reading and have started the coursework for the Diploma but it's going to be a long slog with so many other things going on.

My private lessons seem to have picked up again too. I have 2 group classes a month and 2-3 privates who have one or two lessons a week. Hopefully the taxman doesn't read this blog!
The extra money from these classes and Waseda have helped me to pay for flights home in December and also pay my local tax off for this year in one lump payment.
Unfortunately other parts of the Japanese government system want my money. It's a legal requirement to be in the Japanese health system. Up until now this wasn't really enforced and I've been sticking to good old travel insurance which covers me in Japan and when I go abroad. Unfortunately evidence of tax payment and health insurance payment will be requirements to renew working visas as of next year. Consequently I've joined the health system and keep getting larger and larger bills from them. :-(

I'm still teaching kickboxing. The number of students varies every week. Had nobody turn up once or twice, usually have 2 students and the most I've had is 5. There's a pancrase competition (pancrase is basically the same as MMA - punches, kicks, wrestling, ju-jitsu holds and chokes) in a few weeks that people have been asking me to try at the dojo but still not sure my ground game is good enough to do that. In fact it says in the rules that you should have 2 years of grappling experience before you can enter the competition. Whilst I've been going to this dojo for about 2 years, I avoided the grappling part for a long time and still have problems. Feel a bit silly saying Been going to those classes a bit more recently but I'm still a long way off most people in the classes.

Got back into running a bit too. I ran for about a year and did a half marathon a few years back in the UK but haven't bothered for a long time. I'm not really near a park and find it difficult to motivate myself to run in circles, so I get a train and travel 3-4 stops and then run home. That way I can't give up! Depending on which stop I go to I normally run about 4.5km or 7km.

Few mixed pictures linked to the title of the blog. I have a few videos of the festival too, but only one of them is small enough to embed in the blog...

at 10:41 pm 0 comments

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