Jinja and Shoga: Life in the Land of the Rising Sun

   Well, obviously yesterday's big news here was not, in fact, Keila's roll-over in the morning, but the massive earthquake that struck off the coast up north in the afternoon. It was the largest in Japan's recorded history. We felt the rather long initial quake (it was a 4 here in Shizuoka) and also a large aftershock shortly thereafter, but there was no damage to be seen at our place. Actually, I have yet to note any signs of damage in our area at all, thank God. I did feel rather nauseous for an hour or two after the swaying stopped, but that's really a small price to pay in exchange for safety.
  As you likely already well know, the resulting devastating tsunami have caused most of the damage and loss of lives. Shizuoka and most of the rest of the coastal areas have had warnings for large tsunami since just after the quake, but it would appear that we are now out of the danger zone for the time being.
  It's rather surreal to turn on the tv and see images of such complete destruction and loss of life so close to home. My heart and prayers go out to all of those whose lives have been affected so much more than ours.