(Sendai on the left is just 189 miles North Northeast of Tokyo on the
right, but considering the difference in life for the citizens of the two
cities after the quake & tsunami, it might as well be 1000 miles away)

by Chuck Wolk

When disasters strike somewhere in the world, those of us not effected will most likely watch the news or even see videos and pictures online to see what happened. When we're finished watching, we will either turn off the television or change the channel, those who surf will eventually log off the internet and shutdown our computers as we continue our normal uninterrupted lives. However, unless we ourselves have gone through similar disasters, we can never truly understand fully what the people are going through. I guess that's why it's so easy to forget about others who are suffering as we live our lives as before. Well, just like you and me, there are many Japanese people who do the same thing. Believe it or not, right now there are millions of Japanese citizens who's lives go on as before, because they don't live in the areas devastated and to be quite honest many of them may not even have friends and relatives who do.

Don't get me wrong, I do believe that the Japanese people as a whole are hurting today and will for some time. Just like Americans who watched the events unfold before our eyes over 9 years ago on 911, they too have just witnessed their own countrymen go through a similar tragedy. They realize that amidst the total carnage they see on television, that many hundreds of thousands of their countrymen in cities like Sendai, Yamada, Minami, Natori, and others must count on the shelter of any building still standing as they are given a bowl of rice and maybe a bottle of fresh water for their meal. Their bed will be a hard floor with a blanket to keep them warm, because their only possession left may be the cloths they are wearing. Cloths that are drenched in mud, blood, sweat, and tears clinging to their body as tightly as they cling to their loved ones to comfort each other. If they even have loved that survived the multiple disaster.

Not so in Tokyo, where children a right now riding their bikes as little girls scream with joy in the afternoon sun on the schoolyard playground. In cities like Chiba, there are workers who are putting out the fresh vegetables for the customers coming to shop. Then there is the couple who are spending the afternoon together as they sit on a park bench as they watch an entertainer perform tricks for them. There is also the business man who talks on his cell phone as he eats a sandwich at a corner cafe, and the Ramen shop worker who cheerfully greets customers as they enter his business to purchase lunch before heading back to work. Life, as these people know it goes on as before. For many in the cities unaffected by the disaster, they may as well live in America for how much their lives have been interrupted.

Well, that is what I offer below, some photos I found which were taken in the last few days in Tokyo, Chiba, and Shinagawa. It's been five days since the earthquake that triggered a massive tsunami, and crippled a power plant that could trigger a possible nuclear meltdown. However, life still goes on for millions of Japanese citizens as it did before. Check out the pictures and be comforted to know that while their country may suffer the consequences of the historic earthquake for years to come, the people still do what they must. Just as we did after 911and Katrina. That is what we all must do to keep from going insane, continue and persevere the best way we know how. One day at a time. For those who know Christ, life is always easier to continue, because we know this world is just temporary. We know, that which He has promised will be forever.

Life Continues in In Japan

Life still goes on with work, shopping, eating, & visiting. (Tokyo)

A stocked convenience store and ATM stand ready to serve. (Tokyo)

Beer and package deliveries go on as normal. (Tokyo)

A family picnics and plays in Yoyogi Park. (Tokyo)

Restaurants serve. People eat.(Tokyo)

Shibuya Crossing's famous screens have gone dark to save power, but there's still life below them. (Tokyo)

Ramen shop staff greet customers.(Tokyo)

While there's a noticeable decrease in prepared food, there's still enough in stock, and this guy has a seemingly infinite choice of beverages to wash it down. (Tokyo)

A performer captivates his small, but mesmerized audience.(Tokyo)

Choices of what to eat, not when will you eat are on this persons mind. (Tokyo)

Oblivious to the possibility of causing another quake, these kids jump rope in Yoyogi Park. (Tokyo)

Takeshita Street in Harajuku is generally open, with even a bit of bustle.(Tokyo)

The situation is never so bad you can't tease your brother.(Tokyo)

While millions suffer the loss of loved ones, love blossoms for this couple.(Tokyo)

A couple buys crêpes and enjoys the day. (Tokyo)

Kids play in the park (Chiba)

Vegetable may be scarce for those in the devestated parts of Japan, but they are plentiful in this shop (Chiba)

Park staff smile while inspecting the grounds, as a woman navigates around one of the few signs that a historic earthquake hit her country just a few days ago. (Chiba)

While it seems strange to relax with all those suffering, that is what these customers do as they sit in a cafe friends (Chiba)

Schedules continue as people still must get to work or home for dinner, while those in the devastated areas have no job because the businesses are gone and they have no place to go home to. (Chiba)