Earthquake

[fb747]

Just thought I'd let you all know my FJ is OK i was worried it might have taken a topple but i suppose that's one benefit of having a heavy bike.

I took a ride after the initial shock to have a bit of a stickybeak around and got forced to go down a road full of grey silty mud/water gunk so i finally had a good excuse to give her a good wash.
On my way home i heard what i thought was the loudest thunder i had ever heard then turned around and witnessed the biggest fire ball I've ever seen in real life coming from the gas plant exploding near my apartment in Chiba.
Quite an experience and I'm getting sick of our building wobbling like jelly everytime there's an aftershock... might go for a ride.

Cheers, Ben from Japan.

[Lotsokids]

Good to hear you are O.K., Ben.

[fb747]

Some pics from my balcony, not the best quality though.



Above is just a pic of what I assume is the plant frantically trying to burn any fuel to stop further explosions. I was much closer when it first went up.



Above is what I assume is the smoke cloud created when they finally extinguished the fire.

[Travis398]

Ben, it looks pretty bad.

Glad the FJ is okay.

[racerman_27410]

I'm Happy to hear you are ok...... how close are you to those nuclear power plants ?

take care of yourself brother!

[dbelch]

That was a nasty hit.  Just heard from some of our friends in Hachinohe.  They are fine.  The church and kindergarden we built for them has enought PL Premium construction adhesive in it to sink a ship...it held up fine.  Glad to get the good news.  Glad for a tough building code (although we cursed it more then a few times while we we're there)!

[Mark Olson]

that is a bad situation over there, stay safe.

[carsick]

Ben,
No kidding around, that's some serious shit you're right in the middle of! We're thinking about you, keep us informed and wear your lead underwear.
Doug

[Harvy]

Ben.......was thinking about you the other day when we heard of the Quake......glad to see you are ok buddy!

Heading home - or staying on?


Harvy

[fb747]

I'm about 250 ks from the nuke plant so no worries about turning into a ninja turtle. We were lucky to be so far away from the epicenter and tsunami unlike many other poor souls, may they rest in peace.
One of the guys from the bike club I'm a member of is now living out of his car in a school car park.
Dramas now are lack of power fuel and food but that will only be until the expressways are given the all clear.
Thanks for your kind words.

Cheers, Ben.

[Mike 86 in San Dimas]

Saw your post, I had to reply, know idea what to say. Glad to hear your OK.  I know the country will bonce back!
Keep the FJ tied down.
Mike

[fb747]

Situations progressively turning to shit. Making a run for it tomorrow. Do we have any FJers in Thailand??? bring on the warm beach and jungle juice

[markmartin]

Situations progressively turning to shit. Making a run for it tomorrow. Do we have any FJers in Thailand??? bring on the warm beach and jungle juice

Given what I'm seeing on the evening news, that sounds like a good plan.  Good luck!

Mark

[weymouth399]

Run, Run fast,  get the hell out of there. Our thoughts and prayers to all affected.

Bob w

[fb747]

Carsick sent a message wondering if I'm still around so I thought I'd drag this old thread up to say that all is well back in Japan.

The nuke plant seems to have calmed down a bit and the American embassy issued a statement saying that anyone out of the 50km radius has nothing to worry about. Aftershocks are still going strong but you kind of just get used to getting up to make sure the flatscreen doesn't fall over.
Were taking precautions like only consuming bottled water and staying away from seafood.

Overall its back to normal, or as normal as it gets in Japan I suppose and the bike is looking and going better than ever. It's starting to warm up now so I cant wait to get some touring and skyline passes in soon