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Although the Fukushima Plant continues make headlines, Bob Bury, the former clinical lead for the U.K.’s Royal College of Radiologists, says that a number of countries and cities around the world have naturally occurring radiation levels that exceed Tokyo’s, even during this time of crisis. Meanwhile, the U.K. Health Protection Agency estimates that the average British citizen is exposed to a yearly average of radiation that is more than double that of the current levels in Tokyo. A trip to Hong Kong or even a weekend jaunt down to Cornwall would be more radioactive than the same time spent in Tokyo today.* This doesn’t mean, of course, that you should start worrying about U.K. radiation levels, merely that the current situation in Tokyo is far safer than many of us would ever care to imagine.
All of us at InsideJapan understand how difficult it is to get an idea of what the situation in Japan is really like but I think these recent cell-phone photos are a nice reminder that life and travel in most of Japan is going on as normal, despite the fact that our thoughts and prayers remain with those in the North.
Sometimes Mt. Fuji can be seen in the background, behind these famous “wedded rocks”. No matter how many times I visit, this site simply never gets old. When I make it to Ise I always try to come pay my respects to Meoto-iwa.
On Kashkikojima, our hotel looked out over this beautiful bay. Every night, a stunning sunset lit up the skies!
While foreigners have been staying away, the Japanese are still coming out, fundraising for the disaster up north and enjoying the beautiful spring weather.
Just a few days ago, on a sunny spring day just outside of Nara, I walked with a group of British travellers up 399 steps to a temple where Buddhist monks sat chanting. Magical!
These carp are bigger than they look. Kanazawa has far too many sights for me to squeeze in to a single day but every time I come I make sure to visit the old Nomura samurai house.
The information in the opening article of this blog was all taken from a recent newspaper article: The Japan Times (2nd April 2011) ‘Despite crisis, radiation in Hong Kong exceeds Tokyo.