Sunday, March 13, 2011

Tokyo Waits for the Other Shoe

Things are extremely odd in Tokyo right now.  On the one hand, many people have returned to work, trains are largely running again, the projected blackout was postponed, and the streets are completely calm.  On the other hand, retail stores are full of people stocking up on water, batteries, flashlights, and candles.  Shelves in convenience stores and places like Don Quixote (sort of like Wal-mart) are emptying of perishables such as bread.  Even smaller stores are getting raided (and by raided, I mean "politely queued up to").  My local butcher is quickly running low.  I got the last pack of tea candles at Tokyu Grocery, which is rationing all drinks to 3 PET bottles per customer.  It seems most people are still unsure what the ripple effects of the quake are going to be.

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