17 March, 14:50 (PST):
* Back with family just outside of Vancouver. The feelings of anxiety fell away as the plane left the ground at Narita airport. It's so nice to be on ground that isn't rumbling and shaking several times a day. No more concerns about gas, water, food, electricity. My family is also relieved. These things have made the trip back to Canada very much worthwhile - EVEN IF the radiation levels in Tokyo don't rise at all, I don't at all regret the decision to leave. The peace of mind and ability to concentrate on work / business is well worth it. I still feel concern for those in Japan - but respect everyone's sovereign right to make their own decisions. Happiness and health to all.

15 March, 18:20:
* Radioactivity levels in Shinjuku, Tokyo are said to now be 21 times higher than normal. This sounds dangerous but I don't think that this is yet at the level which is harmful to human health.
* Foreign countries are becoming nervous. Neighboring countries such as Taiwan and China have cancelled flights into Japan.
* Japan's nuclear safety agency has said there are two holes of 8 sq m (86 sq feet) in a wall of the outer building of the number 4 reactor after an explosion there, Reuters reports.
* It is hard to make decisions as to what action to take because the local government here has a track record of releasing delayed and misleading information in order to avoid causing public panic, and foreign media releases tend to sensationalize the news in order to attract attention and sell stories. People I know here are very much split along these lines. Some have already left the country, and others criticize reports as being sensationalist and insist that nothing is wrong and that they are going to stay where they are. In light of not having very reliable information to go on from either side, my opinion is that it's better to be safe than sorry, and that is why I recommend that people carefully consider their situation and make the best decision. My own feelings are that people should either relocate to the Kansai area in Western Japan or use this opportunity to take a short vacation overseas.
* 22:30: 2 more aftershocks roll through - a small one followed by a medium-sized one. Turns out these were from a 6.0 quake that struck in Shizuoka Prefecture, which is where Mt. Fuji is located, on the West side of Tokyo - the opposite side of Tokyo from Fukushima.

15 March, 14:30:
* Looking at news this morning wasn't comforting, and I've held off on making relocation plans long enough. Managed to book a flight to Vancouver, set to come back to Japan on March 31. (This plan may change depending on the situation here.)
* Certain levels of radioactivity now detected in Tsukuba and Tokyo, meaning almost certainly that there is radioactivity where I live as well. I'm planning to go down to Narita tonight just to make sure I can make it to the airport for the flight tomorrow. Never know how crowded roads will be or when trains will stop running.
* A 30-km no-fly zone has been set up over the area where the reactors are.

14 March, 20:30:
* Wanted to take the train from Abiko to Kashiwa, one stop away, to meet a friend, but when I'd walked 10 minutes from home to Abiko Station, it was all dark. No trains moving, no lights on, no people. A notice on the wall said that it was due to planned power outages. Some convenience stores in the area did have power, and I'd had power all day, but I guess it was a case of "just in case."
* The local gas station is closed, with a notice saying they are simply out of gasoline
* Local convenience stores have their shelves stripped bare of all food and water. Bottled drinks like tea, coffee, cola, and alcohol are the only things left
* BBC news reported that a US aircraft carrier off the coast of Fukushima ran through a cloud of radioactive material, exposing crew members to one month's worth of radioactivity in one hour. The aircraft carriers have since moved farther away from the coast.
* Domestic and foreign "experts" say that there is practically a zero chance of the situation "going Chernobyl", but if it were to do so, the whole Tokyo area would be at risk of fallout, being well within a 500km range.
* BBC: "The operators of the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant say it's possible that cooling water at one of the reactors has evaporated, Reuters reports. The company says it can't rule out the possibility that the nuclear fuel rods in Number 2 reactor were now exposed and could be at risk of meltdown."
* Cabinet Minister Edano says that it's possible that reactors 1, 2, & 3 have already melted down, but that radioactivity measured in the vicinity is well below the levels that are harmful to human health.

14 March, 18:20:
TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Corp) website for scheduled rolling blackouts
* Just had another powerful aftershock here - magnitude 6.2. "The latest after-shock would probably have been felt by many people in their homes as the government advised people not to go to school or work today due to transport disruption and power cuts. The tremor struck off-shore 140km (87 miles) north-east of Tokyo, shaking tall buildings in the capital but the authorities did not issue a tsunami alert, AFP reports. It had a depth of 18km, the US Geological Survey says."
* BBC reports over 100 people with some level of radioactive contamination in Fukushima.
* Police have confirmed 1,597 deaths to date, not including between 200 and 300 bodies in Sendai which recovery teams have so far been unable to reach, Japan's Kyodo news agency reports.
* 11:20am: "Sea level has dropped five metres off Fukushima, confirming imminent arrival of tsunami. Explosion at Reactor 3." (This turned out to be a false alarm.)

14 March, 10:40:
TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Corp) website for scheduled rolling blackouts
* Just had another powerful aftershock here - magnitude 6.2. "The latest after-shock would probably have been felt by many people in their homes as the government advised people not to go to school or work today due to transport disruption and power cuts. The tremor struck off-shore 140km (87 miles) north-east of Tokyo, shaking tall buildings in the capital but the authorities did not issue a tsunami alert, AFP reports. It had a depth of 18km, the US Geological Survey says."
* BBC reports over 100 people with some level of radioactive contamination in Fukushima.
* Police have confirmed 1,597 deaths to date, not including between 200 and 300 bodies in Sendai which recovery teams have so far been unable to reach, Japan's Kyodo news agency reports.
* 11:20am: "Sea level has dropped five metres off Fukushima, confirming imminent arrival of tsunami. Explosion at Reactor 3." (This turned out to be a false alarm.)

14 March, 02:00:
From the BBC: "The Foreign Office says a dedicated crisis unit has been established, and that its travel advice now recommends against all non-essential travel to Tokyo and North East Japan."

13 March, 17:15:
BBC reports: Japan crisis 'worst since WWII': "The US state department is now urging all non-essential government personnel to defer travel to Japan. It also says Americans should avoid tourism and other unnecessary visits to Japan for now."
BBC reports that fuel rods have been exposed at reactor No. 3 in Fukushima 1 station. Japan news seems to be playing it down.
Rotating power outages are due to start in cities in Chiba Prefecture tomorrow (Monday). Areas in each city will be without power for up to 3 hours at a time, two to three times per day. This is apparently supposed to last until the end of April.
Abiko experienced another aftershock tonight, just after midnight local time.
Have water, flashlight, batteries, and food ready in case the problems at the nuclear plant(s) worsen. Tentative plan is to drive about 200km to stay with friends in Kanagawa Prefecture, or perhaps even drive all the way down to Osaka. Roads will be hellishly crowded, but it won't be nearly as bad as trying to get a flight out from Narita airport. I live 500km away from the epicenter of the original quake and 230km away from the "Fukushima 1" nuclear plant where the building (hopefully not the reactor itself) exploded yesterday (Saturday, 12 March). Watching the live news on the BBC website (http://www.bbc.co.uk) to determine if/when I should move. I don't trust Japanese media due to their reputation for releasing "massaged" facts very slowly - sometimes after it's already too late to act on what they're saying. Noone I know has been killed, injured, or is missing.

Ports: Media reports today said that all ports in Japan are closed.
Airport: Flights are in operation at Narita. Some friends I know have evacuated themselves to Europe, Guam, Singapore, etc. If the nuclear situation goes bad, trying to get a last-minute flight out of the country will be extremely hectic to say the least.
Bujinkan: All of the instructors / shihan are fine. Hombu Office is fine. Hombu Dojo is fine. Training is continuing according to the regular schedule.

11 March, 14:46:
Quake hit. My apartment looks like a war zone, but no injuries or structural damage. Just a lot of clean up to do. More details to be filled in later.