Soooo...Japan?

“Hey...Don't ever let somebody tell you you can't do something...You gotta dream, you gotta protect it. People can't do something themselves, they wanna tell you you can't do it. You want something, go get it. Period.”Chris Gardner (Will Smith) The Pursuit of Happyness

Distraction is a winning tool at the moment. I mentioned in one of my previous entries that Mother Nature is kicking our arses at the moment and she’s showing no signs of stopping! What has happened in Japan is truly awful but I’m trying to avoid thinking about it too much.

At the moment it is advised that people should only travel to Japan if it is essential. For future trips it is a case of waiting until the damage has been assessed. With the threat of aftershocks and the continued problems at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, it’s not really determined when that time might be. So in the meantime I’m just going to wait it out and see what happens. This, I feel, is the logical route. Others who are in the same position as me, however, seem to have a different approach. Either panic or pure idiocy…perhaps both. The media doesn’t help I guess but it’s comforting to know that there are people out there who are more of a stresshead than I am!

The Lonely Planet Thorn Tree forum is a perfect platform for this. We have the “heeey it’ll be alreeeet” attitude or the “you‘d be crazy to go! The risk is too high.” thought train. A lot of people aren’t even hanging about to find out whether it’s ok to go when they depart and are cancelling now. Some are doing this purely for safety reasons and would rather go when everything has settled down. This is especially true with families and those taking youngsters – fair enough in my opinion. But some fear that they'd offend locals if they went and don't want to seem like they're having fun while everyone around them is in mourning. They also believe they'd be a drain on their already depleted resources. Not just food and drink, but their hospitals too. I'm not sure what those people get up to on their trips but when I travel abroad the hospital is the last place I'd want to visit. Heck, in my own country the hospital is the last place I want to visit!! At this point in time, I can kind of understand their thinking as food and drink supplies are low in some areas. But it can't be predicted what state Japan will be in in a couple of weeks or months time. I'm not going to be so hasty. Japan is the first stop on my trip and I've had my heart set on visiting for a long time now. I don’t plan on skipping down the street singing "sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. Everything that's wonderful is what I feel when weeee're together" although I did plan on devour a sushi bar or two. Is it selfish that I want to visit this beautiful country? If all the tourists run scared then their economy is almost certain to skydive which would be even worse.

Some people are asking forum users for advice on whether they should visit in a few weeks or even a couple of month's time. It's not just me who thinks that is an impossible question to ask. I love one response:
"...you don't need anonymous posters to justify your reason either way, do you?"
Some are waiting for others to make that decision for them. For me it's simple. If it's safe, I'm going.

With the research that I have done, I have found Japan to be a very friendly and welcoming country. Japanese people are more than happy to help and are encouraging when it comes to speaking their language. Something which reassured me as I’m sure there will be plenty of times when I’m ordering food and in fact propose marriage or something mad like that. I am forever putting my foot in it. Bridget Jones has NOTHING on me! Obviously I cannot speak for the whole of Japan but I’m sure they wouldn’t turn their backs on visitors. I think a lot people place a social stigma on “tourists” like we’re all loud, brash, ignorant louts who have no regard for anyone but ourselves. That and the dreaded backpacker! Oooo. Sheesh, get a grip.

There's still time for things to settle down before I go so I’m choosing to stay optimistic (not like me whatsoever!). There's no point in getting worked up over something I have no control over. There's no point in thinking of the what ifs and try and plan what I should do if I can't go. Instead, I’ve decided to focus my energy on something more productive...my shopping list. So Japan might not have a choice in the matter…I have insect repellent, I’m going dammit!