In furiosity's post, it was commented that Japan's disaster preparedness is really well put together. And it is.

It really is amazing to see it in action. I work in the public schools in west Tokyo, and was in class today when the earthquake happened. It all went down just like the few earthquake drills I had seen -- kids immediately stopped the game they were playing to listen to the teacher and get under the tables. (The title of this post comes from the few minutes we had left of our lesson before the period was up. The homeroom teacher and I just looked at each other like, whaddwedonow? I led off with that comment. His sixth graders are pretty good. Then I mentioned how surprising it was for me -- as it was for them -- but especially because in Florida? No earthquakes. Hurricanes and tornadoes, but the earthquake thing just engenders this sense of disbelief when it happens...) During the aftershocks, they were all good about having their head protection on and going out to the field by class to wait for their parents to come. There wasn't any damage in my area that I'm aware of, but it was really disconcerting to have such strong tremors for several minutes. Seeing the footage later in the disaster areas, especially of the tsunami, was utterly... unreal. Terrifying. I could have been there, had I taken a different position when I came to Japan. I was first offered a position in Sendai before accepting another -- the big city in that area, home to the airport flooded by the tsunami.

One of the musicians I follow on twitter, along with a few others, have been retweeting information about where to seek shelter in Tokyo if you've been stranded by the train service, and how to find out information about loved ones in Japan. Cell service is down (as well as gas in a lot of areas), but you can access the internet from most cell phones just fine, making Facebook a portal many people -- including the American military -- have been using to update each other on locations and such. Gotta love the information age. I myself am typing from a private booth in an internet cafe, where I was just awoken from a catnap in my recliner from an earthquake alert on my phone.

Couldn't make it home, obviously, so I've spent the night here. Train tracks in Tokyo are labeled as under maintenance by the JR-East website, and I'm hoping they'll start running soon. Safe and sound here, if inconvenienced. (Worried about the state of my apartment -- and hoping that my fish has survived....)

Hi guys. Apparently there are some rumors going around about Haru Comic City being cancelled. There`s footage of fires occurring in Odaiba, actually at one of the buildings near-ish Tokyo Big Sight (HCC`s venue). I`m not sure how or if this will affect the event itself -- akaboo, the organizing company, hasn`t posted any updates on their website yet. Even if the event continues as planned, there`s a chance that some circles may cancel, especially the ones living north of here or on the coast, as they would be the most affected.

As for me, I`m living in the mountainous area of west Tokyo, and while we`re still feeling the aftershocks here, it`s more the cessation of train service that`s affecting everyone out here. Personally, I`m typing from an internet cafe six stations away from home, after being stranded at work. I`ll probably be here all night. Sigh. Not exactly the auspicious start to my vacation I was hoping for.... and tomorrow I was supposed to go to an all night costume club event. Dunno if that's gonna happen now...

In any case, I`ll keep updating this post as I get more information. As it stands, I`m going to assume the event is still on until otherwise notified (by akaboo, the venue, or attending circles). I will, however, skip the whole deposit step, and have full payment due prior to shipping.

If you hear anything from the circles you follow, by all means, let me know.

Please reply here with earthquake-related comments and questions, and at my sales post for order-related inquiries and comments. Thank you for your patience...

UPDATE: Haru Comic City /may/ be on hold. Akaboo staff is in talks with the venue, more information to come later. akaboo.jp/ There hasn't been any formal announcement, but apparently they've been getting swamped with queries, as one may expect. You can find their statement at the above link. (Your Japanese may be better than mine -- as always, I welcome updates from other sources.)

Update the second: HARU COMIC CITY CANCELLED, to be rescheduled at a later date.