We Survived Our First Typhoon

Japan is prone to lots of typhoons. We are in typhoon season now. When I lived here before, I usually experienced a couple of typhoons per season. They are generally not as big as hurricanes and generally result in a lot of wind, heavy rain and some light flooding. However, the last year I lived here I experienced one that tore the roof off of several buildings and uprooted some trees.

A strong typhoon was scheduled to hit Tokyo yesterday afternoon and last most of the night. Lots of trains and flights were canceled in advance. A lot of evening events were canceled in advance. Terry's interview was rescheduled by the interviewer. Terry's drinking plans with a grad school friend were canceled.

During the day yesterday there were periods of heavy rain and gusts of wind. During the night there were more periods of heavy rain and gusty winds. When we woke up this morning, the news reported that the typhoon had mostly passed through and continued its course back out to sea. Some areas south of Tokyo were hit hard, receiving some damage. Quite a bit of localized flooding was seen on TV. And several buildings had their roof blown off. All in all, Japan go off pretty lucky on this one as it was a pretty strong one.

So, between the narrow streets filled with cars, people and bicycles weaving in and out of each other, the earthquakes, and the typhoons, we are never at a loss for some excitement.

Since it is early in the typhoon season, we are expecting more encounters until sometime in late October.