ONE person who did not call, text or email was my sister Cindy in Canada, so I called her, and asked “why did you not call to check on my family and me?,”  Her reply was short and simple.  YOU DON’T NEED SAVING YOU WOULD BE SAVING EVERYONE ELSE!  As an experienced deep backcountry explorer, adventurist who has been in some tight spots my sister was correct, as I have been lead on more than one rescue…‼️ 

MY REPLY TO EMAILS AND TEXTS HAVE BEEN AS FOLLOWED BELOW! 

Thank you for your concern and reaching out.  For Earthquake info Please use “Reference Map & Numbers”,  Earthquake epic center was #1at Toyama-Wan, and I have been warning friends to avoid this region for over a year, due to pre-shocks, we knew this region was going to be hit by an earthquake, but when is always the big question?! And you can not live life in anticipation of these events, but its best, to be safe and educated on what to do in such natural calamities.  #2, My family and I usually enjoy camping and days at the beaches along this coastline in Spring and Autumn, but this year we did not due to the heightened possibility of a high intensity seismic activity.  #3, This location is where I have my historical 100 year old traditional Japanese home, friends, neighbors and colleagues in this region are fine along with property, my home was checked by three different friends from the inside out with no damage.  Japanese traditional homes are built like a Samurai Castle with no nails, and our Kominka  has gone through about 10 major earthquakes and remains standing strong and true, plus there is rock and rivers below the surface of sand where our house sits.  But in many parts along the coastline there is only sand under homes, and some of these homes experience liquefaction, luckily this is the rainy season and there is much moisture in the sand, if it were the dry season the damage may have been worse?  #4, Is my main home in Kanagawa, plus we have a cottage in the mountains 60 min from Mt. Fuji, the earthquake was minor. 

As an adventurer photography workshop leader residing in Japan, my number ONE job is to be sure of my clients and teams safety.  My job description includes accurate reading of weather charts, watching for typhoons, rough weather systems with strong winds, and knowing which roads to avoid in case of landslides, I assure you torrential rains, cyclone bombs and blizzards are no joy to be out and about in the elements.  TRUST ME, in the event of natural calamities on your visit to Japan, you want your leader to be an experienced local, who can make calm and sound calls from experience, and not one who listens to the sensationalism of news reporting for ratings, or someone who is not a local and does not even know the emergency phone numbers in Japan.  And your photo workshops leader should have an actual back up plan for the back up plan and a back up plan just in case!, thankfully I have never had to use up all of my backup plans.   

The more complex job description I have, is knowing the most active seismic regions and avoid them if a big one is on the horizon.  A few years ago I and other amateur seismologists  were watching closely the Islands off of North of Hokkaido held by Russia, that were experiencing an alarming amount of small earthquakes, that appeared to be pre shocks, we attained this info from historical data and Japan agencies dedicated to seismic activity that house arguably the worlds most experienced seismologists, so that year we did not use lodgings along the coastline but stayed inland for safety.  Early last year the region was finally rocked by a large earthquake and thankfully only a small tsunami.  This year we will use lodgings along the coastline as seismic activity is normal, and it is a great location to spot wildlife such as Ezo Sika Deer, Steller’s Sea Eagles, White-tailed eagles, of course we will also use lodgings inland for Hokkaido minimalist landscapes, and to spot the Shima Enaga, Blakiston's fish owl, among other inland wildlife, the only downside to inland lodging is during windy snowy conditions there are white outs, and we may have to bunker down for a day.  ☞Safety First‼️