Alert!

(First, an apology for disappearing from the blog lately - have been out of the danchi on various excursions, and my internet's been down. I promise to be better now.)

Today, about five minutes ago (4:45 in the afternoon) my section looked up when it heard the crackle of the PA system. No one was speaking, so we instinctively looked over to the microphone (visible from our desks). Miho, the voice of our Shitara Reports (Koho Shitara) was standing next to another town hall worker as he fiddled with the buttons.

Earlier this month, I was woken by a rather strong earthquake (no damage, but felt oddly nostalgic as the inside of my apartment transformed into the inside of a New York subway car). It was the strongest of a series of countless quakes that week, and put everyone a little on edge, as we are expecting a large earthquke in this general region (and here I've watered down the scale of the expected shaking so that my mom will still be able to sleep...) And on top of that, the typhoon season is far from over, with Typhoon 26 dumping on us for the past couple days. Today we finally had what seemed to be a perfectly clear day.

As the static went on, I was sure they were going to warn of a nearby erupting volcano, or some dangerous pollution in Shitara's prized water. When the announcement began, however, I couldn't help giggling. Apparently, taking advantage of the nice weather, a crafty con-artist had been posing as a door to door salesperson right here in the town. I wasn't sure what sort of thing the person was doing (I think getting people to enter into phony contracts and taking their money), but it seemed somehow comical that they made an announcement over the town loudspeakers to beware of this person, rather than stealthily arresting him or her and recovering the money. But then, I don't know anything about running a small town. The elderly, a major demographic in rural Japan, are extremely trusting, so it's a protective measure for them.

Well, I can make no promises for my personal safety in case of a natural disaster, but if there is anything I am probably immune to, it will be phony Japanese door-to-door salespeople. And the weird Hokkaido Milk Truck that comes around to the Danchi every few days.