Banana Pancake Trail

TripSavvy / Evan Polenghi

To learn more about the major routes for backpackers in Asia, click here.

When I was traveling around Asia in my late twenties, I had never heard of the Banana Pancake Trail.  At the end of the day, though, I ended up stopping at several of these destinations.  I also ate a fair number of banana pancakes!

Scratching My Head

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There have been 3x where I have been down in a metro system in an international metropolis, standing in front of a map, wondering to myself, "How am I going to figure this one out?"  First, was in Tokyo.  A Japanese girl helped me out then, thank goodness.  Second time, I was in Seoul, with Kade.  And the third time was after our first day walking in Moscow.  I told Kade, "Let's just sit and relax for a while.  I cannot think about that map. It's too overwhelming."

The World's Ten Busiest Metros

My personal travel rankings

The First Place

This question and my response was from an email years ago.

Tell me more about how/why you decided to head to Thailand in the first place.  Did you already have some connections?

Traveled first to Japan in Feb 2000, then flew to Hong Kong a month later,  After ten days in HK, I flew to Bangkok.  I arrived in Bangkok in March 2000.  No connections.  I landed at the airport, and met a German girl.  We actually had a whirlwind romance and traveled around Thailand together.  Seriously.

I only came here because people in Japan and Hong Kong said it's an interesting place.  I was on the adventure of a lifetime and wanted to see as much as possible.  Six months and 12k later, I had traveled to Japan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam.  What's funny is that when I started out, I was thinking about returning to law school in Alabama - I had visited a campus and class back in the USA - or becoming a kind of missionary in Asia.  I had gotten back on an evangelical kick somewhat, and was thinking of possibilities.  It was only in Bali, four months into travelling when I started thinking that living in Asia would be stimulating.  I chose Bangkok because of its locale, and because I had met Kade and started falling in love.

More thoughts today:  I did more of a semi-backpacking trip.  Although I stayed in hostels on a few occasions, I stayed in more moderately-priced hotels when I wanted.  And I would fly if need be.  I also didn't skimp when it came to eating.  I enjoyed myself.  However, I carried around a huge backpack as my luggage, and I stayed in or close by the backpacker areas.  One reason:  I could meet other travelers that way - from all over the world.   In coming days I will list some things I did during the six months that clearly fell into the backpacker category, and also list out some things I did that the typical backpacker probably wouldn't try.  Keep in mind, backpackers are traveling for extended periods (a year or more sometimes), and therefore need to budget for the entire journey.  For that reason, doing things "on the cheap" is a deserved stereotype of backpacking.  A true backpacker would have taken my 12K and traveled for a year, and not just six months.  Or, they might have just spent 6K doing the route I did.  And then there are people backpacking who come from rich families and they are traveling for the experience with their friends, and maybe just to test themselves.  Or maybe their rich parents don't just toss their money their way.   The kids work, save up, and then they go.  And backpackers can be of any age.  I also just tell people, especially Americans or people from countries where English is the native language, you can always go teach English, and use that place as a base to travel in the area.  That way, you have money coming in.  If you were smart and willing, you could break even over the course of a year.  Sometimes people say, "I don't have the money to go."  That's why I tell them about teaching.  There are also other alternatives.

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This is not the backpack brand I used.  I can't really recall what I had actually.  But it's very similar in size and design, and the same color.  I bought it online (in the early years of online purchasing), and it arrived at my home in Dothan, Alabama.  I remember being so excited to get it.

Travel Diary

Long before my blog, and several years before Youtube and my first smartphone, I got a novel idea (at least I thought it was!) when I was in Tokyo in 2000 starting my Asia travels:  I was going to buy a micro-cassette recorder and record some daily thoughts while traveling.  Japan was the first country, and I was going other places.  So I was just thinking, why not give some real-time thoughts about what I was seeing and doing?!?  It would be a diary of sorts.  There were times I would record when I was in coffee shops, on park benches, while on boats going to islands and on bus trips.  Many times, I would wait till I returned to my room at the end of a day, and then recap the day's events.  I wasn't always disciplined, and so there times I was trying to recall what I had done the day before, or even the day before that.  But for the most, I kept with it, and made it a habit.  In all, I filled up about 16 tapes, and numbered them in chronological order.  I ended up tossing two or three because I was revealing too much about my escapades (I thought!) and wondered it could be embarrass some people.  And there were times, too, when I was kind of being silly, and just didn't think it made sense to hold on to that material.  Crazy-sounding I know.  I kept most, though, and I have been working to convert them to audio files and Word documents.  Ultimately, I may add some of the more interesting content to my travel blog.  One gem I discovered - and you can imagine dragging all this back out almost twenty years after the fact - was meeting my wife for the very first time.  I was smitten!!

I bought that first micro-cassette recorder in Tokyo with the help of Cumo, a young lady I met on the Tokyo subway.  She enjoyed showing me around the city, and we spent a few days together.  One night she took me to an area known for electronics - either in Shibuya or Shinjiku - and that's where my novel idea turned into action.

Turning Back The Clock?

I got a facial cleanse in Bali back in 2000.  I had ridden a motorbike with my friend Putu, and she thought we should stop at a salon.  This was not a fancy place.  And just like with haircuts and massages, facials were very inexpensive.  I might have even gotten a shoulder massage out of this one!

Bali Excursions

Patung Catur Muka Monument

center of Klungklung, Bali

Kerta Gosa in Klungkung, Bali

When you're in Bali, and you're wearing shorts, if you're going to a temple, be ready to wrap a sarong around your waist.  Otherwise, you won't be allowed to enter.  Here I am with a German tourist in front of the Elephant Cave, which was built in the 9th century.  After that (below), we went to Besakih Temple.  Unfortunately, the skies opened up and we were caught in real downpour.  We ended up only viewing the temple from the bottom of the massive stairs.  My biggest regret about my trips to Bali is not taking advantage of more small group tours, and not exploring even more of the island.  I could definitely return.

Bangkok Perks

I had this brunch once in Bangkok.  I was meeting a German lady I had befriended years before, and she treated me.  The JW Marriott is on the same soi (small lane) as The Atlanta Hotel, where I stayed several nights in 2000.  When I stayed there, I would often walk down to the Marriott, and hang out on a comfy sofa or chair in their lobby.  I would order a fruit shake - often, coconut or cantaloupe - and a snack mix.  I would always grab their free New York Times, and then read as much as could.  But the greatest treat was flirting with the female staff, who were dressed impeccably, spoke pretty good English and seemed very happy to wait on me.  I would stay usually for an hour at least.  I discovered, when I was an expat living in Bangkok, the savviest expats were those who knew which hotel lobbies were best for resting during a long lull between classes (if you were an ESL teacher), or ideal for kicking back and reading a newspaper or talking politics with a friend, or simply walking in to use a super clean, very plush restroom without having to be a guest.  I very quickly became savvy - let's put it that way.  Probably helps to be a white male (or somebody who clearly looks like a tourist).  It also is a plus to walk with confidence, and with a purpose.  What's worse case scenario?  "Are you guest?"  "No, but I just want to use the lobby restroom."  "Sorry, it's only for guests."  "Okay. No problem."  How many times do you think that happened?  Zero.  And I have been in the lobbies of most of the big name hotels in Bangkok!

JW Marriott Lobby

Not Your Everyday Clock

Kade gave me this clock as a birthday gift in 2000.  She was working on in secretly, using a shop in the Victory Monument area of Bangkok.  And I am pretty sure we were eating a bowl noodles (street food) when she surprised me with it.  I then took it back to the USA  a few days later, and shared it with everyone - photo one.  I then brought it back to Bangkok and kept it my first apartment - photo two.  Unfortunately, the Thailand heat ended up causing the paper backing to fade.

Kadesarin Topratheep

my first photo of Kade

Bangkok, 2000

 

We got married in 2003.

Casa Luna

 

When I was in Bali, Casa Luna restaurant was a regular spot I would visit.  I'd have breakfast there on occasion, and sometimes lunch and dinner.  My favorite activity at Casa Luna was watching movies in the basement.  These movies would be listed on a sign out front, and for travelers like myself, it was a great way to relax.  The movies didn't cost anything, but you typically would order dinner, dessert and drinks.  My go-to was the brownie with ice cream!  Another facet I liked about Casa Luna's movie night was being able to meet other travelers and expats.  Two Americans - a young lady from California and a guy named Tim - became "friends" during my stay in Indonesia. 

Click here for Google Maps images of Casa Luna in Ubud, Bali.

When life hands you lemons.....

In the mountains of Northern Thailand

In a hotel lobby in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

These photos were both taken in 2000, within two months of each other.  I had decided to completely shave my head to see what it looked and felt like.  In an e-mail (below) I sent to my cousin Jeff in 2003, I gave my rationale for going with the shaved head look.  In fairness, I let it grow back out for a while - still keeping it fairly short, of course.  It wasn't until 2004 when I finally just bought a Mach 3 razor and started shaving my own head at home - clip it short, and then use the razor.  And I have been doing it this way ever since.

Since we are in the hair-challenged club, as are most of our male relatives, I thought you would enjoy these tips on making bald beautiful.  Right now, I've got a nice, receding hairline, but it's not too drastic.  Where I'm really balding though, is on the crown of my head.  I first noticed it during my travels three years ago when I was in high-tech Tokyo on an elevator in one of their mammoth music/book stores.  The elevators, much like much of the rest of the city, are equipped with security cameras that show an image of the backs, tops and fronts of people's heads.  You can't help but see your weak spots!  Well, rather than wallow in self-pity, I concluded it was best if I started to cut my hair really, really short.  And, about that time, I read where actors Bruce Willis and other big stars were celebrating the resurgence of beautiful, bald heads by sporting goatees and skinheads.  What other incentive did I need?  Plus, when you're traveling by yourself for six months, with absolutely no connection to the past or future, it's a perfect time to "let your hair down."  In Malaysia, an Indian barber obliged my wish to get a shaved head.  It was wonderful!  Pretty soon, I started liking the look.  As time passed, I would get comments from barbers, buddies of mine and even a large # of ladies, that my head had a nice, round shape and the skinhead-look actually looked really good.  See, Jeff, what I'm doing is trying to build up my confidence.  Ha!  Really, Kade will tell you, I get a haircut about once a week.  In a tropical climate it feels wonderful and it's in vogue these days.  I say all this to you simply to find out what your preferences are for your own hair (what's remaining!).  Have you ever just shaved your head or simply used clippers to buzz your hair down to the scalp?   The website with the tips is HERE.

Lonely Planet

When I was traveling around Asia in 2000, Lonely Planet guidebooks were the source I would turn to.  Not sure when I actually purchased my first one, but I regularly perused copies in bookstores until I did.  And I would see them all around Bangkok, especially on Khao San Road, where I was staying.  You could buy new editions or second-hand ones.  At the time, I didn't know any names behind Lonely Planet.  Eventually, though, I discovered that the author of the first Lonely Planet on Thailand was Joe Cummings, an American  author/explorer/musician who, at the time, was residing in Chiang Mai.  Wish I could have met him!

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The Truth About Life as a Travel Writer:  Interview with Lonely Planet Writer and Travel Guru, Joe Cummings

Bangkok Podcast interview with Joe Cummings

Thatvee Bookstore - Khao San Road

used books for sale in Bangkok

Lonely Planet Thailand online

No Denying It

When I was in Singapore, backpacking around in 2000, I went to a barber to get a trim.   When I was sitting in the barber chair, I looked in the mirror, and there was this big reflection from a large mirror that was up above and behind me.  There was the back and top of my head!  I didn't just have a receding hairline; the crown was giving way.  I had gotten signals that this was happening, but this was maybe my final aha moment.  I got a little hot under the collar (literally), took a deep breath and started working through the denial stage.  The barber went ahead and did a fine job, but only a month or so later would I take the plunge and have my head completely shaved for the first time.  To read about my transformation to the shaved head look, click here.  I guess the moral of the story is:  You never know what beasts you will confront when out of your comfort zone.

Reversing Tracks

This is in the lobby of a Kuala Lumpur hotel.  A Thai/Malaysian lady I had seen a movie with a day or two earlier dropped by to say goodbye.  I was focused on moving north into Thailand.  I was smiling, in big part, because I had been to a barber that day and had gotten my head shaved for the first time.  I share about it here.

This is a super-friendly Italian couple that shared a songthaew (truck taxi) with me (and lots of others) once I arrived on Koh Samui.  I ended up staying in a bungalow a resort they recommended.  And then another day, they took me to the Fisherman's Village.  I went spearfishing with them, and we had an Thai/Italian seafood meal that was exceptional.

Back in Bangkok, I met Rung (right).  She and her friend took me to Planet Hollywood.  Another day they met me for ice cream at Swensen's, and then we saw this movie.

After Indonesia, I reversed my tracks, heading back up the Malaysian/Thai peninsula. I flew from Denpasar (capital of Bali) to Singapore, and then took the 'jungle railway' to Malaysia and on to Koh Samui, a lovely Thai island.  I then took a train back to Bangkok and checked into the Atlanta Hotel.  On this return visit to Bangkok I reconnected with Kade. I had first met her almost three months earlier when I had visited the Jim Thompson House Museum, where she worked. Undoubtedly, once I saw her again, I was under her spell.  It was then that concluded that I would try living and working in Bangkok.  First, though, was one more trip: Vietnam.

Planet Hollywood opened in Bangkok in 1997.

Travel & Movies

My cousin in Tokyo (Carol) introduced me to this fascinating movie.  We watched it together in her home in Roppongi.

When you're traveling the way I was, you often have some time to kill.  More often than not, I did it just to take a break, on a hot afternoon.  This movie I saw near Pacific Place mall in Hong Kong. I had gone over to search for movie times. I ended up meeting a young lady from the Philippines, and she and I made an arrangement to return to the theater at a certain time to watch the movie together. 

This was one I also saw in Hong Kong - around the corner from the guesthouse where I was staying. 

I didn't know about the book or even the movie prior to traveling to Thailand.  I'm pretty sure a pirated copy was played on a big TV at a restaurant somewhere.  Viewing movies while or after eating was a common activity for the backpacking set.

Fascinating storyline, and a movie I have seen more than once. Saw it first in a movie theater in Singapore. In fact, while I was sitting there in the theater in Singapore, an Asian girl was on her mobile phone. A Westerner (tourist or expat) jumped up and walked over to her and told her to shut the phone off.

I had returned to Bangkok.   I had met Rung and one of her friends at World Trade Center (today called Central World).  They wanted to see this movie, and I went with them.  Rung worked at Asia Books, and her friend worked in an art gallery.

I saw tons of movies during the six months I traveled around Asia.  Some I saw at movie theaters; many I saw at restaurants.  I will continue updating this post.

Travel & Music

In the early '80s, my dad and step-mom took us to an ALABAMA concert in Ozark, AL. It was my first real concert, ever.  Our seats were in the balcony, to the left of the stage. The song "Mountain Music" was one of my favorites. Years later, in Uzbekistan, when I felt homesick, I would play an ALABAMA greatest hits album and sing all the lyrics. I would even envision ALABAMA to Fort Payne, AL with Dad, he drove me up to the front gate of Randy Owen's (ALABAMA's lead singer) house. Feels So Right was inscribed on the wrought-iron gate. Another interesting ALABAMA story: Dad was at a cow sale in Fort Payne. During the sale, he bowed out of a bid to buy a cow he really wanted, only to discover that the gentleman who outbid him was an ALABAMA band member - I think, Teddy Gentry. I saw ALABAMA two other times in concert. The last one was in Dothan in the '90s.

I did not even know who Keith Whitley was until my Mobile, Alabama friend introduced me to him during our stint in Uzbekistan.  His name had never even registered with me.  And I grew up in the Deep South.  I was way more into pop music I guess.

In 2000, when I was in Ubud, the cultural capital of Bali (Indonesia), I bought some pirated music CDs (might have even been cassettes even).  One was a Bryan Adams CD. Cloud Number Nine, Back To You, I'm Ready and Heaven were the songs I loved the most. One perfect night, while all alone in a guesthouse swimming pool, I listened to Cloud Number Nine, and it moved me like no other. Being in that idyllic environment was part of it. Falling in love was another big part! This interest in Bryan Adams music stems from this time in Bali, and it was a big reason why Kade and I saw him in Vegas last year.

During my time in Thailand, from 2000-2005, these songs were very popular.  Kade was a huge Backstreet Boys fan!!!

Thailand to Malaysia, 1952

I love these vintage films!  I took a bus and train on this very route in 2000.

Tokyo

Tokyo gave me my first impression of Japan, and what an impression it made!  When I arrived in Tokyo, I went east to Chiba, an area outside Tokyo where I met up with a guy from Dothan, AL and some of his friends.  I stayed with them for a few days.  One day in Chiba I walked inside a supermarket, and was simply amazed at the extensive varieties of cold coffees, packaged in cartons and cans and displayed just down from the milk.  Supermarkets in any country grab my attention!  I love to eat and consume anything that's yummy.  That, being from a small town and possibly having some OCD or ADD, can all make a supermarket a source of incredible fascination.  And, I must say, when it comes to products and food items, from the packaging to the contents, the Japanese do it quite well!  Here's a cool video of the inside of Japanese supermarket.  Look familiar?

Tom (the guy from Dothan) and his friends me into Tokyo, where I got a soft introduction to the mammoth city, if doing anything softly in that city is possible.  I got my first authentic Japanese meal, gyoza.  Of course, I was intrigued by the whole experience - the food, the fact my friends had to use Japanese and the fact we the only Westerners in the restaurant.  On another occasion, the guys took me one evening to a very fashionable, neon-lit area of Tokyo for dinner.  I believe we ate Italian!

As luck would have it, I had a relative in Tokyo -  one I didn't even know!  Should have known her.  Turns out our family is a pretty close one, genetically anyway.  I was certainly thrilled to know that my cousin Carol and her family, who had once lived in Malaysia and Thailand, were now residing in Tokyo.  I met Carol the first time at a yakitori restaurant in Tokyo.  Is it just the high from traveling, or was that not the most delicious grilled chicken I'd ever eaten?  And we do chicken very well in the US!!!  I ended up staying with Carol's family for a couple of weeks, using their home as a base to explore other parts of the city and country. 

Carol, Inji and Sarah (Maryland)

Jerry, Carol, Lindsay and Ally.  Other daughter was in NYC.

The family is all back in the USA now.  Carol is on the right. She and I stay connected to this day.   Lindsay, behind her, actually lives just 15 minutes down the road from me!  And, Lindsay's husband and my brother work together at the Inn on Biltmore!

I went to one of the observation towers in Tokyo.  The view was mind-boggling, but what was even more interesting were the photos of a fire-bombed Tokyo, smoldering towards the end of WWII.   So, as you stood on this upper floor, you could view photo of a region of the devastated city 55 years ago (then) and then immediately look out the window and see how spectacularly rebuilt it was.  And you could follow this around, 360 degrees, and see every section of Tokyo the same way.

 

This is the busiest pedestrian intersection in the world.  I believe 2 million cross here every day.  Several times I went to the Starbucks overlooking this intersection.  I ordered my coffee, maybe a muffin and then sat at the counter with an unobstructed view of the mass of people walking back and forth.  I was bedazzled!  Click here for a view inside the Starbucks.  Around the corner from the Starbucks was a Tower Records.   They had a great selection of music, of course, and their books (an extensive English section) were phenomenal.  It was also a place for people-watching!   The thing that stands out about Tower Records is that I got on crowded elevator once - and you know how high-tech the Japanese are.  There was a camera up above, in the back, looking down on the tops and backs of our heads.  And then there was this monitor where you could view the scene.  As we were ascending, I looked up and saw a growing bald spot, right on my crown.  I was 29, and expecting it to come at some point, but to see it, in all its glory, made me feek a bit self-conscious.  My face got red and body grew warm!  Only four months later, in Malaysia, would I experiment with head-shaving for the very first time!

In time I will come back and add some more stories, and even pictures, to this post.  There were three or four Japanese ladies I hung out with at different times - seeing a movie, grabbing a coffee, going to a club, having dinner, etc.  So, as a traveler, I was getting a taste of the "wares" that are available, especially to young, single men.  I would also say 'white' as well.  On down the road, I may blog some about these experiences, and share some things I learned about the expat/traveler dating lifestyle. 

I do want to add here that one of the purchases I made in a gigantic electronics market in Tokyo is a micro-cassette recorder, which I have to this day.  I got it so I could record my daily thoughts as I traveled for whatever time I was going to travel.  Turned out to be six months.  I have 15 tapes of recordings!  One day, when I die, someone is likely going to have a good time listening to them!

Sendai & Matsushima

In all, I spent a month in Japan in early 2000.  Tokyo was where I stayed most of the time, and I used it as a base to take trips west and north by shinkansen (bullet train).  The trip north took me to Sendai, the capital of Miyagi Prefecture.  I was meeting up with the Uomotas, a couple who runs a church in that area.  My connection to them was through an American friend, Dawn Herzog, who, incidentally I first met when she and a mutual friend of ours traveled to the Deep South.  They actually stayed at Lake Espy, had lunch with Uncle Watty and me, visited my mother's second-grade classroom, stopped by the bank to see me, and took a day trip with me to Seaside, Florida.  Their journey to Headland is a blog post unto itself!!!  Anyway, Dawn's uncle is Murrary Uomota, my contact in Sendai.  I stayed for a few days with him and his wife.

Murray Uomota (left) and his wife (next to me), standing with a friend of theirs, Mrs. Abe

Three things about my time at their home really stood out:  (1) the completely tiled floor and walled "wet bathrooms," which I later learned were most common throughout Asia.  Easy for cleaning!!!  (2)  The movie, Dr. Zhivago.  I had a vague awareness of it, but had not seen it - strangely, in spite of earlier travels to Russia and Central Asia.  The Uomotas had a copy, and I watched it before going to bed.  Watching it, right there in Japan, actually deepened my interest in Russian history.  (3)  For breakfast one morning, Mrs. Uomota served some barbecue eel on rice!   Although I had my doubts, and didn't think I even wanted to try it, I did.  And it was good!



Two more friends of the Uomota's: left, Mrs. Wakaki, right, Mrs. Igari

One day they gave me a tour of the city Sendai, and treated me to an International Buffet at Sendai Royal Park Hotel.  Later, we stopped off at the home of the lady in pink, and she brought out photo albums from trips she and her husband had taken to the USA.  The lady (again in pink) also first truly brought into my consciousness, to stick there, the name Douglas MacArthur, the American general of the Pacific theater who oversaw the unconditional surrender of the Japanese Empire and the writing of a new Japanese constitution.  It may shock you that I didn't know that.  It should!  And it should speak volumes about what's taught in some US schools, or at a very minimum, what's truly emphasized.  I might have heard the name MacArthur, but I couldn't have written a piece about him or properly told someone about him, and that's a tragedy.  This MacArthur epiphany is a blog post for another time!

Another day, I went out with this group of ladies and a guy from Texas (center).  The ladies belonged to an English class run by the Uomotos.   I had actually helped teach one class!  From left to right: me, Mrs. Horiuchi, Mrs. Abe, Grey Jackson, Mrs. Owaki, Mrs. Wakaki, Mrs. Ito

This was my first exposure to a Japanese meal displayed like this - a work of art really.  Perhaps a bento box?!?!?  I recall strugglng with the chopsticks.  The meal was delicious!!!!

Matsushima is a beautiful bay covered by 260 small islands.  To reach the area where you take boat tours you have to go about 20 minutes north of Sendai, right on the Pacific coast.  I went by myself, and I just recall seeing some lovely temples and bridges.  I didn't know much of the history - and still don't.  The video above give you more details.  Another thing I remember - because I was myself - is struggling to figure out where I was going to eat.  It was cold where I was, and it had been snowing some in Sendai and the Matsushima area.  I was wandering around, trying to get up the nerve to walk into a restaurant - one where I saw little English, if any, and no white westerners like me!  Hunger took over, and I reached a restaurant where they had some of the artificial foods displayed out front.  Went in, got a seat, and ordered some soup and some tea.  I still didn't know the eating customs or how to properly use chopsticks, and it can make you feel very self-conscious.  Finally, I just looked around and observed what others were doing, and I followed suit.  The fish soup really hit the spot!!!

the ferry I took

colorful walking bridges and numerous pine-covered islands

A Hong Kong Chinese couple (Wai & Dorothy) on their honeymoon took this photo of me.  Wai and I became friends after this.  I met him in Hong Kong, where he gave me a tour of one of the islands and taught me how to properly use chopsticks.  I had a Russian fur hat that I had packed for this journey to Japan.  It was actually too small for my head!  I gave it to Wai just after he took this photo.

Matsushima is ranked as one of the top views in all of Japan

A well-known apocryphal haiku often attributed to Matsuo Basho indicates that the poet is at a loss for words:

Matsushima ah!
A-ah, Matsushima, ah!
Matsushima, ah!

Special note: You surely remember the devastating 1-2-3 punch that rocked Japan a little over two years ago.  First, an earthquake.  Second, a tsunami.  Third, a nuclear plant disaster.  The Sendai region took the brunt of the massive waves, and Fukushima, which is just down the road, is home to the nulcear plant.  Although there was an incredible loss of life, fortunately the Uomotas - and I believe all their friends - survived.  Matsushima, too, was pretty much left unscathed, thanks to the islands providing a natural barrier.  As for Sendai, the coastal areas took a real beating.  Rebuilding continues.  If you're interested in some theories as to why the Japanese did not really loot in the aftermath of the tsunami, click here.