"Are you safe there?"

Naturally our friends and family were a tiny bit concerned for us when we told them we were moving to Japan. Right now the country is synonymous with "nuclear disaster," so we can appreciate the hesitation they feel on our behalf. If statistics make you feel any better, the Fukushima tsunami topped out at about 15 meters, while the city we live in is about 30 meters above sea level. 

We've also come to appreciate that Japan is the place to be if you are in an earthquake. There have been several since we arrived, but almost all of them could have been confused for a big truck rolling by. Since they are so common, all of the homes and schools are built with earthquakes in mind. In fact, if you walked around our house you really wouldn't see any evidence of earthquakes. The walls aren't cracked, the frames of the doorways aren't shifted, and everything just generally looks ship-shape. Every gas line includes an auto-off safety feature at the junction for each house. In case of an earthquake, the gas is shut off without me needing to find a special wrench (ahem, America). When the danger is passed, I'm able to turn the gas back on by pushing a few buttons. And if I need any emergency help at all, there is always this button, located right there in our living room:

It says, "emergency," and it's just tricky enough
to use that the kids haven't messed with it...yet

As for the radiation contamination, it's covered. Our son's school has radiation detection equipment that constantly monitors for dangerous levels, and everything is staying well inside normal levels.

Bottom line? We feel incredibly safe here. And yes, our earthquake kit is up-to-date :-)