Since I got over a week off work between my jobs recently, I went to visit my home in Japan with my husband. We made a last minute decision to go so we were spinning our heads around to get ready. But the trip was well worth the hustles. We spent a lot of time with my family. We took a chartered fishing trip with my siblings, which was especially memorable.
Of course, I didn't forget to bring my origami spirit with me to the trip. I did some origami with my nieces who are now in grade school. I stocked up on a bunch of origami papers. I visited Origami House Gallery in Tokyo as well as the Origami Museum at Narita Airport.
Just as soon as I returned to Portland I got busy working at my annual arts camp job, but I'd like to blog about my recent trip whenever I find time. Besides all the origami inspiration, I also want to report the effects that I saw from the March 11th disaster.
Although my hometown area is not directly affected by the earthquake or the tsunami, there are some "side effects." One of which is that the government recently ordered to stop operating the nuclear power plants near my hometown, which is located on the coastline and near the epicenter of another great earthquake predicted in the future. Because of this decision, the people are making effort to save power and refraining the use of AC, making the summer extra hot. The photo below is of a sign that I often saw, which says "Stay Strong, Tohoku. Stay Strong, Japan." It seemed that this phrase is becoming like a national slogan.