Christchurch in the beginning of Spring

This is my first time to come to New Zealand. They are similar to Japan at some points. Their land consists of small islands. They have volcanoes and earthquakes. However, my impression is... they are quite different from Japan. The buildings, towns, foods, language and nature are all different.

Interestingly,  I found their similar point with Hawaii. Their native culture is based on Polynesian and so their words sound quite similar to Hawaiian words. I found some words have the same spelling and pronunciation as Hawaiian words, such as Kai and Poi.  Kai means food in Maori but ocean in Hawaiian. Poi means Maori dance or a ball in Maori and taro paste in Hawaiian. These similarities make me a little sentimental. The meaning is different but they have the same pronunciation!

Anyway, their view of the town is very different from Hawaii or Japan. It is quite British!

Curator's house in the Botanic Garden, Christchurch

The street near University of Canterbury

My first destination of this travel was Christchurch because I work with people in University of Canterbury. So I visited some parts of Christchurch. As you may know, Christchurch is a town which affected by some earthquakes seriously. They are still in the process of recovering from the 2011 earthquake.

A university building under the construction

Some buildings in the university are still under the construction, and the vast area of the city center is very flat because the building were destroyed by the earthquake.

Large flat area in the city center of Christchurch.

In fact, I went to the city center for the dinner one day after I arrived, and I was so shocked that the city was quite empty. My friends explained me that it was the downtown, while now it is large space with only few buildings. And my friend added, "We now have good new restaurants coming. It was sad, but because of the earthquake, now we can have new good shops and restaurants". He is very optimistic even he was affected by the earthquake.

In 2011, I was in Geneva, Switzerland. I didn't feel any shake, but an east part of Japan and Christchurch had big earthquakes separately. At that time, I was so shocked and couldn't concentrate on my work. I was looking at the website of Japanese TV news. When I was so sad, one of my friends in Geneva said "Japan is such a strong country and they will recover soon. Economically, maybe the loss for the moment is very big. However, with this earthquake, the requirement of employment will increase and they will become stronger than before".

I am not sure that we became stronger than before. Many people in Tohoku area are still suffering from the loss of their life. However, I think that it is very important to stay optimistic in such a difficult situation. It is a chance to be reborn for everyone!

Tea time at the cafe in Botanic Garden

I myself was in a difficult situation this year. I had an impression that nothing goes well with my life. However, this city and my friend reminded me that this is my chance. I can find something new for myself and my life. For a while, I haven't had a feeling that I have been enjoying my life, but I started to enjoy my life again. The Botanic Garden was beautiful and the cafe in the garden was nice and comfortable!

From Hawaii To Makuhari, Japan

Just trees and blue sky near Alawai in Honolulu

My journey started from Hawaii this month. I had visited Hawaii one and a half years ago. So, some parts of the Honolulu town changed. In Waikiki, there were many constructions maybe because old buildings should be rebuilt.

The train of Honolulu Railway by Railway Age (http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/passenger/rapid-transit/prototype-hart-trainset-unveiled.html?channel=)

 

On May 3rd, I arrived at Honolulu. When I checked in the hotel, I found the newspaper saying the first train arrived at Honolulu and people celebrated it. I couldn't really believe it because it was very big issue in Honolulu and people seemed not to desire to have the train in Honolulu when I lived there. However, I think this is a good chance for Honolulu to be a comfortable city.

Waikiki beach

For my life, this visit to Honolulu was a bit bitter. Blue ocean comforted me in my grief. I have many good friends in Honolulu, and so I was not so so sad at that time.

The wave of real grief hit me after I came back to Japan. However, I didn't have much time to feel sadness as I had to present my work in the conference.

Makuhari beach

The Makuhari town which was the conference site is also along the coast. The color of the ocean is different from Waikiki beach, but there is a beach. I was not so sad anymore as I saw many old friends and researchers. I enjoyed presenting my study, chatting with my friends, and discussing with other researchers. I felt strong bond with my friends and this working field. I think one of the reasons why I continue to work for volcanology is that I like talking with these people.

A hamburger at KUA`AINA in Maihama, Japan

Strangely, I went to Kua`Aina not in Honolulu but in Maihama near Makuhari. I ate a big avocado hamburger with my friend from my university days. I think the hamburger is the best at Kua`Aina in Haleiwa, Oahu Island. Unfortunately, I couldn't go there this month... I am sure to go there next time!!

The last moment in Makuhari, I received an email saying that my paper was published.

Please visit my paper at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40623-016-0463-8?view=classic

I desired to publish this paper after Ontake eruption in 2014. When the eruption started, I was in Honolulu. Since then, I came back to Japan and had worked for this topic with a feeling of my destiny. "This is my mission as my numerical model of ballistic trajectories in volcanic eruptions is unique to estimate the energy of blocks which killed many people", I thought.  Now, I am feeling that I can step forward.