Shizuoka rocks.

I have only felt the tiniest, briefest shakes in my time here, but I've been through the drills. I've worn the dusty white helmets at school, and helped corral students outside to line up and count off by neighborhood.

And on August 11 at 5:07 a.m., a 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit Shizuoka, the quake's epicenter out in the ocean, about 20 kilometers southwest of town, and 26 kilometers below the Earth's surface. In Wisconsin, I was probably floating in a pool in the afternoon sun. Since returning, the only visible damage I've encountered is the collapsed castle wall at Sumpu Park in downtown Shizuoka. And that in our apartment, three pieces of china are no longer with us.
Some of the teachers at my schools complained of having to spend summer vacation fixing damage to their homes, but overall, only around 100 people were injured in the event; only one person was killed. I hear a lot about readyness training. I hear Japan's structures are built for seismic activity. I hope the predictions for a far more serious quake are overblown (though I doubt it; very scary stuff).The rest of Sumpu apparently survived unharmed: the castle and the teahouse surrounded by a manicured garden......which even includes tea bushes and a mini Mt. Fuji.I know earthquakes are serious business, especially in this prefecture, in this country, in this stretch of the Ring of Fire. But if there could possibly be room for a upside, it's that Davin was able to convince Jackson that Shizuoka City had announced an official death toll of koi from the moat at Sumpu after the wall collapsed.