FUKUSHIMA: A NUCLEAR NIGHTMARE

 I just watched on HBO Max, Fukushima:  A Nuclear Nightmare, a 2026 British-American documentary directed by James Jones and Megumi Inman, exploring the 11March2011 Fukushima nuclear accident.  A gripping film.  Too new to be rated by RottenTomatoes.  Read my Huffington Post article on The Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami:  The Aftermath.

The production features Ikuo Izawa, a Tokyo Electric Power Company supervisor at the nuclear site, who deserves an Oscar for his performance.  He was there from Day 1 as one of the Fukushima 50 and worked at the site until help came.  From Wikipedia:

• There were 800 workers at the site when the tsunami struck on 11March2011.
• These 50 volunteered to remain to stabilize the nuclear reactors for the crucial first few days

6 am  Wake up 7–8 am  Meeting at the anti-seismic building 

10 am Breakfast (biscuits about 30 pieces and one bottle of vegetable juice)

About 10 am  Commence tasks at the reactor building and boiler building

About 5 pm  Finish work  

5–8 pm  Supper (retort-packed rice and one canned food)

8–10 pm  Meeting at the antiseismic building

About 10 pm  Sleep, with blanket on the floor, except people who work at night.

• 
  The Fukushima 50 were present when hydrogen explosions occurred at the reactor buildings of units 1, 3, and 4. Five workers were injured in the unit 1 explosion at 15:36 on 12 March. Most of the injuries were not severe. Eleven workers were injured in the unit 3 explosion at 11:01 on 14 March. The explosion at unit 4 at about 6 am on 15 March did not cause injuries. The explosions scattered radioactive concrete debris around the buildings, which made the working conditions on the site more difficult.^[32][33]
• Media outlets lauded the remaining workers' bravery, and called them "heroes", and as a result they have become known in the media as the "Fukushima 50". France 24 called them "Japan's faceless heroes",^[58] British newspaper, The Guardian wrote: "Other nuclear power employees, as well as the wider population, can only look on in admiration".^[59] They have been compared to the Forty-seven Ronin.^[60] 

I was enraptured by the film, for, in a minor way, I felt I also was there, in a chicken little manner.

• I was in Singapore on March 10 and had MY BEST CHINESE LUNCH, EVER.  I then flew to Bangkok.
• You need to go back to my posting of 11March2011 to learn that the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear cataclysm struck.
• On March 12 I got confirmation at 4:30AM that my Thai Air flight to Narita was set to fly at 8AM.  
• So I packed and made it to the airport at 6AM.  

• 
  I flew Royal First Class, which was extraordinary:

First, you don’t stand in line but sit in a lounge area.  Then, a staff member accompanies you through immigration and arranges for a Segway type device with driver to take you to their first class room.  The ride was quite lengthy.  There might have been five passengers for a room that could easily hold a hundred or two, and a staff of a dozen and more.

Various dim sums, soups, rice dishes, etc.  I asked for a chicken fried rice with an egg, which they prepared in a kitchen, and ordered a Bloody Mary and Singha Beer.  Yes, 7AM, but it was already afternoon in Honolulu.  The flight was delayed an hour, so I had a chance to spruce up my Huffington Post Hawaii Tsunami, Again article, and field a few concerned e-mails.

I was accompanied to the plane at 9AM, was served a glass of 2002 Dom Perignon and no more then ten minutes later, it took flight, the plane, not me, yet.  Bet you did not know that Dom Perignon was a Benedictine Monk, born in 1639, who invented champagne?

Early morning departures provide a breakfast, so it was not the usually extravagant meal.  I decided I was eating too much on this trip anyway, so only ordered a boiled rice soup with salmon accompanied by a rice noodle soup.  How’s this for deprivation:

It frankly occurred to me at this point, notwithstanding the immediate above, of my real life fantasy that, while drumming my feet on the floor to the beat of Ravel’s Bolero, I was at the peak of my life.  One wonders when this will be, sort of like Peak Oil, but, no doubt, this was it. Things can only go downhill from here, and certainly will when I land in the chaos of Narita.  But it was an incredible ride and I still think I was (am, yet?) the luckiest person in the history of Humankind.  Finally, I felt a kind of euphoria traveling at the speed of a bullet at 33,000 feet, maybe akin to a prisoner on death row having his last breakfast.  I was mentally prepared for the next stage of my life, the calmness before the catastrophe.

My plane landed at around 4PM after a flight of five hours from Bangkok.  I had four bags with me, one very large, for I'm on a six week trip in hot and cold countries.  After the customs check I looked around for the usual sign with my name.  Saw none, so walked around with my bags and asked questions.  Half an hour later after determining that there were no taxis, no airport limousines, no NEX, and no Tokyo Westin pickup, I tried to call the Westin, but failed.  There was only one option, the slowest JR trains from Narita to Tokyo: 

I finally arrived at the Westin at almost 9PM.  It took me as long to fly from Thailand to Japan as to travel from Narita to the Tokyo Westin.  What an ordeal!

When I balance the good and the bad of the day, and consider that I am actually in Tokyo only a day after their largest earthquake in history, I feel blessed.  Supposedly there have been two 6.0+ aftershocks the past hour (there have been 83 of these in a little more than 24 hours), but I didn't feel anything, and things are quickly coming together in this city.  So catastrophe?  Not really.  Life remains great.

Here is my posting of 13March2011:  THE GREAT SENDAI EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI OF 2011.   To quote:

3.  Oh, by the way, at least one report has radiation already in Tokyo, less than 150 miles from Fukushima.  Whoops, I'm in Tokyo.  I was in D.C. in 1979 when the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, 100 miles away, suffered a meltdown, killing nuclear power construction in the U.S.  So how do you get iodine pills in Tokyo, and what do they do?  Amazon. com  sells it for $13.50 (14 pills), although you get it used for $5.75, plus $4 shipping.

I guess I had two postings on March 13:  THE CHICKEN AND CHICKEN LITTLE SCHOOL OF REPORTAGE.

• What I'm leading to is that, while TIME magazine reporters and CNN staff are trying to get into the Sendai area (and I talked to several of them), I am leaving town, for the second explosion at Fukushimaconvinced me that the French, indeed, must know something.  This is the Chicken and Chicken Little School of Reportage:  take no chances and assume that the sky could fall.
• NOAA sent out a graphic of tsunami heights:

• I had decided to leave Tokyo from Beijing:

I'll keep updating this posting until I board the plane, but this will be my final daily blog for five days, as China and Google are still sparring, and portals like this blog site, You Tube, etc., are blocked.  It is possible, though, that I could sneak articles through the Huffington Post, so you can check there.

I stayed a few days in Beijing, but heard that there was no radiation emanating from Fukushima to Tokyo, so I flew to Seoul to more closely observe what I would do.  

• As this blog site was shut down in China, that photo to the right is just outside of the Forbidden City in Beijing.  I also on this stop walked the Great Wall.

• Spent five days in Seoul (#2, #3 and #4).
• Had a great lunch.  All this turmoil, and I'm mostly eating.
• There were some setbacks in Fukushima.
• I continued to enjoy fine cuisine.

I had my best lunch in Korea, even better than brunch yesterday.  But my experience at Jung Sik-dang today was so fabulous that I rank it among the very best of meals ever.  I now only review lunches, and JSK compares well with Noma (Copenhagen), La Terrazza (Rome) and Konigshof Restaurant (Munich).

• I should mention that this Seoul restaurant now has two Michelin Stars, and so does his establishment in New York City.  He is touted as a pioneer of modern Korean fine dining.

I finally returned to Tokyo after this 11-day escape, and found that the Tokyo Westin only had a 12% occupancy rate.  But across the street was maybe the top international restaurant in Asia, and while this sounds profligate while the country was suffering, my next posting on March 24 was titled:  ROBUCHON IN TOKYO:  My Best French Dinner?

Across the street (view from my room above) from the Tokyo Westin is what was once Taillevent-Rubuchon, but is now only called Robuchon.  He has a dozen restaurants and has more Michelin stars than anyone.  At the age of 28 he was the youngest chef to earn 3 stars.  His only three star restaurants today are in Macao, Las Vegas and the one I went to tonight.  There are 27 Michelin 3-star (no such thing as 4-star) restaurants in Japan, 37 in France and 11 in the USA.  He was named chef of the century in 1989.  He mentored Gordon Ramsay, who you know from TV's Kitchen Nightmares.  Joel Robuchon actually retired 15 years ago at the age of 50 and is coasting, but doing well.

Anyway, the next day, I heard that the accident level at Fukushima increased to 6, so I left Tokyo on a Shinkansen for Fukuoka.

I'm now skipping my escape to the southwest of Japan, but pick up my timeline back to Tokyo, then up north through Fukushima all the way to Sapporo, then back south to Tokyo.

• APRIL FOOL'S DAY
• KYOTO TO TOKYO ON THE SHINKANSEN
• KYOTO TO TOKYO ON THE SHINKANSEN
• *A CHILLY, BUT ENJOYABLE DAY IN TOKYO
• COUNTRY #173: BOTSWANA
• AOMORI TO SAPPORO
• MY WONDERFUL DAY ON HOKKAIDO
• JUST HAD A 7.1 EARTHQUAKE IN JAPAN
• FOUR SEASONS MARUNOUCHI
• Park Hyatt Shinjuku
• HAVE YOU EVER HAD A $45 AMERICAN BREAKFAST?
• WHY ARE WE AFRAID OF FUKUSHIMA WHEN NAGASAKI AND H...
• *TOKYO SAKURA
• 
  

My hopping all around Japan finally ended on 10April2011:

• I woke up at 6:47 this morning to another aftershock.  I thought I'd return to Shinjuku Gyoen, so, I thought, what would be a great final meal.  I went down to the buffet and got permission to make a giant sandwich of cold cuts, cheeses and vegetables.  The Tokyo Westin gave me a bottle of Copper's Crossing Cabernet Shiraz, so I poured some of it into a tonic water bottle.  I wanted to test the jacket strategy.
  
  
  
  I caught the Yamanote Line to Shinjuku, and walked to the park.  I noticed a soup stand, so I purchased a bowl of tomato/pork soup.  There were no checkers today, so I simply inserted my 200 yen admittance and walked to the nearest empty bench.  While unpacking, a cherry blossom petal fluttered into the soup:
• Certainly, my most satisfying, and cheapest, meal of the trip.  Said goodbye to Pearl's ashes and took the following photo.
• I then took the limousine bus to the airport.  But at Narita:

...when at 5:16 PM, the room began to shake.  I immediately ran away from the window, and so did everyone else.  I think this latest one was close to that aftershock of 4 days ago.  Early reports were 7.1, so same as the April 7 tremor.  What's the largest earthquake you ever felt?

• After a couple more shakes:

Well, the flight took off almost on time and this was the United First Class that almost deserves the term.  This was a Premium Boeing 777, and the electronic entertainment was excellent, food okay and service terrific.  Not quite the earlier days of Beluga caviar, Johnny Walker Blue Label and Dom Perignon, but a definite improvement.

My flight arrived early and I was home by 8AM.  Nice to be home.

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WORLD'S BEST RESTAURANTS 2024

I was planning to again find fault with Donald Trump, but no, that is getting tiresome.  The end to the Hamas-Israel War keeps being pushed forward, so no sense trying to predict anything.  Nothing new happening in Ukraine and I just am not interested in the fate of Hunter Biden.

Condé Nast Traveler sent me the just announced results of The World's 50 Restaurants 2024, so I will today summarize what happened.  This all began in 2002 when the water company, Pellegrino, led the way.  That other guide, was started by tire company Michelin, and they began awarding stars in 1926.  Look for a huge centennial version in two years.

• 
  All the ceremonial stuff took place at Wynn Las Vegas, and the top restaurant named was Disfrutar in Barcelona.  I was recently in that city, got no notice of this coming selection, and had as my best meal in the city Popeye's Chicken.  Disfrutar was #2 last year.  All the chefs operating this kitchen met at El Bulli, the best of the best in the 1990's.  Hey, you'll never get a chance now to dine at Disfrutar, so watch this 20-minute video.
• As some of you know, once you become #1, you are disqualified from competing again.  Thus you will no longer see listed:  Noma, Osteria, Francescana, Mirazur and Central of Lima, the winner in 2023.

• 
  The restaurant to watch award went to Kato in Los Angeles, which is Asian, with a Taiwanese chef, Jonathan Yao.
• Best Pastry Chef award went to 33-year old Nina Métayer, who is the first female to win this honor.  She doesn't work for a restaurant, and is a consultant.
• In the Best 50, Bangkok and Paris have 4, and Tokyo 3.  The entire USA has one, Atomix of New York at #6.
• Here is the list.

1. Disfrutar, Barcelona

2. Asador Etxebarri, Atxondo, Spain

3. Table by Bruno Verjus, Paris

4. Diverxo, Madrid

5. Maido, Lima

6. Atomix, New York

7. Quintonil, Mexico City

8. Alchemist, Copenhagen

9. Gaggan, Bangkok

10. Don Julio, Buenos Aires

11. Septime, Paris

12. Lido 84, Gardone Riviera

13. Trèsind Studio, Dubai

14. Quique Dacosta, Dénia

15. Sézanne, Tokyo

16. Kjolle, Lima

17. Kol, London

18. Plénitude, Paris

19. Reale, Castel di Sangro

20. Wing, Hong Kong

21. Florilège, Tokyo

22. Steirereck, Vienn

23. Sühring, Bangkok

24. Odette, Singapore

25. El Chato, Bogotá

26. The Chairman, Hong Kong

27. A Casa do Porco, São Paulo

28. Elkano, Getaria

29. Boragó, Santiago

30. Restaurant Tim Raue, Berlin

31. Belcanto, Lisbon

32. Den, Tokyo

33. Pujol, Mexico City

34. Rosetta, Mexico City

35. Frantzen, Stockholm

36. The Jane, Antwerp

37. Oteque, Rio

38. Sorn, Bangkok

39. Piazza Duomo, Alba

40. Le Du, Bangkok

41. Mayta, Lima

42. Ikoyi, London

43. Nobelhart & Schmutzig, Berlin

44. Mingles, Seoul

45. Arpege, Paris

46. Single Thread, Healdsburg

47. Schloss Schauenstein, Fürstenau

48. Hisa Franko, Kobarid

49. La Colombe, Cape Town

50. Uliassi, Senigallia

• Counting backwards, #100 to #51.

100. Fauna, Valle De Guadalupe, Mexico

99. Cosme, New York, USA

98. Saint Peter, Sydney, Australia

97. Core by Clare Smyth, London, UK

96. Onjium, Seoul, South Korea

95. Meta, Singapore

94. Mountain, London, UK

93. Sazenka, Tokyo, Japan

92. Labyrinth, Singapore

91. Neolokal, Istanbul, Turkey

90. Smyth, Chicago, USA

89. Indian Accent, New Delhi, India

88. Tantris, Munich, Germany

87. Lyle's, London, UK

86. Mosu, Seoul, South Korea

85. Ceto, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France

84. Restaurant Jan, Munich, Germany

83. Willem Hiele, Oudenburg, Belgium

82. Sud 777, Mexico City, Mexico

81. Mugaritz, San Sebastián, Spain

80. The Clove Club, London, UK

79. Alléno Paris Au Pavillon Ledoyen, Paris, France

78. Masque, Mumbai, India

77. La Grenouillère, La Madelaine-sous-Montreuil, France

76. Flocons de Sel, Megève, France

75. Ernst, Berlin, Germany

74. Nusara, Bangkok, Thailand

73. Mil, Cusco, Peru

72. Aponiente, El Puerto de Santa María, Spain

71. Le Bernardin, New York, USA

70. Le Doyenné, Saint-Vrain, France

69. Fu He Hui, Shanghai, China

68. Burnt Ends, Singapore

67. Alcalde, Guadalajara, Mexico

66. La Cime, Osaka, Japan

65. Brat, London, UK

64. Orfali Bros Bistro, Dubai, UAE

63. Bozar, Brussels, Belgium

62. Coda, Berlin, Germany

61. Nuema, Quito, Ecuador

60. Fyn, Cape Town, South Africa

59. Enigma, Barcelona, Spain

58. Lasai, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

57. Potong, Bangkok, Thailand

56. Narisawa, Tokyo, Japan

55. Mérito, Lima, Peru

54. Kadeau, Copenhagen, Denmark

53. Leo, Bogotá, Colombia

52. Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler, Brunico, Italy

51. Le Calandre, Rubano, Italy

• 
  Le Bernardin, the restaurant we experienced on our recent stop in New York, placed #71.
• Read about my second time at Narisawa, #56.
• I first went to Gaggan, now #9, a decade ago.

You might wonder what is the difference between those Michelin 3-star and the Best World's Restaurants?

• Michelin has been around since 1903 when travelers in Europe were provided this guide.  The 50 Best began in 2002, just about a century later, by British magazine Restaurant.
• While The 50 Best has focused on the world, Michelin initially was for Europe, and more recently reached out to the entire globe.
• The Michelin voting process involves a secret list of prestigious inspectors, who remains anonymous, with restaurants not even knowing when they were there.
• The 50 Best is an academy with more than a thousand judges, audited by Deloitte.
• Only the cuisine is important for Michelin, while The 50 Best takes into account everything.
• Michelin now has 146 3-star restaurants, the equivalent, sort of, of the the Best 100 World Restaurants.
• The leading 3-star countries are France with 30, Japan 20, Spain 15, Italy and USA 13, Germany 10, Hong Kong/Macau 10, UK 9, mainland China 5 and Swizerland 4.
• Counting all starred restaurants, you would think that Paris should be #1.  Nope:  Tokyo with 194, Paris 136, Kyoto 103, Osaka 95 and London 80.
• Here is another list:  Tokyo 226, Paris 119, Kyoto 108, Osaka 98 and New York City 76.  This is for 2024, so the other one must have been for 2023.
• More specifically, Tokyo has 11 3-star restaurants, 47 with 2 stars and 165 with one.
• I scanned the Michelin list and I think I went to seven of them.

Finally, when we went around the world from March to May of this year, after Bangkok, there was a dearth of ramen restaurants in Europe.  Here is one list of the best world ramen restaurants

• Of course. almost all are in Japan.  However at #25 was one in Los Angeles,  and #44, Ippudo in New York City.  I was in this restaurant last month.  And, incidentally, Ippudo Ebisu, is #9 in the following list.  I usually stay at the Tokyo Westin in Ebisu, and Robuchon a Michelin 3-star restaurant is across the street.  We went there on our recent trip, so we'll need to find Ippudo the next time we stay there, and also #4 Afuri.
• #1    Ichiran Nakasu, Fukuoka
• #2    Tsuta, Tokyo
• #3    Ippudo Daimyo, Fukuoka
• #4    Afuri, Ebisu
• #5    Ginza Kagari, Tokyo
• #6    Shin Shin, Fukuoka
• #7    Ichiran Shibuya, Tokyo
• #8    Ichiran Canal City, Fukuoka
• #9    Ippudo, Ebisu
• #17  Ippudo Nishikikoji, Kyoto
• #25  Shin-Sen-Gumi Hakata Ramen, Los Angeles
• #44  Ippudo, New York
• #62  Kanada-Ya, London
• #63  Totto Ramen, New York
• #64  Ippudo, Sydney...and it's possible we went there just before boarding the Seabourn Odyssey
• #73  Ichiran Brooklyn, New York
• #79  Shoryu, London
• #80  Ramen Tatsu-ya, Austin, Texas
• #81  Tsujita LA, Los Angeles
• #82  Ippudo London
• #83  Cocolo Ramen, Berlin
• #97  Daikokuya, Los Angeles
• #99  Hakata Ikkousha Ramen, Singapore
• 108  Gogyo Sydney
• 109  Pastaria, Clayton, Missouri
• 112  Menya Ultra, San Diego
• 113  Na Ni Wa Noodles and Soups, Dusseldorf
• 114  Menya Itto , Bangkok
• 126  Banki Ramen, Florence
• 127  Ippudo Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
• 128  Tonkotsu, London
• 129  Shujinko, Melbourne
• 130  Kodawari Ramen, Paris
• 132  Ramen Shop, Oakland
• 133  Fufu Ramen, Bordeaux
• 134  Kitakata Ran, Costa Mesa
• 147  The Hangar Bay Cafe, Atlantic Beach
• 148, Marutama Ramen, Vancouver
• 154  Mensho Tokyo, Bangkok
• 155  Takumi, Dusselddorf
• 156  HinoMaru, New York City
• 158  Ramen-ya Hiro, Barcelona
• 159  Tora-Ya Ramen, Quebec City
• 160  Ikkousha Tonkotsu Ramen, Sao Paulo
• 165  Ichitora Ramen, Hong Kong
• 166  Koku, Mexico City
• 167  Hakata Choten, Paris
• 168  Ichiran Taipei
• 169  Ippudo Singapore
• 171  Pai Men Miyake, Portland
• 172  Ramen Yushoken, Mantinlupa, Philippines
• 173  E.A.K. Ramen, New York City
• 174  Mexipon Ramen and Curry Bar, Ensenada, Mexico

Why do I show all those?

• To begin, there are 32,000 ramen restaurants in Japan.  Some shops are so popular that customers wait an hour and more to pay $6.50 for a bowl.
• The USA has more than 1400 ramen shops.  The number rose 72% since 2000.
• If a ramen shop made the top 300 in the above list, they would be in the top one tenth of one percent in the world.
• Los Angeles has become the ramen capital of the nation.  Top Ramen and Cup O'Noodles, for example, of Nissin Food Products of Japan, are made in Gardena.
• Nissin created the first instant ramen in 1958, and opened up their Gardena plant in 1972.  They expect sales of $85 million this year.  They cost $1 each.
• Lipton introduced their ramen cup in 1983, but quit two years later.
• Look for Campbell Soup to soon market its first Oriental noodle product.

To end, we went to two Wagamama restaurants--they feature ramen bowls--on our global journey, and almost went to a third in New York City.  Turns out that the company was founded in 1991 and first opened in London, led by Alan Yau, who subsequently created Hakkasan and Yauatcha.  The Wagamama chain now has 190 restaurants all over the world.  Our first was in Copenhagen, and second in Southampton.

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