Japan tries to clean up from devastating quake/tsunami...A first-hand report

Star Travel corresdpondent C. James Dale is living in Tokyo and filed a report Friday on the horrific feeling from the big quake and tsunami that hit Japan. Here's a follow-up report....

THE HARSH LIGHT OF DAY IN JAPAN
 
TOKYO - It's now just after 10 a.m. here in Tokyo and life is slowly starting to get back to normal. Or whatever normal is when you're still reeling from the strongest earthquake to hit since record-taking started 140 years ago.

After spending the night sleeping in government buildings, schools, really anywhere they could find, hundreds of thousands of commuters are heading home.  Most train and subway lines are back up and running. But there's a huge backlog, so the stations are packed with people. Things are also moving again at Tokyo's main airports - Haneda, which is close to the city centre, and Narita, which is 65km northeast of Tokyo in Chiba Prefecture.

I don't know if it's because I've been up for more than 24 hours, but I
have a persistent feeling that the ground swaying. My mind and body are
likely playing tricks on me, but experts have said the aftershocks that
have been rippling through Japan could continue for a month or more.

This monster quake, which hit at 2:46 p.m. local time, was violent
and pretty scary. But Tokyo got off lightly compared northeastern Japan.
The video and photos show the how the tsunami waves are really to blame
for the majority of the devastation. Some areas have been flattened by
huge waves of mud and debris that swept inland.

Looking at the video now on NHK, Japan's public broadcaster, it's hard
to imagine how the country will recover.  Rescuers are trying to save
people who are stranded. But they're also finding many bodies as they
pick through the debris.

About 50 countries and regions are offering help, including the U.S., China, South Korea, and the EU.  Japan is figuring out how international assistance will fit into its rescue and recovery operation. But just the fact that the country is considering
bringing in foreign help is a significant step. In the aftermath of past natural disasters, it has refused.

The official death count was 574 as of Saturday morning, March 12 (Toronto time), but many fear it will rise dramatically. One report said four trains disappeared Friday and haven't been found. Media reports said at least 1,300 people may have been killed.

First-hand report from Tokyo from Star Travel correspondent C. James Dale

C. James Dale
Special to the Star
TOKYO -- My wife and I had just returned home from a late lunch and barely had our coats off when everything started to shake. We looked at each other and froze.

After a year in Japan, we were used to the odd tremor - the country is located in one of the most active earthquake regions in the world after all. But then the shaking became more violent and we knew this was going to be big. We huddled against a wall in our second storey apartment and waited it out. Our building started rocking back and forth violently.

We held onto each other tightly, looking across the street at the low-rise office complex as it swayed like a giant white sheet in a breeze.  We said our "I love you's," my wife said she wanted to move back to Canada, and then after a couple of minutes everything stopped shaking.

After nervously getting to our feet, we decided to head outside. Many people were gathering in the street, some in shock and others just worried about friends and family in other parts of Japan. But it wasn't over. Just as we were asking a neighbour if he'd experienced something like this before, the aftershocks started rolling in. They certainly weren't as violent as the main event, but they were enough to keep us alert and worried about our safety.

On top of that, the cell phone networks dropped out, the trains stopped running, and tens of thousands of people were stranded in Tokyo. Roads are a mess (see photo). But despite being scared, and likely in shock, I'm counting myself lucky as I look at the video and photos of the devastation along Japan's northeastern coast.

This country is prepared for natural disasters, but it's hard to prepare for something like this. The death, the destruction, and the fear. I know once my wife gets some sleep she won't make good on that promise to get on the next flight out of here. But for the rest of the time that we're living in Tokyo, we'll definitely be a little more on edge.

Back to Travel Editor Jim Byers

JAPAN AND NEW ZEALAND BONDS STRENGTHEN FROM DISASTERS

Terrible, terrible images in the news this morning from Japan, as our man in Tokyo said.

Around about the time I was watching the horrific video reports (see photo below) at the star.com and on the BBC's  website, I checked my email and found a note from the Tourism New Zealand people about a very touching gesture of support for victims of the Christchurch, N.Z. quake a few weeks ago. It seems a group of Japanese tourists were visiting Auckland the other day and collected funds to help Christchurch victims. They also left a personal note on hotel stationery, offering their moral support for those hit by the New Zealand quake.

"We would like to donate to you. Our aim of the donation is to recover this massive disaster for all victims and Christchurch city. We hope you and the city get well soon."

It was signed: "Best (wishes) from 52 Japanese tourists."

The JTB Kyushu tour party, which arrived in New Zealand on 27 February, spent seven nights in New Zealand. Originally scheduled to visit Christchurch city, their readjusted post-earthquake itinerary gave them extra time to see other parts of the Canterbury region - which were open, operating and welcoming visitors - as well as some extended time in the North Island.

It was so strange to read news of that letter about the same time as I saw Japan suffering so badly from their own earthquake, and the following tsunami and fires (see photo). There's no way of knowing, but I wouldn't be the least surprised to see some generous Kiwi's dip into their savings accounts to help the victims of the Japanese quake.

It doesn't change the terrible situation in both countries, but the actions of the tourists from Japan demonstrates, once again, that there's something deeply honorable about the human spirit. We have our foibles, but in the end we usually do the right thing.

China Southern Airlines gave about $100,000 to the New Zealand relief fund, and that's also worth noting.

Meanwhile, I see that Prince William (not sure about Kate) will visit Christchurch for a national memorial service to honour the victims of last month’s earthquake.

Prime Minister John Key says Prince William will represent the Queen at the service in North Hagley Park in Christchurch on 18 March. The day has also been declared a provincial holiday for Canterbury residents.

 As part of the memorial day, New Zealanders will observe two minutes' silence at the exact time the Christchurch earthquake struck and flags on NZ government buildings will fly at half mast.

 

 

 

Star reporter Petti Fong checks out Zelda Fitzgerald's house in Alabama

Zelda Fitzgerald died in a fire at the mental hospital where she was about to undergo electro-shock therapy treatment on this day back in 1948. Here's a post from Star travel correspondent Petti Fong, our Western Canada reporter.

Montgomery, ALA. -- Before she became the world's most famous flapper, she was known around her hometown as Zelda Sayre, a spoiled, strong-willed and attention-seeking young girl from Montgomery, Alabama.

The youngest of six children born to a prominent southern Alabama family, Zelda was named after two stories published in the late 1880s: Zelda's Fortune and Zelda: A Tale of the Massachusetts Colony. Zelda's ancestors included senators, newspaper editors and jurists.

Her father, Anthony Dickinson Sayre, was on the Supreme Court of Alabama and a leading jurist in the state. One thing I've always wondered about was whether Zelda's father knew Nelle Harper Lee's father, A.C. Lee, the model for Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird.

Nelle Harper Lee's upbringing in Monroeville, Alabama was markedly different than Zelda's in Montgomery, about 100 miles away.

One thing Zelda and Harper Lee shared was famous childhood friends. In Zelda's case, she was a childhood friend of Hollywood starlet Tallulah Bankhead, while Lee's childhood companion was Truman Capote. Lee never married but Zelda became famously known for her marriage to F. Scott Fitzgerald who she initially rejected because she was afraid he wouldn't make enough money to support her.

She was attracted to his promise that he would become famous and after he showed her a chapter from is book This Side of Paradise, she showed him her personal diary which he used verbatim in his novel.
The Fitzgerald home in Montgomery, Alabama considers itself the only museum dedicated to Zelda. The Fitzgeralds lived in the house from October 1931 to April 1932 during a period when he was working on Tender Is The Night and Zelda began writing her only novel, Save Me The Waltz.

The brick home on 919 Felder Avenue was leased because it was close to Zelda's parents in a leafy, established neighbourhood in Montgomery. A month after moving in, Fitzgerald was heading westward to Hollywood after accepting a screenwriting job leaving Zelda behind with their ten-year-old daughter Scottie.

She wrote daily letters to Fitzgerald, some of which are on display inside the couple's former home. "I think you're here when I wake up...your room is warm and fuzzy with you and I sit and look where you left mags."

She also described a parade outside but she didn't go, preferring the deserted streets. "The weather here is a continual circus day...smoky with the sun like a red balloon and soft and romantic and sensual."

The museum's executive director Michael S. McCreedy said his favourite piece in the house is a childhood book owned by Zelda. With a careful hand, he unlocked the cabinet and took out the tattered and yellowing book. Turning the front cover, he showed the faint writing made by Zelda herself.
"Please take care of this book. This is a splendid book - this book is wonderful!" and signed simply "Zelda."

Her paintings are also inside the home, which had been used briefly before becoming a museum for university students. The front room remains much the way it would have been when Zelda lived there and glance out the front window and except for the cars, the street has the same look as it would have almost seventy-five years ago.

This is how Zelda described Montgomery which she called Jeffersonville in her short story Southern Girl, written in October 1929.

"Every place has its hours...So in Jeffersonville, there existed then, and I suppose now, a time and quality that appertains to nowhere else. It began about half past six on an early summer night, with the flicker and sputter of the corner street lights going on, and it lasted until the great incandescent globes were black inside with moths and beetles and the children were called in to bed from the dusty streets."

On March 10, 1948, Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald died in extremely tragic circumstances. She was locked in a room at a mental hospital in Asheville, North Carolina where she was awaiting electroshock therapy when a fire broke out in the facility. Nine women, including Zelda, died.

Vegas tip sheet: "What to do after the 'I Do's." ... Oahu news ... Real Madrid

Got a funny note from the folks at the Aria Hotel in Las Vegas the other day, giving me ideas on "What to do after the I Do's." Which got me thinking ... isn't it pretty obvious?

I mean, some of these activities sound fine: a trip to the Grand Canyon, a Hot Stone Couples Massage and oysters with "piquillo pepper and Tabasco sorbet." That's fine. The note also advised me I could enjoy an enchanted garden setting at the Blossom restaurant and enjoy pan-fried beef with sweet ginger and pineapple. "Enjoy a spicy dish now to enjoy an even spicier "dish" in the bedroom later, the press release said, by which time I was, I think, blushing.

My fave is a room at the Sky Suites, with "romantic in-room candlelit dinners, customized balloons and flowers covering every inch of the suite," plus, and get this, "a three-inch replica of their wedding cake." Not enough? How about "luxury lingerie" or "24K gold-plated restraints and other, cheeky intimacy products."

Whoo boy. Gotta take a cold shower.

I managed a night at Aria in November. I'm not a big Vegas guy but it's a nice hotel if you can figure out the high-tech lighting system.

OAHU IN THE NEWS

Had a brief session with the folks from Oahu tourism the other day. I'd forgotten that Disney is opening a new resort - minus the theme park - outside of Honolulu. Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa, Ko Olina, is slated for a first phase opening on Aug. 29, and it'll be a big event in Hawaii.

The 21-acre resort will have 360 guestrooms, 481 Disney Vacation Club Villas, pools, hot tubs, a snorkeling lagoon, a river, wedding facilities (see photo, not to mention the above note from Vegas) and more.

The Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort and Spa, famous from Hawaii 50 episodes, is renovating its iconic Rainbow Tower, with new tubs, sinkers, counters, beds and TV's.

The Royal Hawaiian, a stunner right on Waikiki Beach, recently finished a $70 million renovation, while the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach launched a $13 million renovation two months ago.

REAL MADRID (as in football) BOOSTS CITY TOURISM

Madrid tourism officials announced that the Real Madrid Football Club will start promoting the Spanish capital and Spain as a whole as tourist destinations. It's a clever idea, methinks. Guess we could do the same thing with the Maple Leafs if they ever make the playoffs. Toronto FC? Not so much....

 

 

Vienna Philharmonic makes a rare visit to Toronto, with Atom Egoyan on hand

Star guy Adrian Brijbassi took in a performance of the amazing Vienna Philharmonic on the weekend. Here's his report.

Atom Egoyan and his wife Arsinée Khanjian were among the concertgoers treated to a rare and remarkable performance by the Vienna Philharmonic at Roy Thomson Hall on Sunday afternoon. The orchestra’s first appearance in Toronto since 2006 was also its only Canadian date on a six-city, eight-show North American tour that began on Feb. 25.

Conductor Semyon Bychkov, a native of St. Petersburg, Russia, led the musicians through a stirring interpretation of three master works: Franz Schubert’s “Symphony No. 2 in B-flat Major”, Richard Wagner’s epic “Tristan and Isolde” and Bela Bartok’s sublime “The Miraculous Mandarin.”

“The Wagner was just fabulous,” said Egoyan, director of “The Sweet Hereafter” and “Ararat.” 

Khanjian, a Genie Award winner, said the entire show “was like poetry.”

Considered one of the world’s finest orchestras, the Vienna Philharmonic features the best of the best of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. Once accepted into the Philharmonic, the musicians are in for life.

The concert brought out classical music fans, including several visitors from Austria. Among them was Astrid Pockfuss of the Vienna Tourist Board, who is in town for a brief stay to promote her beautiful city. Along with the ever-present markets and coffeehouses that Vienna is famed for, Astrid says there’s a growing arts and club scene.

The Viennese are also looking forward to celebrating a couple of milestone birthdays next year. Gustav Klimt would have been 150 in 2012 and his most famous work, the oft-imitated “The Kiss”, will be the key part of a series of exhibitions looking at the artist’s work and influence on Europe’s modernist movement around the turn of the 20^th century.

The other big anniversary will be celebrated by the same group of men (and one or two women) who just wowed Toronto. The Vienna Philharmonic turns 170 in 2012 and while the musicians tour often, seeing  them in their hometown would be sweet.

And speaking of sweet, the much-loved Sachertorte made it from Vienna, thanks to the Hotel Sacher, and was served at a post-concert reception at Roy Thomson. If the music, art, culture and history of Vienna don’t convince you to go, this decadent dessert just might.

 

Massage for your dog in Vegas? This is stupid - even for Donald Trump

USA Today has an item today on the Trump Hotel in Vegas, where they're now offering an in-room massage for a person and their pooch for $150.

Here's what USA Today had to say, and thanks to countrypetsitters.com for the great image

"The hotel's "Paws Massage Package" costs $150, and covers a 30-minute massage for a dog owner and one for Fido (here's hoping the pooch likes to be touched by strangers.) Pets also get use of a dog bed, pet treats to eat, and a water bowl with fresh bottled water."

I don't know about you, but I feel sick. I LOVE dogs. Adore them. Had several and took care of them. But a massage? I probably wouldn't pay for one for my children on a holiday. I'd never consider it for my dog, unless it was on death's door and needed the peace.

The USA Today story adds that there's even fine print to the deal. First of all, taxes and gratuities are extra. Which makes me wonder, how much do you tip a dog masseuse? Is it based on the size of the dog or the temperament? I mean, I'd rather have to massage a golden retriever than a bull mastiff, or one of those stupid Paris Hilton dogs for that matter. The worst a retriever will do is drool on you.

The story also says the room at the hotel, naturally, costs extra (and some can be had for a very reasonable $99, so there's that). But the story also says pet owners "have to pony up a $200 nonrefundable cleaning fee, part of which will be donated to the local SPCA."

What a stupid deal. But there probably are enough stupid people out there to do it. And Trump knows he'll get publicity from his deal from the stupid media. Hey, wait, that means....

 

Win a trip to fabulous Barcelona, Spain with Star's Wonderlist contest

The Star's Wonderlist folks, in conjunction with Transat Holidays, is giving away a 7 night city package for two adults to Barcelona, Spain. As readers of Star Travel know, it's an awesome city with great food, sleek and modern architecture combined with ancient streets, and a glorious waterfront. I particularly remember Parc Guell (see photo) up in the hills, a wonderment of mosaic tiles, curving textures and outstanding views.

The package includes:

 -  round trip economy airfare from Toronto to Barcelona for two adults

 - Seven nights accommodation staying at the HCC Regente – includes daily breakfast

 - $1,000 spending money

 - Roundtrip transfers in destination between airport and hotel

Curious about the accomodations? Here is the link to the hotel  http://www.transatholidays.com/EN/hotels/HCC_Open.asp?HOTELID=8528&HOTELNAME=HCC_Open&EXITID=BCN

Sound appealling? Enter the contest at http://barcelona2011blog.wonderlistcontests.com

By entering, members get access to exclusive contest and special offers from Star advertisers.

TOP AIRPORT RESTAURANTS

Frommers.com did a bit the other day on their top restaurants at American airports. At JFK in New York, they love Deep Blue Sushi, which according to USA Today's story   "has a modern Asian menu created by celebrity chef Michael Schulson, the former executive chef of New York's highly rated Buddakan restaurant.

Deep Blue Sushi serves such fare as crispy lobster rolls, Kobe beef tataki rolls and red miso-glazed Chilean sea bass."

Yum. Sounds even better than a Chicken BLT at Tim Hortons, doesn't it?

Encounter at Los Angeles International Airport "is truly unique, a simultaneously hip and kid-friendly restaurant inhabiting a wacky outer-space-themed building," Frommer's says.

Here's the list:

•Atlanta: One Flew South (Terminal E)

•Baltimore: Obrycki's (Gate B-11)

•Boston: Legal Sea Foods (Terminal A, after security, has Legal Test Kitchen; Terminal B, before security, has Legal C Bar; and Terminal C, before security, has the traditional restaurant)

•Chicago O'Hare: Tortas Frontera (Terminal 1)

•New York-JFK: Deep Blue Sushi (Terminal 5)

•New York-LaGuardia: Custom Burgers by Pat LaFrieda (Delta Terminal)

•Los Angeles: Encounter at LAX (center of airport before security)

•Minneapolis: Ike's Food and Cocktails (Concourse E)

•Raleigh, N.C.: 42nd Street Oyster Bar (Terminal 2)

•Seattle: Ivar's (central terminal)

Puttin' on the Ritz (Carlton) in Toronto...sneak peek at new hotel in town

Star travel guy Adrian Brijbassi got a peek at the new Ritz-Carlton in downtown Toronto the other day, living it up in a $6,000 per night suite, and how sweet is that? Here's his report.

I was invited to be the first to stay at the $6,000-per-night Ritz-Carlton Suite and you’ll read a full report in a coming edition of the Toronto Star's Travel section.

What we can tell you is the suite should become the place to stay in town for big-name politicians and celebrities. It’s 2,500-square-feet of elegance, as you would expect from one of the world’s most recognizable luxury brands. The surprise, though, is the humility of the Ritz and its devotion to local wines, food, artists and culture.

The brand that helped define luxury in the 20th century is working to re-define it in the 21st. As general manager Tim Terceira said, “Luxury is now about personalizing the experience.”

And that means making you feel comfortable. The suite doesn’t feature gild or gaudy displays of wealth. It has plush, stylish furniture with sleek lines and stately décor. Like the rest of the hotel, the light fixtures in each room are highlights. The master bath is a beauty.

A full kitchen and dining room make it possible to have a function where people will want to linger a while. The eyecatching study features an iPad on the desk and print volumes of classics such as “The Best Poems in the English Language” and “To Kill a Mockingbird”.

Check-in is done inside the suite with a champagne welcome (see photo).

Above all, the Ritz’s staff live up to their reputation: friendly and inviting, professional and personable.

While I may not have another chance to spend a night in the $6,000 suite, I will be back at the Ritz for food and drinks. TOCA, the fine-dining restaurant, is on my list of places to go in March for dinner while the Ritz’s casual bar DEQ on the lobby level is a new favourite after this weekend – and that’s even before the patio opens up.

Back to Travel Editor Jim Byers for news from elsewhere in the travel world...

VANCOUVER LOSES A BIG NAME

We see this morning that celebrity chef Daniel Boulud is pulling up stakes from La-La-Land. Boulud announced that he's closing both Lumiere and next-door db Bistro Moderne on March 13. Both projects lasted just two years in a culture that seems to prefer more casual dining to full-scale celebrity work.

Mind you, Vancouver loves places like Vij's Indian restaurant and seems to keep some pretty high-end sushi spots in business, including Tojo's on West Broadway, where the food is killer and the presentation even better.

SORRY, NO KIDS ON BOARD

Interesting poll I spotted today, thanks to travelmole.com. It seems that airport hotel and parking website HolidayExtras.com asked about 5,000 customers what they thought of airline travel, and a huge 83 per cent said they'd like to see adult-only areas on flights. Just under a third went even further and said they would like to ban children on flights completely, which, I'm sorry, is just absurd.

A slightly more tolerant 51% said there should be cabins set aside for adults only, travelmole reported.

"A little more predictably, more than 75% of those polled said they needed more leg room and felt that feeling uncomfortable was the worst aspect of flying."

Nine per cent said the worst part of a flight is a smelly person next to them.

I'd have to put "People who recline their seats with the force of a nuclear bomb and refuse to move it for the entire flight" right up there, but that's just me.

WEST JET-AMERICAN AIRLINES MARRIAGE

Also notable that WestJet and American Airlines have hooked up with more codesharing and other relationship enhancements (sounds sexy, doesn't it?), allowing passengers more seamless connections on the two airlines when they go in and out of Canada and the U.S.

WestJet also is working more with Cathay Pacific, another member of the oneworld alliance, which could mean good news down for the road for airline points collectors.

WestJet, as we've reported previously in this space, is putting a major effort forth to lure business travellers across Canada and, in particular, in Toronto. Those efforts are expected to take off in May, so we'll be keeping a sharp eye out.

I haven't flown WestJet in some time but I'm on a Thursday night flight to Orlando for a quick Florida weekend to check out the latest goings-on. I'll let you know if there was an adults-only section or anyone with a full-force seat recline...