Jaunary 17th - the 17th anniversary of Kobe-Awaji Great Earthquake.

   It was a very cold day today, too. The winter vacation of elementary school is over, and school kids began to go to school. In the morning, I had to stand at the crossing to watch them walking to school. It was very chilly, because the temperature was  - 11.5 degrees.
   Today, January 17th is the 17th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. In 1995, at 5:46 a.m., on January 17th,
a big earthquake which hit Kobe and its vicinity including Awaji island did a great damage and killed 6,434 people. Today, series of ceremonies and commemorative events took place in Kobe and many other places. In a park in Kobe, people gathered and lit 6,434 candles in bamboo lanterns to remember those lost in the quake and also to pray for those lost in the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.