PV Native in Tokyo on Quake's Aftermath

Now living in Tokyo, former Palos Verdes Estates resident Tyler Kosaka, 23, said the city is not the same after Friday's 8.9-magnitude earthquake as people there start to understand the bleak conditions in the North.

Friday's quake rattled Japan, triggering a ferocious tsunami that hit the country's eastern shore, leaving thousands dead and many missing.

Kosaka, 23, a Palos Verdes High School alumnus and graduate of University of California, Irvine, recently moved to Japan to work as an English teacher for a year.

He works in Tokyo at public elementary schools and occasionally junior high schools. He also teaches English at Japanese businesses at night.

His family lives in Palos Verdes Estates where he will return at the end of the year.

On Friday, Kosaka as the earthquake struck.

Just days after the earthquake-tsunami, he now talks about the "heartbroken" city:

In Tokyo, we are all still quite nervous as we wait for a predicted 7.0 magnitude earthquake. We're told there is a 70 percent chance of this happening in the next few days. So, as we wait, we are also all trying to continue on with our daily lives.

Another major concern is the condition of the nuclear reactors to the north of Tokyo. We are continually given updates to the situation, but it is always changing drastically. One minute the reactors are being cooled and there is no threat of a meltdown, and the next the reactors are in danger of overheating.

Most parts of the Kanto region, including parts of Tokyo, have been issued rolling blackouts to help reduce power usage because all the nuclear power plants have been shut down.

These blackouts are quite debilitating to many parts of the country. I am within central Tokyo, however, so we are told it will not affect us for now. These blackouts ... will probably continue through April.

Train services have also become extremely limited due to the power limitations. Trains which normally arrive every few minutes are now arriving only a few times per hour and some are just not running at all! Some people I know cannot go to work for now because their train service has been cut.

Food is a little sparse in many stores here in Tokyo as people buy food just in case of another emergency. I heard it's much worse in other areas though.

Things here are still being sorted out and new stories are continually developing. We are starting to understand the extent of the damage in the northern regions and we are all heartbroken. All we can really do for the people in the North right now is to conserve power and pray.

The mood here in Tokyo is very different. Tokyo is usually very busy, focused, and vibrant. Now, things are quite deserted, quiet, and tense.

I think we are all uncertain about things right now and are waiting to see how things pan out. It's definitely strange. All this pales in comparison to the destruction and lives lost in the North though.

—Tyler Kosaka