Leaving Japan -and- Winter Surfing Part 2: Same Ocean, Different Continent

I had left Japan a bit in a hurry. I left not so much because of fear of radioactive contamination, but because there was less and less I could do. The office was closed until further notice, I couldn't even go to the office because public transportation was party suspended due to shortages of electric power. Tokyo was still the vivid, livable city it used to be and the only shortages in food I witnessed where due to missing supplies from the area effected by the earthquake and tsunami or missing supplies that where redirected from Tokyo to that area. The hurry was not essentially necessary, but once I decided to leave I decided to leave soon. It still would have been very well managed if I wouldn't have had 2 "challenges":

1. my company notebook was still in the office - I hadn't taken it with me on the hike from Shinkawasaki to Ikebukuro after the earthquake. This had been an extremely wise decision on that day as I had to walk for over an hour until I found a cab and then spend another 7 hours in the cab to cover the overall 30km distance between the office and home. However before I leave Japan, I would have to retrieve it. 
2. the trains operated on reduced schedule, including the trains to the airport, status uncertain. Buses to the airport where suspended. Rental cars where not available because there had been an aftershock the same day. So how to get to the airport?

The first challenge was accomplished using my motorbike (which took me to the office building), some exercise (which took me to the 17th floor while elevators where not operating) and luck (that helped me finding the right buttons to open the closed door to the floor where my notebook was.

The second challenge was more a worry to me. I found out that 2 express trains should be leaving towards the airport in the morning (the flight was in the afternoon), however this information was not assured. So I planned to go to that station and by the ticket for the train today, the day before the flight. Already being in the elevator, I had the idea that maybe it would be clever to bring my passport and most essential things with me just in case, buy the ticket, go home again, pack, sleep at home and take the early train to the airport. So I went back to pack the most essential things (half of it turned out to be pretty useless or even a hindrance).

Arriving at the station, a big crowd was waiting to be let on to the platform. The friendly clerk told me, he still could not confirm anything about the trains the following day because the electricity company hasn't released the schedule for the brownouts yet. But today, there would be local trains to the airport.

Having had enough uncertainty in the past days, I just hopped on the next train. The night on the airport was pretty comfortable, I occupied a huge armchair and got a blanket, water, crackers from the airport personnel.

I arrived in Portland, wearing the shirt that I put on 40 hours earlier, at that time still assuming I could go to the office. With me I had: 1 T-shirt, 2 boxers, 1 sock (yes, singular!) but 3 notebooks, all the money I could get hold of in cash (ignoring the fact that paying in Yen is extremely difficult in the United States).

Well, after one trip to Woodburn (factory outlet), at least I had enough clothes again. 

My original plan was to stay here for 2 weeks. One day before my flight back, I received orders from my employer in Japan: All foreign employees who are currently abroad must not return to Japan until further notice.

Waiting for further notice, I decided to use my weekends to do some surfing...

Pretty cold. Nasty waves that break everywhere. No wonder I was the only one out...

But hey, nasty waves are waves, too! That's at least better than the no-waves-at-all surfing I did recently in Japan.