One of the few signs of things returning to normal in Tohoku is the reopening of convenience stores. In the six prefectures making up Tohoku, and in Ibaraki Prefecture, a third of the 3,700 stores closed after the quake-tsunami due to power, water and infrastructure failures.
Nearly all, however, have reopened, with "bento" meals being delivered once again to most stores twice or three times a day. Use them or not, convenience stores are a central pillar of Japanese life. For many people, the sight of empty shelves at convenience stores was distressing. If anything seemed reliable, it was the delivery schedules of convenience stores.
After the quake, convenience stores did their part by providing basic goods and services, but the seemingly efficient distribution networks quickly became paralyzed. The logistics centers for sorting and shipping were concentrated in too few locations with few or no alternative routes. Cut off from suppliers, and from electricity, convenience stores quickly became nothing more than metal shelves and warm refrigerators, both empty.