Earthquake in Japan Strikes Close to Oswego

Two Oswego residents who are piano instructors at the are doing fine after landing in Tokyo just hours before a massive earthquake struck the island nation and killed several thousand people.

Dr. Shiho Saito and Joshua Vogel were to begin a two-and-a-half week piano concert tour of Japan in the coming days, said Karen Kulzer the academy's director. Kulzer said the two were staying with family members of Saito in a suburb of Tokyo and were evacuated to a shelter. They spent several hours in the shelter, but have returned to the family home.

Kulzer said she has had an instant message conversation with Saito and that strong aftershocks were a common occurence during their chat.

"Josh is completly freaking out and he's very scared," Kulzer said.

Saito described the scene as very well organized, saying the Japanese have been well prepared for earthquakes.

"The way everything is going is very efficient," Kulzer said Saito related. "It's not a general state of terror."

Both Saito and Vogel are not strangers to Japan. Saito moved to the U.S. from Japan when she was 17 and Vogel lived there for two years.

With the country heavily damaged, the status of the concert tour is in doubt. Kulzer said the two have decicded to continue on if the venues are still entact.

"Right now they're just plaing it by ear," Kulzer said.

Meanwhile, the support from Fox River Academy families has been overwhelming.

"I can't even tell your the flood of calls, e-mails and even people stopping by to find out how they are doing," Kulzer said.