Will a Geiger counter do anything for me in Tokyo?

Radiation & Dosage Checking devices, if discouraged by government, may be a social Status Symbol.

Always useful for making friends in new places.

Beyond personal safety considerations.

Not familiar with the dating scene in Japan.

Might be a plus.

There's so much good information at Safecast!

Thanks for sharing. I didn't realize the medcom devices they're using were avail through Amazon, looking at those now.

Safecast has got data on the location of my office as well as the district where I'll be staying, this is very reassuring. I'm still going to purchase a unit to take detailed measurements of where I'm staying and my office environment, but having all this extra data is just great :)

RE Food: Fortunately it's very easy in Japan to tell where food was produced, especially in the aftermath of the disaster. Grocers have been diligent in ordering and labeling and, as you stated, a large amount of the food in Japan comes from outside the country.

You are absolutely correct that cleaning/peeling veg will do little to reduce contaminates absorbed from soil. The greater concern is veg trucked across country. This is just common sense even when there's not fallout ;)

There are facilities around Tokyo with the appropriate instruments that will check for radiation in your groceries for about $40 USD. Sadly, if they find any you just lost your shopping.

There's also a network setup by concerned parents called Mamorukai that registers local groups focused on protecting children from radiation. They've got everything from radiation monitoring to grocers who's primary focus is buying "safe." You need to read quite a bit of Japanese to navigate this but most of the people I've met involved speak English and are more than willing to help:
http://kodomozenkoku.com/network.html

Thanks for pointing this out Tim.

I'm most interested in the software and data linking they're providing, but sadly they've got a two week minimum backlog on the tubes and I'm leaving in just over a week.

I'm going to give them a ring on monday and see if they don't offer direct sales with a shorter turn-around. Otherwise I'll be going with one of the first responder models from SE International, probably this model http://www.amazon.com/Radiation-Alert-INSPECTORXTREME-Microprocessor-Bas...

If I get some more info from iRad when I call I'll be sure to post it here :)

I think that is a good strategy.

I also agree with you, it is rather difficult to test food with a geiger counter though if you have the detector then you would at least be able to confirm that the food you eat isn't seriously contaminated.

During the Chernobyl disaster the Eastern block governments stressed the importance of washing all fruits and vegetables, washing your windows regularly, etc. It is very good practice and possibly the best advice to protect yourself from radiation and non-radiation related contaminants. Food will of course absorb radioactive isotopes through the soil but that tends not to be as dangerous as the much larger alpha emitting particles that settle on the surface. Alpha particles are more hazardous to consume than gamma and beta emitting particles. But in general it is easier to protect yourself from them by simple washing food and not letting dust collect around the house.

I think between the simple mitigation strategies and the environmental testing, you will have all the bases covered to remain safe during your stay.