All shook up

(Originally posted 18th March 2011)


We haven’t been too keen to write about the earthquake. Partly because a major natural disaster and possible nuclear catastrophe isn’t really in keeping with our ‘look at all the fun we’re having in Tokyo’ blog theme. Partly because it seems somewhat disrespectful to those in the north to be writing about our experience in Tokyo – what we went through is nothing compared to what’s been going on further north. And partly because it doesn’t yet feel as though the experience is properly over.


But so many friends and family at home (hi kids!) have been asking us what it was like and if we’re OK, and we haven’t explained much yet. So, here’s my report, and Tom’s is writing one too that he'll post later, so you can vicariously experience Japan's most severe earthquake from the 26th floor of a skyscraper... 


I was in our apartment in Shibuya when the main quake struck, halfway through a bowl of pasta and incredibly expensive vegetables. Everything started gently shaking and I thought ‘oooh, an earthquake!’, then the shaking got worse and I put down my lunch and stood in a doorway. Then it got really bad – things falling over, furniture and lamps moving back and forth like rocking horses, and out of the window I could see telephone wires swinging back and forth and buildings moving from side to side. I grabbed my keys and shoes and ran down the fire escape from the fourth floor into the street. Our usually quiet little back street was full of people – nobody screaming or crying but everyone very obviously scared. The quake still hadn’t stopped, and telegraph poles were moving back and forth and the manhole covers popped out of the ground. Standing on the ground was like being on a boat; it made me dizzy and a bit queasy. After a while it subsided and I went back inside with the apartment block’s other residents, but a BIG aftershock came a few minutes later (I’ve also heard that this was the main quake and the previous one was a particularly powerful foreshock) and we had to run outside and lie on the ground. There was a funny reaction from the kids living in the building – some of them were terrified, crying and clinging on to their parents. Others were delighted when the aftershocks hit, and treated the whole experience like an unexpected theme park ride. One little girl ran back outside shrieking ‘Hooray! Another earthquake!’


After the quake and the main aftershocks were over, we weren’t sure what to do. Carry on as though nothing’s happened, or panic and freak out? When I finally managed to get back into the apartment and retrieve my phone (sorry about the zillion missed calls, Tom!), we decided to be British, found some friends and went to the pub. Many G&Ts, beers and bottles of sake later it all seemed like a fairly exciting experience, and the aftershocks that rumbled the restaurant we were in. 


Since last Friday we have felt countless aftershocks – some big enough to make me grab my bag and run outside, some just minor tremors. Apparently there have been over 200 aftershocks so far, although Tokyo hasn’t felt all of them. I’m not sure I’ve really stopped feeling dizzy, and have been imagining things moving when they’ve been completely still. But what’s freaked us out most (along with thousands of other people, I’m sure) has been the nuclear threat. It seems as though there’s a new problem every day, and the news reports and ‘expert’ opinions say ‘everything’s fine, it’s nothing to worry about’ one minute and ‘APOCALYPSE! You’re all going to die!’ the next. We have been yoyoing between feeling completely relaxed about it all, then massively panicked.  


Hopefully soon everything will be back to normal and we can carry on with our daily life of taking photos of dogs dressed as schoolgirls and learning the Japanese words for their million different kinds of fish. What’s been happening in the north is horrific, so whatever we’ve been through, though scary, just pales in comparison.


Chloë