experiencing the earthquake in tokyo
So, reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. I also wrote a huge post about my experience, but when I clicked post LJ gave me a 404 and I lost all of it... But here I go again :)
So I went to Tokyo on March 9 via night bus. Night bus is a bit of a painful experience where the bus is super cheap, but it's an 8 hour ride jammed in a seat (mine was overnight so I was expected to sleep but couldn't...). It snowed when we left Kyoto, shockingly enough but the weather was quite nice when we reached Tokyo on March 10th. Spent the day playing around before proceeding to meet my mother's friend, my "aunt" and her family who live in Tokyo (not central, but close enough).
Fast-forwarding to the next day (Mar 11), I met up with my friend Haruka to go to Ginza before we headed to Ikebukuro to meet up with our other friends Yuichi and Saori for a small SEP (UBC JA's Summer Exchange Program) reunion <3 We went to Namja Town in Sunshine City, a small cat amusement park complete with a gyoza town in it. While chowing on some gyoza, the tables and lights around us started to shake. At first we thought someone was just walking like a giant, but the shaking continued more violently so we stood up to head for an exit, though changed our minds and ducked under the tables instead. The shaking just went on and on, but staff members reassured everyone and asked us to remain calm. Once the shaking subsided, they checked for injuries and fallen objects before directing us to an emergency exit into the main mall area.
Tons of gyoza shops in Namja Town <3
All around us, people were starting to get up from crouching near the ground and everyone had their cell phones out to call and mail people. We decided to proceed since the earthquake seemed rather minor, and finally left the building in search of some new amusement. On the streets, people were waiting because so many buildings had evacuated people and weren't letting them back in for safety reasons. We eventually ended up a cafe just to chat for a bit before it was announced that the building was closing, so the staff quickly kicked us out. It's then we finally realized that it might be best to head home, and headed for Ikebukuro Station.
People evacuated from the SEGA building not allowed in by the staff members...
However, immediately after the earthquake all the trains had been stopped. People still on the trains had been evacuated out and escorted back onto platforms as train stations all over the area began to close down and the ticket gates closed. When we got to Ikebukuro Station, we saw a huge crowd of people standing outside the ticket gates just waiting and hoping the trains would be restarted so they could go home. However, the trains remained shut down all night until around 11pm, when 3 subway lines opened up and by 2-4am, the rest of the trains started running again. Until then, people were forced to rely on taxis and buses. Thanks to my friend Yuichi, he found a bus for Haruka and I to take to a station where we could transfer.
The bus line was at least 1-2 hours long, and I bid Yuichi and Saori farewell as they decided to walk the hour or so home and settled in for a long wait. Haruka and I waited for more than an hour in the bus line up as we listened to people talk about the growing disaster all around us. The cell phone networks were all extremely busy, and mail came randomly and in huge quantities. People lined up several city blocks just for the pay phones, and buses only came 2-4 times in that hour.
People outside all lining up for the bus and trying to get home outside Ikebukuro Station.
We finanally managed to get on the bus and while the bus was extremely full, the bus driver remained polite and kept apologizing for the long wait in traffic. We got off at a stop to transfer buses, but the bus never came in the end. After waiting around 1.5 hours (Haruka ran to the convenience store and could only buy snacks because the shelves had been cleaned out), my aunt called to tell us that a couple subway lines were running. So around 11pm (we started trying to go home since 4pm), we ran half-frozen for the subway and managed to get on before people really knew the subways were running.
Haruka being a trooper and buying food as we settled in for yet another long wait <3 Warm drinks and Jagabee, my new favourite snack <3
Apologizes for the lack of stock due to the earthquake and inability for trucks to deliver the food supplies promptly. Signs like these were posted all over in stores all over Tokyo.
I called my friend Jon, who was living in Shinjuku at the time and he offered a place for Haruka and I to stay for the night while we waited for the trains to start again. PROPS TO JON :) Everyone at the guesthouse we stayed in were very accomodating and nice, and we got to catch a couple hours of sleep before the trains started again.
I originally bought this high-class ramen for my brother as a souvenir, but was forced to eat it because the combini had no food. Oops! ;D
However, Haruka had an AU network phone, which sent out a mail complete with a loud buzzing alarm (rang no matter what setting you had it on) whenever there was an earthquake, so we were woken up twice to incoming aftershocks/earthquake notifications. Finally at around 6:30am, we caught a train home and split up. Got home at around 7, and my aunt literally grabbed me in a bear hug the second she saw me. Getting home was such a pain... it was a trying experience and I was really happy to be back.
In Shinjuku, the trains were closed but the station was still open for people to take shelter while they waited for the trains to start again. The taxi line snaked around the plaza, but there were no taxis to take. Groups of people holding cardboard passed by (to sleep on?? there were a lot of people holding cardboard...) and earthquake shelters opened up in elementary schools. One person from Jon's guesthouse brought back emergency rations they had handed him, which consisted of a bottle of water and a packet of hard, flour biscuits (not appetizing but very filling, I guess?).
People lining the Shinjuku Station at ~12am, waiting for the trains and just sleeping on the ground. Click for bigger image.
People watching the news as they wait.Guess I'll do a post later on the aftermath :) I probably missed some stuff, haha...
So I went to Tokyo on March 9 via night bus. Night bus is a bit of a painful experience where the bus is super cheap, but it's an 8 hour ride jammed in a seat (mine was overnight so I was expected to sleep but couldn't...). It snowed when we left Kyoto, shockingly enough but the weather was quite nice when we reached Tokyo on March 10th. Spent the day playing around before proceeding to meet my mother's friend, my "aunt" and her family who live in Tokyo (not central, but close enough).
Fast-forwarding to the next day (Mar 11), I met up with my friend Haruka to go to Ginza before we headed to Ikebukuro to meet up with our other friends Yuichi and Saori for a small SEP (UBC JA's Summer Exchange Program) reunion <3 We went to Namja Town in Sunshine City, a small cat amusement park complete with a gyoza town in it. While chowing on some gyoza, the tables and lights around us started to shake. At first we thought someone was just walking like a giant, but the shaking continued more violently so we stood up to head for an exit, though changed our minds and ducked under the tables instead. The shaking just went on and on, but staff members reassured everyone and asked us to remain calm. Once the shaking subsided, they checked for injuries and fallen objects before directing us to an emergency exit into the main mall area.
Tons of gyoza shops in Namja Town <3
All around us, people were starting to get up from crouching near the ground and everyone had their cell phones out to call and mail people. We decided to proceed since the earthquake seemed rather minor, and finally left the building in search of some new amusement. On the streets, people were waiting because so many buildings had evacuated people and weren't letting them back in for safety reasons. We eventually ended up a cafe just to chat for a bit before it was announced that the building was closing, so the staff quickly kicked us out. It's then we finally realized that it might be best to head home, and headed for Ikebukuro Station.
People evacuated from the SEGA building not allowed in by the staff members...
However, immediately after the earthquake all the trains had been stopped. People still on the trains had been evacuated out and escorted back onto platforms as train stations all over the area began to close down and the ticket gates closed. When we got to Ikebukuro Station, we saw a huge crowd of people standing outside the ticket gates just waiting and hoping the trains would be restarted so they could go home. However, the trains remained shut down all night until around 11pm, when 3 subway lines opened up and by 2-4am, the rest of the trains started running again. Until then, people were forced to rely on taxis and buses. Thanks to my friend Yuichi, he found a bus for Haruka and I to take to a station where we could transfer.
The bus line was at least 1-2 hours long, and I bid Yuichi and Saori farewell as they decided to walk the hour or so home and settled in for a long wait. Haruka and I waited for more than an hour in the bus line up as we listened to people talk about the growing disaster all around us. The cell phone networks were all extremely busy, and mail came randomly and in huge quantities. People lined up several city blocks just for the pay phones, and buses only came 2-4 times in that hour.
People outside all lining up for the bus and trying to get home outside Ikebukuro Station.
We finanally managed to get on the bus and while the bus was extremely full, the bus driver remained polite and kept apologizing for the long wait in traffic. We got off at a stop to transfer buses, but the bus never came in the end. After waiting around 1.5 hours (Haruka ran to the convenience store and could only buy snacks because the shelves had been cleaned out), my aunt called to tell us that a couple subway lines were running. So around 11pm (we started trying to go home since 4pm), we ran half-frozen for the subway and managed to get on before people really knew the subways were running.
Haruka being a trooper and buying food as we settled in for yet another long wait <3 Warm drinks and Jagabee, my new favourite snack <3
Apologizes for the lack of stock due to the earthquake and inability for trucks to deliver the food supplies promptly. Signs like these were posted all over in stores all over Tokyo.
I called my friend Jon, who was living in Shinjuku at the time and he offered a place for Haruka and I to stay for the night while we waited for the trains to start again. PROPS TO JON :) Everyone at the guesthouse we stayed in were very accomodating and nice, and we got to catch a couple hours of sleep before the trains started again.
I originally bought this high-class ramen for my brother as a souvenir, but was forced to eat it because the combini had no food. Oops! ;D
However, Haruka had an AU network phone, which sent out a mail complete with a loud buzzing alarm (rang no matter what setting you had it on) whenever there was an earthquake, so we were woken up twice to incoming aftershocks/earthquake notifications. Finally at around 6:30am, we caught a train home and split up. Got home at around 7, and my aunt literally grabbed me in a bear hug the second she saw me. Getting home was such a pain... it was a trying experience and I was really happy to be back.
In Shinjuku, the trains were closed but the station was still open for people to take shelter while they waited for the trains to start again. The taxi line snaked around the plaza, but there were no taxis to take. Groups of people holding cardboard passed by (to sleep on?? there were a lot of people holding cardboard...) and earthquake shelters opened up in elementary schools. One person from Jon's guesthouse brought back emergency rations they had handed him, which consisted of a bottle of water and a packet of hard, flour biscuits (not appetizing but very filling, I guess?).
People lining the Shinjuku Station at ~12am, waiting for the trains and just sleeping on the ground. Click for bigger image.
People watching the news as they wait.Guess I'll do a post later on the aftermath :) I probably missed some stuff, haha...