Dawn of the First Day
March 11th, 2011, Koganei, Tokyo, Japan. I sit in my chair happily reading webcomics in my dorm room, contemplating what to do for the day. The week before I had just finished my travels across western Japan and this week I planned to enjoy and relax my Spring Vacation.
“Perhaps I’ll go get some Ramen.” I thought to myself. “I haven’t had FuuFuu in awhile.” FuuFuu Ramen was a noodle shop down the street with the best Tonkotsu Ramen ever to grace my mouth. Their service and atmosphere was unparalleled, always welcoming you with a smile, warm greeting, and any manga (Japanese comic book) of your choice. Their wall was bookshelf, 5 feet high 15 feet wide, full of manga.
Before I get up I receive a Facebook chat message from one of my friends in the states, David. I hadn’t seen David in 6 months, so I recommended a Skype Video call. It was around 1:30pm JST. We covered a variety of topics; ranging from martial arts (we are both Black Belts in Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do) to Asian women, we even touched upon the topic of earthquakes comparing our experiences.
David has lived in Los Angeles for almost a year, a UNC-Charlotte alumni, he had never really experienced them before moving to LA. I, being in the same boat, had never really felt one till I came to Japan.
My first earthquake was one during class. We were taking a quiz in Japanese class when I felt the building shake. We were on the basement floor of an 11-story building. My first thought was, “Who’s shaking my desk?” I looked up to see everyone just staring into the middle distance when someone finally said, “Earthquake?” The shake lasted a mere 5 seconds, and we continued on.
I explained to David that earthquakes were quite frequent here in Japan. I even showed him my “Earthquake Detector”, a Chinese lantern I bought with David in Chicago’s Chinatown hanging off a tack in the middle of the wall.
At 2:46pm JST – 9:46pm PST – I felt an odd sensation and glanced over at my Chinese lantern, it was shaking.
“Oh, I think we’re having an earthquake.” I said, quite relaxed.
“You may want to get under a dorm frame” David replied with much more concern than I.
“Nah, it’ll--” I was interrupted mid-sentence by the intensity of the quake. The room was now shaking at such a force it was difficult to stand. The earth was roaring. I have never heard such an unsettling sound. I ran to the doorframe and held on looking down the hallway to my fellow dorm-mates. David continued to watch from Skype, helpless.
The quake had been raging for about 10 seconds at this point when I see a fellow study abroad student from England holding his doorframe, his name was Aaron.
“This is Mental!” Aaron exclaimed. He had never felt an earthquake before. It certainly was as I think back on it, quite Mental.
The room was shaking like a toy, the ground continuing to roar. About 20 seconds in, which felt like an eternity, Rob, a fellow study abroad student from Seattle, wanders down the stairs looking completely out of it. I yelled at him to come here and he ran into my room and held the doorframe with me.
We were yelling at this point. David continued to watch, showing his girlfriend his view. The quake was not letting up. I hear other people from within the dorm yelling. I look out once again into the corridor, seeing Aaron standing in nothing but his underwear watching the walls shake. Then the giant medal fire-doors closed between Aaron and I, they separated the corridor into two sections – a west and east side. That did not sit well with him as I heard his displeasure from behind the doors.
The earth continued to shake like a child throwing a tantrum. Then, finally, after 90 seconds of extreme displeasure, it tapered off. Adrenaline was flowing. I quickly ran out to the balcony and ran up the stairs to the fifth floor to take a look at Mount Fuji, maybe she had had enough. She sat there, observing Tokyo from her distance. Silent.
I returned to my room a few moments later. David was still on Skype. Still shaking, I slumped into my chair attempting to laugh it out. Not sure what to say, I sat there a few seconds.
David broke the silence, “Ed. Next time, man, just leave.” David’s advice was sound. People were up and about; everyone in the dorm was unnerved, even the seasoned Japanese were not sure how to handle that.
The earth wasn’t done and began to shake again, this time not nearly as bad.
“I’m going, man” I told David and closed the chat. I ran out of my room to greet some of my dorm-mates in the hall downstairs.
“Just an aftershock?” I thought aloud. Takuya, a Japanese student, nodded in agreement. We walked to the Laundry Balcony and watched at the power lines swayed. Everything else seemed to be in order. Takuya joined us, “I’ve never experienced anything like that.”
“The fact you said that, doesn’t comfort me, Tak.” I whimpered. Quite simply, it made me more terrified. The group of us wandered back to Aaron’s room, luckily he found his pants, and we researched the strength of the quake. We got varied numbers all above 7.5 on the Richter scale.
I walked back to my room, still feeling aftershocks. Each time my heart sunk, “was this the next big one?” I sat in my chair. I was beginning to get used the quakes, a thought scary in and of itself. I go to BBC.com to see what the rest of the world has to say. The BBC was saying 8.8 and CNN was saying 7.9; either way, that crazy. I posted my thoughts on Facebook.
At 2:46pm JST – 9:46pm PST – I felt an odd sensation and glanced over at my Chinese lantern, it was shaking.
“Oh, I think we’re having an earthquake.” I said, quite relaxed.
“You may want to get under a dorm frame” David replied with much more concern than I.
“Nah, it’ll--” I was interrupted mid-sentence by the intensity of the quake. The room was now shaking at such a force it was difficult to stand. The earth was roaring. I have never heard such an unsettling sound. I ran to the doorframe and held on looking down the hallway to my fellow dorm-mates. David continued to watch from Skype, helpless.
The quake had been raging for about 10 seconds at this point when I see a fellow study abroad student from England holding his doorframe, his name was Aaron.
“This is Mental!” Aaron exclaimed. He had never felt an earthquake before. It certainly was as I think back on it, quite Mental.
The room was shaking like a toy, the ground continuing to roar. About 20 seconds in, which felt like an eternity, Rob, a fellow study abroad student from Seattle, wanders down the stairs looking completely out of it. I yelled at him to come here and he ran into my room and held the doorframe with me.
We were yelling at this point. David continued to watch, showing his girlfriend his view. The quake was not letting up. I hear other people from within the dorm yelling. I look out once again into the corridor, seeing Aaron standing in nothing but his underwear watching the walls shake. Then the giant medal fire-doors closed between Aaron and I, they separated the corridor into two sections – a west and east side. That did not sit well with him as I heard his displeasure from behind the doors.
The earth continued to shake like a child throwing a tantrum. Then, finally, after 90 seconds of extreme displeasure, it tapered off. Adrenaline was flowing. I quickly ran out to the balcony and ran up the stairs to the fifth floor to take a look at Mount Fuji, maybe she had had enough. She sat there, observing Tokyo from her distance. Silent.
I returned to my room a few moments later. David was still on Skype. Still shaking, I slumped into my chair attempting to laugh it out. Not sure what to say, I sat there a few seconds.
David broke the silence, “Ed. Next time, man, just leave.” David’s advice was sound. People were up and about; everyone in the dorm was unnerved, even the seasoned Japanese were not sure how to handle that.
The earth wasn’t done and began to shake again, this time not nearly as bad.
“I’m going, man” I told David and closed the chat. I ran out of my room to greet some of my dorm-mates in the hall downstairs.
“Just an aftershock?” I thought aloud. Takuya, a Japanese student, nodded in agreement. We walked to the Laundry Balcony and watched at the power lines swayed. Everything else seemed to be in order. Takuya joined us, “I’ve never experienced anything like that.”
“The fact you said that, doesn’t comfort me, Tak.” I whimpered. Quite simply, it made me more terrified. The group of us wandered back to Aaron’s room, luckily he found his pants, and we researched the strength of the quake. We got varied numbers all above 7.5 on the Richter scale.
I walked back to my room, still feeling aftershocks. Each time my heart sunk, “was this the next big one?” I sat in my chair. I was beginning to get used the quakes, a thought scary in and of itself. I go to BBC.com to see what the rest of the world has to say. The BBC was saying 8.8 and CNN was saying 7.9; either way, that crazy. I posted my thoughts on Facebook.
“Was it 8.8 or 7.9? Fucking hell… I’m still shaking and so is the earth…” -3:45pm 3/11/11
My research led me to the origin of the quake. At 2:46pm JST, 81 miles off the coast of Sendai, Japan (231 miles from Tokyo) an 8.9 earthquake occurred near the surface. The next focus was now on to the massive Tsunami heading towards Sendai and the eastern coast of Japan. The tsunami was rumored to be catastrophic. We Tokyoites were not concerned as we were far enough inland that it wouldn’t be feasible for the wave to affect us. But, Sendai and the eastern coast were in severe danger.
The tsunami hit the coast with a 30 foot wall of water – instantly destroying towns, cities, and effecting millions of lives. The devastation would scar the country for months.[1] The tsunami was now heading to the Philippines, Hawai’i and the western coast of the United States at 500 miles per hour; damage was minimal in comparison.
It wasn’t long before we realized the effects of the earthquake. All trains in Tokyo had stopped, people were walking home. Our friends who decided to hike the nearby Mount Takao became aware that they would have to walk home – all 17 miles of it – they arrived back around 1am. Cellular networks were bogged down with people trying to reach love ones. After an exhaustive effort, we were able to account for all of our friends. Some were stuck in Yokohama, others were stuck in Shinjuku; but, everyone was safe albeit shaken up.
It wasn’t long before we realized the effects of the earthquake. All trains in Tokyo had stopped, people were walking home. Our friends who decided to hike the nearby Mount Takao became aware that they would have to walk home – all 17 miles of it – they arrived back around 1am. Cellular networks were bogged down with people trying to reach love ones. After an exhaustive effort, we were able to account for all of our friends. Some were stuck in Yokohama, others were stuck in Shinjuku; but, everyone was safe albeit shaken up.
Dawn of the Second Day
I woke up to another aftershock, around 5am. This one was rather large, but certainly not as large as the original quake. The aftershocks made it difficult to sleep. I kept thinking, “Will the next one be the one?”
I made it to breakfast, an unprecedented event, and sat dumbfounded watching the news while I ate my food. The tsunami had destroyed Sendai, a city which a few friends and I visited a few months ago. I couldn’t fathom the destruction and watching it on TV didn’t make it any more real. I felt as if I was living in a dream.
The tsunami had done more than taken thousands of homes and lives; it also caused a nuclear power plant to melt down. Fukushima Plant No. 1 was no longer able to cool itself, threatening a large area. Luckily, Koganei, the city in which the dorm resides, was outside of the affected area by a great deal; but, if the winds changed then we could be in danger.
Due to the Power Plant’s shut down, black outs were to be enforced throughout Tokyo. We decided to go on an excursion for candles to keep us entertained. It was then that we noticed the severity of the situation. Stores were closed; our local super market was closed, FuuFuu Ramen was closed, McDonalds was closed. The stores that were open had lines and once we were able to get in, we realized they didn’t have candles. Local convenience stores were picked thin, bread and water were scarce. They had plenty of Coca-Cola and Beer, though.
I made it to breakfast, an unprecedented event, and sat dumbfounded watching the news while I ate my food. The tsunami had destroyed Sendai, a city which a few friends and I visited a few months ago. I couldn’t fathom the destruction and watching it on TV didn’t make it any more real. I felt as if I was living in a dream.
The tsunami had done more than taken thousands of homes and lives; it also caused a nuclear power plant to melt down. Fukushima Plant No. 1 was no longer able to cool itself, threatening a large area. Luckily, Koganei, the city in which the dorm resides, was outside of the affected area by a great deal; but, if the winds changed then we could be in danger.
Due to the Power Plant’s shut down, black outs were to be enforced throughout Tokyo. We decided to go on an excursion for candles to keep us entertained. It was then that we noticed the severity of the situation. Stores were closed; our local super market was closed, FuuFuu Ramen was closed, McDonalds was closed. The stores that were open had lines and once we were able to get in, we realized they didn’t have candles. Local convenience stores were picked thin, bread and water were scarce. They had plenty of Coca-Cola and Beer, though.
We returned to the dorm, a failed lot. No candles were in Koganei. We reserved ourselves to our rooms to await the black out. It never came.
Dawn of the Third Day
As March 13th came about, the dorm-mates and I were worried about food. The dorm provided us with food on the morn and evening of everyday but Sunday. March 13th, 2011 was a Sunday. Ryouchou (Dorm Head) told us we didn’t have food for Sunday and there was nothing he could do. We set upon the town once again in the search of food. Luckily, FuuFuu Ramen was open again, as was McDonalds and several other restaurants; most places were open they were just running on special hours. This would be the case for several days to come. We ate and returned home.
Life began returning to normal. The threat of earthquakes and black outs were the most unnerving; people began to head home (wherever that may be). My University would eventually pull the program for me to study in Japan and I would return home several days later. My life has still not gotten on track. I battled depression; longing for the country and dream from which I was pulled from. In hindsight, as I watch the lucky people who got to stay in Japan come home, I can’t help but feel bitter. They got to experience what I could not. It pains me to this day.
My focus has shifted from trying to graduate on time – a futile effort – to trying to return to Japan as a student. Come hell or high water, I will return. I will finish what I started.
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