Tokyo Earthquake Trashed My Apartment

地震がアパートを修羅場に



I came home from the office a little earlier than usual yesterday. When the earthquake struck the office in Kojimachi, I was actually out on the street, coming back from the local post office. The first thing I noticed was feeling unsteady on my feet. As I looked down to keep my balance and then looked up again, everything around me was violently swaying, and the old parking building I had stopped in front of was making dreadful creaking and groaning sounds as the the tremors wracked it. You can see the video I took once I'd regained my presence of mind here.

Fortunately that day it was fine and I had ridden my bicycle to work instead of taking the train. Coming home was an obstacle course. The trains were stopped, and the freeways - being all overhead - were closed. The streets of Tokyo were thronged with pedestrians and the streets jammed with traffic like I'd never seen it before. For those who work in Tokyo, not being able to take the train - typically at least half an hour, sometimes up to two hours out of Tokyo - means being totally stranded.

Then when I got home, the elevator was out, so I had to climb the 13 floors. Then walking in, OMG! - check out the above video!

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