#23 EARTHQUAAAAAAKE

There are earthquakes every day here in Japan, but it's not very often that you notice them, and they can be very localised. In the 3 months I've been here, I've only noticed two that were distinct earthquakes and not just the metro rolling underground or a truck going by.

One happened in the middle of the night. I awoke to a slight shaking, thought "Earthquake!!" and it was over.  The other one happened last night, which reminded me to write about it. I had just arrived home and sat down at the computer when I heard a kind of bang and felt a shake which at first I thought was someone just slamming their door. It took a second or two for me to think "Earthquake!!" and then it was over. It probably only lasted for five seconds.

I looked it up afterwards on the Japan Meteorological Agency website, and sure enough there was a level 2 seismic activity where I live. This is 2 out of 7, so it was far from remarkable. There are level 1s and 2s and a few 3s everyday.

Courtesy of the JMA website

I had to leave the office to go to a meeting one day, and after a few minutes on the train my colleague text to ask had I felt the earthquake, which I hadn't, as the train is always rocking anyway. He said that there was a definite shake for a few seconds and the office went quiet for a second, and when it was over there was a nervous laugh and a few moments of excited talk. It made me wonder how many others I've sat through while on a train and didn't notice.

If you're curious you can go here http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/ and see what recent earthquake activity is happening!