My wife and I are currently staying at the Hoshinoya resort on Taketomi in the Yaeyama Islands, and I wanted to share our experience going through the tsunami warnings causes by the earthquake in Taiwan this morning.
We were on a shuttle bus to go snorkeling when the initial warnings came through. Both my wife and I got emergency alerts on our phones – she is using a pocket wifi and I’m on a data-only eSIM. Glad to report that the emergency notification system here works regardless of how you’re connected. We didn’t feel the earthquake from inside the bus, but other guests told us that they felt very mild tremors.
After a short period of information gathering, our bus driver promptly brought us back to the resort. We were initially told that the area was safe and that we could return to our room. However, we soon started seeing additional alerts on our phones and decided to find higher ground on the resort property. Hotel staff must have gotten additional information at that time, and they began sweeping the property and gathering all guests at the front desk. We boarded shuttle buses and were taken to the local elementary school, which is the town’s official tsunami evacuation point.
We stayed there for about 2 hours until given the all clear. There were probably a few hundred people at the school, both tourists and locals. We were comfortable enough, and the local officials distributed water multiple times. They gave relatively frequent updates in Japanese and checked in individually with each person to ensure everyone was doing okay. The hotel staff provided key updates in English, and we always felt sufficiently safe and in the loop.
Overall, we were incredibly impressed by the efficiency, professionalism, and kindness of the hotel staff and local officials. Moreover, the calm demeanor and stoicism of the locals and tourists alike were on full display throughout the entire ordeal. As a bonus, the resort offered free use of our mini bars and complementary lunch when we returned. 🙂
No one wants to go through something like this while traveling in a remote place where you don’t speak the language, but I can’t imagine a much better place to be than Japan when it does. I feel very grateful and privileged to be here – I hope today’s news doesn’t dissuade anyone from coming here in the future.
To anyone out there affected by the earthquake or the aftermath, I hope you’re safe and that your travels get back on track!
by hopdank
14 comments
You had an unique experience. You could see how well prepared and efficient the Japanese authorities are. I believe that every Japanese knows what to do if / when there is an earthquake. Enjoy your travels!
as someone who also experienced something similar during the 1st Jan earthquake, Japanese people really know what to do and will always help out everyone during these emergency situations. My own takeaway is that in emergencies like these, follow along the closest Japanese resident if in public or listen to the staff in commercial places. No one gets left behind.
And here i am sleeping through the 6.0 quake in Morioka lol
Taipei here. It’s been 8 hours and the after shocks has not stop at all. It comes every 10 mins probably mg 1<0. Pretty annoying. After shocks are normal after a big one, but this duration is unusual and I’ve been in bigger ones, but never this long in aftershocks. As I type there’s another aftershock.
Yes I live in NZ and I’m a geologist – and if I ever get to experience a big earthquake I would hope to be in Japan for it.
Heading to Okinawa in 2 days then heading to nearby island via ferry. I was nervous about all of this. Especially since aftershocks are typical after an earthquake like this.
You mentioned the emergency alerts. Was this from the NHK World Japan app or was this your phone’s built-in alert (the type of alert famous for the Hawaiian missile strike accident)? Â
I’m hoping it’s the latter, because I’m pretty sure that works without any internet connection or SIM card, which will give me a lot of peace of mind when I go
As a tourist elsewhere in Japan, thank you for the detailed account from a tourists perspective.
I feel like Japan has a lot of practice, either similar to today, or North Korea rockets going overhead.
This is why I don’t travel to Japan. So many risks, very little reward!
Currently on a trip in Iriomote Island and our experience is pretty much the same as yours. Just about to leave the hotel to pick up our rental car and the alerts came through on outlr phones of an earthquake and then the tsunami warnings came through. Initially the hotel staff said they were waiting for more information, then 5 minutes later called up the guests and escorted us to higher grounds. Very well organised and no panicking at all. Not something you want to experience on holiday but definitely a story to tell!
Thanks for sharing this, was wondering what the experience was like.
Felt the Jan 1st one living in Kyoto. People in my school just went on without much fuss.
It takes a whole lot more to rattle the Japanese, pun unintended.
Thank you for this update! We were in Japan during the 5.3 earthquake on 3/21 and wondered about how things would go if we had to evcuate. Nice to know that things worked well for everyone!
Thank you so much.