I do remember the earthquakes that occurred in San Francisco and Los Angeles in the 1980s and 1990s. In reality, many Japanese people don't usually live a serious or nervous life, but when a major earthquake occurs somewhere, they start to vacillate between fear and resignation, just like you did at the time.
I'm gonna have to copy this essay for survivalist reasons for once I arrive in Japan. I will also have to take notes and prepare for such a possibility myself.
I do believe though that Hokkaido has less extreme earthquakes right Shimizu-san?
There's no need to be nervous, but I think it's important to be prepared. By the way, an M6.7 earthquake occurred in Hokkaido in September 2018, causing an incredibly large-scale power outage throughout Hokkaido.
Oh zut, so not even Hokkaido is safe from them. A shame, oh well I still intend to move there and live there after my first year of teaching ESL in Japan.
Will do! I loved doing that before, and did so quite a few times in Japan, I'll definitely do it, and can't wait to see Japanese stop to ask me questions! Man, I miss that.
What a weird feeling it must be to live in constant awareness (or fear?) that something could happen. Do you ever get used to that feeling? Thank you for this article. Really interesting. I hope everyone in Japan is as well prepared as you are!
Small earthquakes are nothing special to us, but large earthquakes are extraordinary events. We usually live our lives without being aware of it. There are individual differences in how to prepare for an earthquake, and some Japanese people do not prepare at all.
I hope you never have to use your store of equipment Akira, but I am sure that you could not be better prepared. You appear to have thought of everything. Please keep safe.
If you have to sleep in the front seat of a car, park it pointed steeply uphill. Still not as good as lying down, but is like sleeping in a recliner: much better than sitting up.
The ideas you gave me are very helpful. I had never thought of tilting the car itself, and I had never heard of it from anyone before. Thank you for your helpful suggestions.
I discovered it completely fortuitously. I was doing a 1000-mile drive fron South to North in the USA, driving a Buick LeSabre along I-78 in Pennsylvania, needed to sleep, went to a nearby Appalachian Trail trailhead I knew about. None of the parking area was flat, and where I wanted to park, way in the back, was steep. I was really tired, nearly seeing double, so I don't recall my exact thought process, but I decided to pull in pointing uphill (downhill or side-slant would be terrible, already new that). Worked great: got a few decent hours sleep in oassenger seat, woke up feeling OK.
I see, this was an idea you got from real experience. Although it may be dangerous for us to use gradients during disasters, I think it is a good method that can be applied in a variety of situations.
I camped in a van for many years. I learned that parking is critical. Best is either flat level or with one's head slightly uphill. More than slight sideways tilt is bad; downhill tilt is terrible. Eventually I learned to carry pieces of wood board with me to level the van when I parked.
I've never lived in an earthquake area, but can imagine that something like farmland might be best: flat, soft, no rocks.
I used to watch videos on YouTube of people traveling around Japan in vans, thinking they might be helpful in times of disaster. And reading your comment reminded me of this. Like you, they said, "When sleeping in a car, it is important to keep the car level."
In a lightning storm, it is said to be good to be inside a vehicle: apparently the rubber tires insulate, or something. I wonder about earthquakes: are people safer in cars (as long as nothing crushes them) or outside and away from them?
Akira, don't know if you've seen this... https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/301633 Just more evidence that shows the experts really don't know where or when a quake will occur.
I've seen some maps like this. While such maps have the effect of sounding the alarm on dangerous areas, they also run the risk of misleading people about areas that are considered less dangerous. Not a single expert predicted the occurrence of the Hyogo Prefecture Southern Earthquake, which caused great damage in the 1990s.
The supplies needed are stored in different containers, because space :D but otherwise you need similar items. The spacesuit is your "house" in space, and you need energy for it or suffer exposure to cold and the vacuum. Finding someone out there is also hard and it reminds me of search and rescue efforts in the ocean after a shipwreck.
This was such a fascinating piece of writing—so layered and generous on so many levels—thank you. Living here in the Northern California / SF Bay Area 🌁💫🌉 means that earthquakes are also a very real part of life and I think, one of the reasons that land/environment here is as beautiful as it is. (I imagine this to perhaps in part also be the case in Japan—the intense beauty of land and water coexisting harmoniously, for the most part, and have admired it from afar for years.🌏💫)
Your level of prep is simply magnificent—you mentioned your hesitance to accept the reality you live with, and yet, to me, it seems that you both deeply honor and respect it, and live with intention via your choices and plans. I will be reviewing this resource and making some more intentional (and long overdue) choices and plans myself to better prepare as well. Again, thank you for writing and sharing these photos and examples of how one can accept fate and live in a way that recognizes the power of nature/earth in ways that hopefully will reduce suffering in some ways when the inevitable unfolds. Wishing you and your family safety and ease and peace. ✨☮️🌞🌈🍀
It is true that Japan and the West Coast of the United States are neighbors in the sense that they are both located on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, where tectonic movements occur actively, and I believe that we are facing the same problems.
I do remember the earthquakes that occurred in San Francisco and Los Angeles in the 1980s and 1990s. In reality, many Japanese people don't usually live a serious or nervous life, but when a major earthquake occurs somewhere, they start to vacillate between fear and resignation, just like you did at the time.
The reason I am always prepared is because I have been told to be careful since I was a child.
mind blowing!
On the other hand, it also brings benefits such as hot springs.
I hope you don't have to go through that experience. And that everything turns out well, if necessary.
Thank you so much!
Remember to prepare extra medications for those who need them and extra food and water for pets. 🐱🐶🐰
People with chronic illnesses, who require regular hospital visits, and people who own pets are likely to have more problems to deal with than I do.
I'm gonna have to copy this essay for survivalist reasons for once I arrive in Japan. I will also have to take notes and prepare for such a possibility myself.
I do believe though that Hokkaido has less extreme earthquakes right Shimizu-san?
There's no need to be nervous, but I think it's important to be prepared. By the way, an M6.7 earthquake occurred in Hokkaido in September 2018, causing an incredibly large-scale power outage throughout Hokkaido.
Oh zut, so not even Hokkaido is safe from them. A shame, oh well I still intend to move there and live there after my first year of teaching ESL in Japan.
Mon ami, when you visit Japan, do not forget to do some "gaikokujin sitting!"
Step one - buy snacks from the Combini.
Step two - find the local park.
Step three - sit on bench.
Step four - monch delicious Japanese snack.
Step five - become one with wholesome :3
Will do! I loved doing that before, and did so quite a few times in Japan, I'll definitely do it, and can't wait to see Japanese stop to ask me questions! Man, I miss that.
I probably will never be able to visit Japan, so everyone who does the "gaikokujin sitting" is doing it for me too.
What a weird feeling it must be to live in constant awareness (or fear?) that something could happen. Do you ever get used to that feeling? Thank you for this article. Really interesting. I hope everyone in Japan is as well prepared as you are!
Small earthquakes are nothing special to us, but large earthquakes are extraordinary events. We usually live our lives without being aware of it. There are individual differences in how to prepare for an earthquake, and some Japanese people do not prepare at all.
I hope you never have to use your store of equipment Akira, but I am sure that you could not be better prepared. You appear to have thought of everything. Please keep safe.
Thank you. I too hope that day never comes.
Stay safe 🙏💙
Thank you so much!
Sensible precautions!
I hope that research on earthquake prediction will progress further than it is currently doing.
If you have to sleep in the front seat of a car, park it pointed steeply uphill. Still not as good as lying down, but is like sleeping in a recliner: much better than sitting up.
But of course a van with a futon is much better.
The ideas you gave me are very helpful. I had never thought of tilting the car itself, and I had never heard of it from anyone before. Thank you for your helpful suggestions.
I discovered it completely fortuitously. I was doing a 1000-mile drive fron South to North in the USA, driving a Buick LeSabre along I-78 in Pennsylvania, needed to sleep, went to a nearby Appalachian Trail trailhead I knew about. None of the parking area was flat, and where I wanted to park, way in the back, was steep. I was really tired, nearly seeing double, so I don't recall my exact thought process, but I decided to pull in pointing uphill (downhill or side-slant would be terrible, already new that). Worked great: got a few decent hours sleep in oassenger seat, woke up feeling OK.
I see, this was an idea you got from real experience. Although it may be dangerous for us to use gradients during disasters, I think it is a good method that can be applied in a variety of situations.
I camped in a van for many years. I learned that parking is critical. Best is either flat level or with one's head slightly uphill. More than slight sideways tilt is bad; downhill tilt is terrible. Eventually I learned to carry pieces of wood board with me to level the van when I parked.
I've never lived in an earthquake area, but can imagine that something like farmland might be best: flat, soft, no rocks.
Flat, but far from the coast.
I used to watch videos on YouTube of people traveling around Japan in vans, thinking they might be helpful in times of disaster. And reading your comment reminded me of this. Like you, they said, "When sleeping in a car, it is important to keep the car level."
In a lightning storm, it is said to be good to be inside a vehicle: apparently the rubber tires insulate, or something. I wonder about earthquakes: are people safer in cars (as long as nothing crushes them) or outside and away from them?
Akira, don't know if you've seen this... https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/301633 Just more evidence that shows the experts really don't know where or when a quake will occur.
I've seen some maps like this. While such maps have the effect of sounding the alarm on dangerous areas, they also run the risk of misleading people about areas that are considered less dangerous. Not a single expert predicted the occurrence of the Hyogo Prefecture Southern Earthquake, which caused great damage in the 1990s.
Exactly. As you wrote earlier, there’s no reason to panic, but it’s important to prepare as much as possible. Than you for your post!
The entire thought process behind earthquake preparedness, reminds me of what I had to think/research about spaceship wreck survival.
Indeed, there may be something in common in that they assume extreme conditions.
The supplies needed are stored in different containers, because space :D but otherwise you need similar items. The spacesuit is your "house" in space, and you need energy for it or suffer exposure to cold and the vacuum. Finding someone out there is also hard and it reminds me of search and rescue efforts in the ocean after a shipwreck.
Your supplies look excellent.
Being prepared is important.
I'm a flashlight collector, so at least as far as lighting goes, I'm set if the big one comes to Tokyo.
Don't forget to stock up on batteries so your collection can function properly in an emergency (^o^)
This was such a fascinating piece of writing—so layered and generous on so many levels—thank you. Living here in the Northern California / SF Bay Area 🌁💫🌉 means that earthquakes are also a very real part of life and I think, one of the reasons that land/environment here is as beautiful as it is. (I imagine this to perhaps in part also be the case in Japan—the intense beauty of land and water coexisting harmoniously, for the most part, and have admired it from afar for years.🌏💫)
Your level of prep is simply magnificent—you mentioned your hesitance to accept the reality you live with, and yet, to me, it seems that you both deeply honor and respect it, and live with intention via your choices and plans. I will be reviewing this resource and making some more intentional (and long overdue) choices and plans myself to better prepare as well. Again, thank you for writing and sharing these photos and examples of how one can accept fate and live in a way that recognizes the power of nature/earth in ways that hopefully will reduce suffering in some ways when the inevitable unfolds. Wishing you and your family safety and ease and peace. ✨☮️🌞🌈🍀
It is true that Japan and the West Coast of the United States are neighbors in the sense that they are both located on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, where tectonic movements occur actively, and I believe that we are facing the same problems.
Thank you. Let's be careful of each other.