Ok, so that earthquake joke I made the other day is no longer funny. Apparently, those quakes were just the warm-up act for the massive 8.9 behemoth that struck us today.
I was just exiting the Tokyo subway when it hit. News reports quote people saying that the quake seemed to go on forever. That was certainly what struck me. I also noticed that plenty of locals were really scared. This was different. (The exception were a few intrepid senior citizens who kept shopping, completely at peace with the concept that each minute might be the last one.)
Although I am sure that the devastation in the northeast is every bit as bad as the news reports, Tokyo is calm. Well, most of Tokyo is calm. Then there is me. I cannot believe that this morning I was sitting in a Japanese bath in Hokkaido. That seems like years ago.
On the 14th floor, I feel each and every sway of each and every aftershock, which come regularly. (Though not quite as frequently as the phantom aftershocks I imagine.) Still, I am conscious of my relative comfort with a large room in a luxury hotel. There are lots of people stranded in the hotel lobby. The highways are blocked off. It is cold. Still, order prevails.
Anyway, thanks to everyone who asked after me. I am fine and am looking forward to getting home.