I want to write about some my adventures this weekend but I guess a post about the thing that made the news is due. You have probably read about the 6.8 earthquake in Niigata this weekend. Maybe you read my previous post and made the connection that I was in Niigata too. Yes – I was maybe 50km away from the city it hit. We had checked out and were in the process of packing up and I was waiting in the entrance of the building in the second photo of my post below. The building started to rumble and I looked over to someone with me – “earthquake?” Then it got stronger and the place shook way more than those little rumbles of regular earthquakes. I felt and saw the whole building move under my feet. My friend jogged outside the open front door and I stayed sitting. He probably had the right idea. I think that maybe, being from Saskatchewan, I haven’t quite developed the earthquake know how. My reaction is a little “oh…this feels cool…what next?” And I don’t get the danger of them because I haven’t lived in places where they are natural disasters. We checked a report soon after and learned that it had been rated (at that time) at 6. Holy crap! Then I went outside and took some pictures. This is a frog at 10:16am, three minutes after the quake:

It wasn’t until the afternoon when we stopped at a service area on the road trip home that we heard about the effects of the earthquake. TVs in the cafeteria were showing NHK footage of toppled buildings and and train off its tracks. People died and so many were injured and homes were ruined.

And…it feels kind of weird. Because that earthquake was a disaster for so many others but if I am to be honest, I got a kick out of it. It felt “cool”. So I kind of feel bad talking about it because I feel sympathy for the people affected but it’s almost like I gained experience points or something from it. I don’t know if that makes sense. Maybe it does and I sound absolutely self-centered but…well we are all self-centered in some way I guess.

Anyway, one thing I am learning from this is the perception of/feeling towards/fear of earthquakes in Japan. People here live on an active island that could take the ground beneath their feet. There are both ancient wonders and amazing new structures and technologies that could be destroyed in the 10 seconds of a major quake. When a larger one hits it doesn’t just shock it also reminds. I was sitting in Denny’s this morning and the women next to me were talking about it. I don’t know what they were saying exactly but I suspect I will here more people talk about it at work tomorrow. I should turn on the tv and see what that media says but the tv is currently in my closet.

I hope that people affected can get all the help they need and return to good life soon.