Just Had a 7.1 Magnitude Earthquake in Japan

It took me five trains and 15 hours to get from Sapporo to Tokyo, checked into the Four Seasons at Tokyo Station, ordered an in room dinner, began eating at 11:34PM, and the whole room began to shake, for a couple of minutes. A lot of creaking, and five minutes later, there continued to be vibrations. An hour later I still feel tremors, but that could just be me. It was frightening.

I happened to be watching CNN, and they initially reported that this was a "mere" 7.4 magnitude aftershock of the 9.0 Great Tohoku Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Disaster. The quake was later downgraded to a 7.1. This is Day 28. A tsunami watch was announced for that same region of Japan and Tokyo Electric Power Company evacuated their staff from those Fukushima nuclear reactors.

Amazing, but the electricity never blinked, although there are blackouts here and there in the Tohoku area, with 3.6 million households without electricity. CNN kept being televised. I looked outside and the traffic looked normal through the entire ordeal. Not too smart, though, standing next to the glass wall while this was happening.

Well, back to my Tagliatelle with Wagyu Meatballs, a green salad and gin & tonic. I'd better add more gin.