Temblor shakes Tokyo!

If you are wondering about the odd title; it is the title of the article found on Japanese Times Online documenting that what we felt last night was our first legitimate earthquake to actually make the news. At first I thought the word "temblor" was just another example of japlish until I looked it up. To my surprise it actually does mean "earthquake." Look at that, you learn something new everday.

Kim and I have both felt our fair share of tremors during our stay in Tokyo, but most were fairly minor and lasted a mere ten seconds or so. Last night, however, was quite a different experience. This one felt significantly stronger. It really wasn't enough to knock things over, but it was enough for us to start questioning the integrity of the building, and leap for a doorway. It was a pretty scary feeling to just stand there, and feel utterly helpless while mother nature took its hold on the building. The quake seemed like it lasted for 3 minutes, but more realistically probably only for 45 seconds.

I always wondered what it would feel like. Now that I know, I hope that was the last.