Job Discussion Forums

[weigookin74]

How frequent are the earthquakes there? I spent over two weeks there in the summer of 2010 and never experienced one. I've never been in one before ever. What do they feel like and how often on average do you experience them there?

[mitsui]

Every once in a while.
I was in America on March 11, 2011 so I do not know how that one felt.
My wife was in Osaka and people sure felt that.

The one in the fall of 2004 was bad with three aftershocks.
That was a bad one in Niigata. People were left homeless.

[rxk22]

Didn't realize people in Osaka felt it.

Save for the 3/11 quake, and all the after shocks associated with it, quakes are not that common, and not that bad. Maybe one that you feel every 3-6 months or so. And those usually aren't that bad, just some shaking, won't knock over anything that you have.

Also, some areas get more quakes. Seems Kanto, Kansai, and the Tohoku have more and worse than Hokkaido and Kyushu. I think so at least.

[Pitarou]

Here in North Kanto, the geology still hasn't settled down since the big one of 2011. I lived in Japan for about a year before the big quake, and the difference is still noticeable.

Before the big one, I only ever experienced one quake that was more than a slight rattle. These days, they seem to happen every few weeks.

(It's possible that I'm just noticing them more now.)

[Shonai Ben]

I was in Fukushima when the big one hit on March 11th and in Sendai after that.The aftershocks were often huge and frequent.
Things seem to have calmed down for now.We still do get the odd quake though.
Funny thing is you get used to them over time.Anyway,I don't ever want to experience that big one again.
As someone else said it really depends on where you live as to the frequency and strength of the quakes.

[kah5217]

Just about daily throughout Japan, but the thing is you don't feel them every day. I feel light ones about every 2-3 days. But in the 9 months I've been here, only three big ones (mag 5). One happened at school and I got to see the kids follow procedure, while the other two were late at night. One of the late nights actually had an EMS alert via mobile, and the noise of the message freaked me out more than the actual quake (waking up to klaxons always messes someone up).

[Pitarou]

You also asked what they feel like. They feel like being on a plane during turbulence.

[Dekadan]

I've been here for three months and close to Tokyo. I notice small tremors frequently, generally every day. However, they likely wouldn't be noticeable if occupied with other activities. I've experienced 2 or 3 larger ones that noticeably shake things, but haven't done any damage.

[HLJHLJ]

There have been a few 4+ round Tokyo over the last month or so. They feel a bit like a truck driving past, barely noticeable unless they last a long time. I think there was only one 5+.

Most of them are so tiny you would never know they had happened. There's a map here of the ones recorded over the previous week
http://eoc.eri.u-tokyo.ac.jp/harvest/eqmap/tkyMAP7.html

[refikagurz]

I live near Kamakura and have felt a quake about once a week for the past 5-6 weeks. Yes, small, but noticeable if you're inside. They've rattled dishes but that about it... Maybe 4-4.5....

[Apsara]

I would say there is a a noticeable quake (if you're sitting down that is) once every couple of weeks in the Tokyo area on average. Sometimes you will go a couple of months without feeling one, and sometimes there will be three in a week. As someone said above, the smaller ones might feel like a truck driving past- windows and doors rattle a bit. Some have much more of a sway, like being on a boat in pretty calm waters. Most earthquakes that we feel in Tokyo are only 2 or 3 on the Japanese scale, which means that if you are on a train or walking around you won't even notice it.

I was in central Tokyo on 11 March 2011- the big one (a "strong 5" on the Japanese scale here) and the bigger aftershocks felt like being on a boat in very rough waters- the floor felt like it was moving several metres up and down, then side to side, or sometimes every which way, and it just went on and on (smaller earthquakes are usually 30 seconds or so at the most, this continued for several minutes). It was probably the most terrifying experience of my life, and I hope I never have to experience it again.

The tall buildings around me were swaying enough that some of them were bumping into each other, which is something I never want to see again. The biggest worry for me was that the windows of the buildings would break and send glass raining down- I could see the glass flexing but luckily we didn't quite reach that point- glass here is pretty strong, for obvious reasons.

That said, I still live in Tokyo- moving back to NZ wouldn't help though since there's a pretty high chance of experiencing a big earthquake there as well!

[TokyoLiz]

I live in northern Chiba Prefecture. Right across the Ibaraki border, in Joso City, there is an active fault line. We get rattled every week. Strong quakes with epicenters in Tohoku can be felt here.

The sensation isn't necessarily that strong. The noise of shutters, doors and windows rattling in their frames is quite loud and you could be the first sign you notice that indicates a quake is happening. The sensation can be as subtle as the sense that your chair is being kicked from below, to being on a train as it lurches into a station.

The weirdest quake I've experienced since the Big One was in Northern Chiba. The building lurched just once, and there was a deafening WHOOP! sound.

Closer to Joso City, a friend heard a deafening crack and then felt the building she was in shake violently but briefly.