While the title may be decieving because unfortunately I was too busy crapping my pants to take out my iPhone and actually snap some pictures or shoot a video which I imagine would have made me an instant YouTube sensation. Thinking back I could be partying with the likes of Keyboard Cat and Rick Astley if I had gotten this all on video, or at least the scariest 2 minutes of my entire life. But I digress.
Below the fold I will tell my story of the earthquake if only to get it off my chest.
It was a normal Friday. I had the day off and so did a great friend of mine (a strange combo us two, he is a Fox News Libertarian and Im a Dkos Liberal..yeah we dont talk politics) so we decided to chill at his place and play some COD:Zombies on his big screen. He lives in Ryogoku, near the Sumo center of the world, on the 9th floor of a high rise.
We were having a good time, almost got to round 12 which in Zombies in a hell of a feat when we broke for a smoke break (save the health trolling) when I noticed the ceiling light was shaking a bit. I yelled out the window "Man, looks like we got a earthquake". He replied "Not too bad though", and living in Japan...it wasnt. We get small ones quite frequently, and it normally was not something to panic over.
But it didnt stop...
And it got stronger...
And there is a moment in an event like this where you go from amused and interested to concerned. Then really concerned. Then only panic and fear.
The 9th floor apartment was really shaking about 30 seconds in and it kept getting stronger, we ran to his back room and held onto the door frames. He realized his TV was in danger of slamming into the floor he jetted over to hold it and the wall for stability.
I moved from the back room to the kitchen to keep sight of him and to watch the kitchen ware. The apartment felt like it was coming apart. His telephone/fax stand slammed into the ground spilling his fax machine across the bouncing ground.
It was a certainty in my mind that this could be it. The high rise would collapse and I would die in the crushing rumble. I wished with all my might that it only slow. If it would slow I knew the worst was over. That I had a chance.
And it did. Slowly (so ever slowly) the building (swaying as it was designed to sway) began to lose momentum. Began to stop moving. Oh, for it to stop moving.
The worst of this round was over but I knew it would not be the end. Aftershocks would come after a trembler of this size, and I did not want to be on the 9th floor any more.
"We are getting the fuck out of here right now" I told him.
"Let me get my keys and jacket" was all he needed to say.
We ran holding our shoes and jackets in our hands down 9 flights of emergency exit stairs. Time seemed to move in slow motion (as cliche as that might sound) as we made our way achingly down the flights of concrete stairs. Seven, Four, Two, and finally One. Lobby. Escape.
Outside we were surrounded by tens of Japanese all looking up, all looking frightened.
Cell service was down, but internet was not. We were panicking and I couldn`t reach my wife, home with my young son. I got through to my mother on Skype and (waking her up at 1 in the morning) she checked the news as my brother checked the internet to find out what was going on. After speaking with my worried mother for a few minutes I said I needed to try and find out if my wife is ok. She is the love of my life and I was worried beyond belief. So many scenarios flew through my mind, I just wanted to know she was ok.
Calling her on our Softbank service was completely impossible. I tried calling her cell phone on Skype and this also didnt work. SMS was down.
My friend got a message from his wife (they have NTT Docomo and it was working) and I was worrying the worst. I desperately posted a status update on Facebook and saw the hundreds of members in Japan posting similar messages.
Ten minutes later I got the second biggest relief of the day (the first was when the earthquake finally stopped). A comment on my post. "We are ok". Posted by my lovely wife.
To get home I ended up borrowing my friends mountain bike and rode through traffic jams over 24km to get back to my wife and young son. See the first comment for a video I posted during the journey when I finally was calm enough to observe the moment and record it.