A Scarier Earthquake

9:24 PM Edit: So...I found Koko.

It turned out to be an 8.8--the worst quake that Japan has ever experienced. It's a little like 9/11 all over again...or the blackout that August in NYC...or that snowstorm...just people and cars everywhere. I've never seen so many people on the streets and so much traffic in this area (Shirokane and Azabu-Juban).

As of about an hour ago, the subways still weren't working. And Koko's colleague said that even if they were, it's not a good idea to jump on the train because the tracks could have shifted during the quake, and it would cause an accident.

We went to a bar to eat (and for Koko to get a few beers), and on the way there, we joined the throngs of  people crowded around the TV outside a store, watching the news footage of the fire in Chiba (the next prefecture or "state" over), and massive damage and destruction caused when parts of buildings fell, collapsed, or got swept away by the tsunami.

At the restaurant, like everyone else there, we were glued to the TV.

Now, we're back at home and the building shakes sporadically. You definitely feel it this high (whereas we didn't feel it much at the street-level restaurant where we ate). It's very disconcerting, because it's almost like how unbalanced and dizzy you feel when you're overly tired or even a little tipsy. So part of me wonders if it's me (although I am neither exhausted or tipsy), or if it's the building itself. And then I turn and see that the curtains are moving ever so slightly.

The government advises people to be prepared for aftershocks for the next month of magnitude 7.0 or more. Greaaat.

On the upside, although this 8.8 quake was worse than the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, which was a 7.9 and in which 140,000 were killed, only 20 people were killed this time. Not that those 20 people were insignificant, but thank goodness the technology in architecture has improved vastly, eh?
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It felt like a much bigger earthquake than the one 2 days ago. I think it was a 7.9 (vs 7.2?). I had to keep my tv from falling over (the flat-screen design and dinky stand are not earthquake-resistant). Glass bottles fell out of cabinets and water came out of the toilet pipe. When I opened the cabinet the dishes fell out into the sink. Nothing broke and I'm not hurt. But I still can't get in touch with Koko. :T The elevators all over Tokyo have been shut down, so I had to walk down 13 flights (again).

The apt mgr said the elevator ppl probably won't be able to come for another 8 hrs because some ppl are trapped in elevators in Chiyoda. The receptionist at the front desk here was getting off work, but came back a few minutes later because the subways aren't working. I hope she doesn't live far. She's about 30-something and has lived in Tokyo all her life. She said this was the worst earthquake she had ever experienced.

There are still some aftershocks, and I'm unnerved enough to hang out in my apt lobby until I feel better about going up to the 13th floor again. I'm also a little tired because I went to the library after the worst was over, and then I was carrying around a big bag of library books for awhile.

I hope Koko and everyone else is ok.

The smallish aftershocks feel like...a big train is going by, with a little swaying motion involved, like you're on a rocking boat. Doesn't seem too scary, but what makes it more frightening is that, unlike a boat (unless you're out at sea during the middle of a storm), you don't know if it's going to get worse or if that as it.
And to think that I had blown off the "Diaster Preparedness" pamphlet I had gotten from the city when I registered for my gaijin card. I think I'll read that now. :T