Scott was at work in Harajuku (ward within Tokyo) assisting with artist rehearsals when the "big" quake hit. They have a digit computer tool at site that allows them to see if a quake is coming but it only reads a few seconds before it strikes. It alerted him that a level 3 was on it way. He warned the others but they've experienced mild level 2 earthquakes at work before without half the people even realizing it so no one cared too much at the time. Little did they know that a high level 5 or low 6 was on it's way. Then the stage, chairs, lights and major overhead equipment all started to shake. Everyone finally started to take Scott seriously and cleared out of the Big Top. Luckily no one was hurt and site seems to be relatively unharmed. The show is cancelled for today but he is doing detailed inspections of site to confirm it's safely.
I was in a coffee shop near our apartment in Shinjuku when the quake hit. I've never experienced one before so I was naive on the effects and ill prepared. It started slowly but then kept on going and going, and growing in strength. I was informed that the locals stay cool and calm during an earthquake since it is a big part of Japanese life so I knew there was something majorly wrong when the women started screaming and everyone hit the floor. I didn't yell (mostly because no one around me would have understood :) but followed suit and hit the ground to hide under a table. It is an unsettling feeling to have the ground, walls, lights, people, really everything all around you shake uncontrollably. However, baby peanut must have enjoyed my adrenaline rush because he was doing some serious Kung Fu moves in my belly!
After the "big" one hit the phones lines were down, internet was nonexistent or slow, power outages, nuclear power plants shut down, train and subway stations stopped, and people frozen in the streets, but reliable facebook was working smoothly! I messaged my friend Liz who was on site to find out how Scott was doing and relay to him that I was fine. After I heard that Scott was okay, I calmed down and sat in the coffee shop riding out the larger aftershocks. Poor Scott had to stay on site to make sure everyone and thing was at least "fine" and then had to walk 3-4 miles home in the crazy traffic because all 13+ million folks were on foot. We spent the night in our 14th floor apartment swaying, shaking and listening to the cracking noises all around us. The aftershocks are still going even now as I type.
It was a scary experience but we feel very fortunate that we didn't see the worst of it like the 8.9 level earthquake and tsunami in Sendai. Our hearts go out to the folks in Northern Japan! We are scheduled to be in Sendai for a show next year but we shall see what happens.
Thank you for all the kind notes of care and concern. We are doing fine. Just a little shaken up, literally :)
Grocery stores were cleared out. This picture was take this morning, 20 hours after earthquake.
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