Yesterday, June 18, 2018, I woke up to the shaking of the ground and my bed shaking with it. I was traveling near Kansai at the moment when a strong earthquake hit Osaka. It was felt even in the surrounding cities. Unfortunately, several people were injured and few more didn’t survive the earthquake.
The massive earthquake also resulted in the delay of train operations around the country. If you’ve traveled around Japan, you’ve probably experienced the convenience of this connected country because you can go almost anywhere by just taking a train. However, yesterday, most of the train operations got delayed. The train operation in Central Japan going in and out of Kansai was even stopped for a few hours.
A lot of Japanese commuters got stranded but they did not let that get to them. Going viral on social media are photos and videos how the Japanese people waited for train operations to commence.
A photo shared on Twitter by user @Thrill_JunkyIn, you can see a group of stranded commuters in an area in Tokyo Station who sat down in a circle, had their snacks and drinks while chatting with one another.
東北新幹線全然動いてなくて、改札口は阿鼻叫喚だけど、ホームは諦めて宴会場になってるの草 pic.twitter.com/ZvKiikuvqs
— ちゃび (@Thrill_Junky) June 17, 2018
Rough translation: The Tohoku Shinkansen is not moving at all and the ticket gate is packed but the people on the platform had a “we’ve given up party” and it became a banquet hall
This is smart as to not let their food and drinks go to waste while waiting for updates about the trains.
Meanwhile, passengers at the Hachinohe Station in the Aomori Prefecture witnessed a spontaneous show performed by a college gymnastics team. The video was posted by @hminami_oshi on Twitter.
東北新幹線のホームで学生さんたちがパフォーマンスしてる pic.twitter.com/1r4QnPJTMm
— 星野 (@hminami_oshi) June 17, 2018
Rough translation: The students are performing at the Tohoku Shinkansen
Another video was posted on Twitter by @Ms_mickey7711.
新幹線が運転見合せになり、疲れてる方々に何かできないかと思い自分たちがパフォーマンスしました！
見てくださった方々ありがとうございました！ pic.twitter.com/FiqhiPwaJ6— 瑞貴 (@Ms_mickey7711) June 17, 2018
Rough translation: The Shinkansen became a driving trip, and we never thought that people who were tired could do a performance! Thank you very much for entertaining us!
After doing a quick timetable and route search via Hyperdia, it seems that train operations are already back to normal.
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