Earthquake in Japan: what tourists should do

Numbers to save now

110 and 119 are free from any phone. The Japan Visitor Hotline, run by the Japan National Tourism Organization, helps visitors in emergencies and disasters.

Before you travel

• Install an official alert app. Safety tips, supported by the Japan Tourism Agency, sends earthquake, tsunami and weather warnings in English and other languages. Turn notifications on.
• Learn your hotel’s exits. Most rooms have an evacuation map on the back of the door. Take ten seconds to look at it.
• Save your hotel address in Japanese. It helps if you need to ask for directions or take a taxi when transport is disrupted.
• Keep your phone charged. A small power bank is useful on any travel day, and more so after a strong quake.

During the shaking

Indoors

• Drop, cover and hold on. Get under a sturdy table or desk and hold on until the shaking stops. If there is no table, protect your head and neck with your arms or a bag.
• Stay away from windows, shelves, mirrors and hanging lights.
• Do not run outside while the ground is shaking — falling glass and signs are a bigger danger than the building in most cases.

In an elevator

Press all floor buttons and get out at the first floor where the doors open. Many elevators in Japan stop at the nearest floor automatically when they detect an earthquake.

Outdoors

Move away from buildings, walls, vending machines and power lines. Protect your head, and watch for falling glass and signs in shopping streets.

On a train or Shinkansen

Trains slow down and stop automatically when strong shaking is detected. Hold on to a seat or handrail, follow the announcements and staff, and never leave the train on your own.

In a car

Slow down gradually, pull over to the left and stop. Stay in the car until the shaking ends and follow local instructions.

Near the coast: tsunami

If you feel strong shaking, or long slow shaking, while you are near the sea — or if a tsunami warning (津波警報, tsunami keihō) is announced — move to high ground or into a tsunami evacuation building immediately. Follow the tsunami evacuation signs and local announcements.

• Do not wait to see the wave and do not go to the shore to look.
• Go as high as you can, as fast as you can.
• Stay there until the warning is officially lifted, even if the first wave was small.

After the earthquake

• Expect aftershocks. They can be strong. Stay alert for at least the next few hours.
• Follow staff instructions in hotels, stations and shops — they are trained for this.
• Check official information: NHK WORLD-JAPAN (English news), the JNTO Japan Safe Travel account and the Japan Meteorological Agency.
• Expect transport delays. Trains are inspected after a strong quake before they run again. Allow extra time and keep fixed plans flexible.
• If a building is unsafe, local authorities open evacuation shelters (避難所, hinanjo), which visitors can also use.
• Let family know you are safe, and contact your embassy if you need consular help.

For non-urgent help — directions, a lost passport, finding a shelter — the nearest kōban (交番, small neighborhood police box) is a good place to go.

Useful Japanese words