As I finished packing, I looked out the window of our 14th floor hotel room, with a beautiful view of the Tokyo Tower and a plethora of high rises scattered throughout the city. It was technically my second trip to Japan, the first being when I was about two years old...What an amazing city. Not only is Tokyo filled with modern shops and buildings, it is also full of a rich culture and fascinating history.
Like some of the best trips I have taken, this one was totally last minute and unplanned. David, a friend and co-worker, had run into me only a few days before, eagerly asking about my plans for my days off. I barely had a chance to answer him before he started rattling off things about Tokyo, empty flights, a free hotel, and what a great travel buddy he would be! I had just returned from a week in Hawaii, where I'd gone to do a scuba diving certification course with my friend Christine. On one hand I felt like it would be irresponsible to take another trip so quickly...On the other hand, it was an opportunity I didn't want to pass up! Who knew when I'd get another chance to go on a quick, inexpensive trip to Tokyo?
As expected, we got Business class seats on
Delta's 747 from Los Angeles to Tokyo's Haneda Airport, and were well rested for our adventure in the Orient!
We touched down in the morning, and had a full day of learning how to use the metro, experiencing Japanese toilets :), exploring the city, and sampling some extremely delicious Japanese food! I will never think of sushi or noodles the same again...or be able to enjoy it as much! ;)
The next day we went to a different part of the city. Our mission was to venture up to the 45th floor of a building that would allow us to see a panoramic view of Tokyo. The buildings and high rises went on for miles, and I could see some mountains in the distance. Little did we know that only a few hours later, their architecture would be put to the test by the fifth largest
earthquake to be recorded in the world...
Back to the 14th floor of the hotel room... David was in the shower while I sat and waited for him to be done so that we could go downstairs and check out. We had a 3pm check out time, but our flight wasn't until midnight so we had planned to leave our things at the hotel and explore a little more before heading to the airport. It had been a fun trip, and the perfect amount of time. I was ready to get back home...
I have experienced plenty of earthquakes, both in Papua New Guinea and in California...but nothing close to what I experienced that afternoon in Japan...The shaking started slowly, and I thought to myself, "Ooh, earthquake!" expecting the little tremor to be over quickly. There was nothing quick about this one...or little. The quake
continued, and got stronger as it did. It shook and shook and became more violent. The coffee in my mug sloshed, and I watched as the flat screen television rocked, ready to topple. I heard a crash in the closet, and a ceiling fixture fell. I wondered if the 15+ floors above me would fall and crush me. Not much I could do now...My wobbly legs carried me to the entry way of the room as I steadied myself against the wall, asking God to please stop the shaking! The 36 story building was getting rocked hard! When it finally slowed, I opened the door and looked into the hallway to find other hotel guests as well as employees standing in amazement at what had just happened. Shortly thereafter, an announcement came over the hotel's PA system in Japanese first, then English. It was the security department, telling us not to be alarmed, and that the hotel was safe, and was built to withstand earthquakes. Just then, a man came down the hall talking about cracks in the walls not far from our door.
Not knowing the extent of the repercussions of the earthquake, we tried to figure out how we were going to get downstairs to check out. The elevators had been shut down, and the stairways weren't accessible unless we shattered a plastic cover over the handle. Just before a hotel
employee came to show us another way down, there was another earthquake...the first aftershock of hundreds to come. The kind man took my bags, and we made the hike down 14 floors of stairs to the lobby, which by then was full of people. Among the people checking out were several pilots for United Airlines. David took care of tying up the loose ends with the hotel staff, and I went and spoke to the one the pilots, asking if he knew anything about the airports or flights being affected by the earthquake. He was very kind, but didn't have any information as of yet. While we were talking, another pilot came downstairs and told him that one of their round trips had been canceled...and then we learned that the airports were only allowing landings, but no take-offs. I prayed that we would get out that night...
With not much else we could do, David and I went for a walk. The city was bustling with people who, as it turned out, had no way to get home from work...The metro was shut down, highways shut down, and traffic barely moving. I saw news of the earthquake and what looked like a tsunami warning on television, but everything was in Japanese, so I didn't understand it...The lack of complete information I was getting coupled with the images I was seeing scared me, and I couldn't watch anymore. I prayed some more. When we got back to the hotel a little while later, we learned that the airports were closed and all flights were canceled. When David asked if we could get another room at the hotel, we were denied.
We had nowhere to go, and nowhere to sleep. Everything was shut down, and who knew how long that would last? I wondered how we would get home...and when we would get home. I tried contacting my family, but wasn't able to get through. I felt very alone...
A little while later, I recognized some American men that were in the lobby. It was the United pilots again, but in plain clothes this time. David and I talked with them, and when they were made aware of our situation, one or two of them expressed an interest in helping us out. First though, they wanted to grab a drink and something to eat, and invited us to join them. That was a great distraction for me, much better than sitting in the hotel lobby and playing out a billion different scenarios in my mind! One of the biggest blessings that evening was that one of them had a phone with an international calling plan on it, and let me use it to call my dad. I can't describe how comforting it was to hear his voice! It was so good to talk with him.
When we got back to the hotel, they still wouldn't let us book another room, but said we could sleep in the lobby. The pilots who had said they would help look after us mysteriously
disappeared...I continued to pray, and ask God to continue to look after us. I was tired, frustrated, and felt helpless again. A few minutes later, a man walked up to me. He was the first pilot I had spoken with right after the earthquake. He asked if we'd been able to work anything out for the night, and when I said no, he offered to share his room with us! I was so amazed at his kindness! I didn't sleep well that night, as both David and Pete, the pilot snored loudly...but thanked God over and over for Pete's kindness and generosity to open his room to strangers! Throughout the night I felt more aftershocks, and the hotel creaked and swayed...it reminded me of being on a cruise ship.
The next morning, we showered, packed up again, thanked Pete profusely, and decided to start making the trek to the airport. We weren't sure if the highways or metros were completely up and running again, but had been informed that the airports were open and flights were departing. The flight we wanted to take didn't leave until midnight, but we wanted to get there early and just hang out at the airport. When we had arrived in Tokyo, it had taken us 45 minutes to get from the airport to our hotel, but on this particular morning, it took us about 4 hours to get back. Tokyo definitely wasn't business as usual! :(
Upon arrival at Tokyo-Haneda International Airport, we saw loads of people camped out around the airport with cardboard boxes and blankets. They had been stranded since the day before. We found a place to settle for the next few hours, and the wait began. Being airline employees, when we use our flight benefits, we're never guaranteed a seat on a flight. It is always standby travel, which is awesome when it works out, but can be very stressful when it doesn't. In the normal world, things get a little crazy when one flight cancels...I had no idea what things would look like with multiple flights canceling, but continued to pray! (Are you seeing a pattern here?) ;) As we waited, we met many others who had been at the airport since right after the earthquake...we exchanged stories and sat through one aftershock after another. One man looking at the news on his laptop saw that something at the nuclear power plant had exploded. Oh Lord...please have mercy on this country and its people...and please get me home!!!
Finally, after about 10 hours of waiting, David and I were assigned seats, in Business class :) on the flight to Los Angeles. Even with loads of people being rebooked, they still managed to get us on. I was so, so thankful. I didn't imagine things playing out like that! We boarded our flight, and they closed the doors. We were about to taxi out to the runway when there was another earthquake. I was thinking, "Get us out of here before it gets worse and they shut down the
airport again!"
I knew a trip to Tokyo was going to be an adventure...
but I never could have imagined all of
that! When I arrived in Los Angeles, my family was there to greet me with their love and big hugs. :) It was only after I got back that I learned more about the situation in Japan...that the earthquake was a 9.0, about the massive tsunami, the activity at the nuclear power plants,
and how many aftershocks there really were...What an amazing tragedy for a country and its lovely people to endure!!!
We continue to pray for Japan...
