An earthquake decides to hit in the northeast area of Japan. Then a tsunami hits. Then... panic. The Dears arrived the day before the 8.9 quake hit on Friday at 2:56 pm. I was in the middle of my private lesson talking about how marriage is loveless in Japan, and then the building starts shaking. I thought it was going to be like any other quake that would last like 5 seconds, but this one was stubborn and wouldn't stop shaking the building. Things started falling off the walls, and I could hear things crashing down on the other side of the classroom door. Being on the 9th floor of the building, I ran into the office and grabbed my coat and purse ready to run down 9 flights of stairs. Insanely enough, the staff was not prepared with any sort of earthquake evacuation procedures. So then, I dropped to the ground and curled into a ball. PANIC! After the first quake settled down, the students who were in the building left. I kept thinking to myself, why am I still in the building? We's gotta get the hell outta here!~ So, finally, I leave the building and crowds of people were standing outside. I didn't know what was going on, but people were pointing and saying "kowaii!!" The buildings were swaying back and forth. You can tell by looking at the window blinds. It seemed so unreal. And then the trees started shaking! The crowd migrated to the opposite end far away from the buildings and trees.
In between hyperventilating throughout this whole experience, all I could think about was WHERE ARE THE DEARS?!?!?! We were let out of work early, but I did not have my apartment keys to get inside. So, the adventure continues. I walk back to my apartment praying that they were home. There was no one. Thank goodness the internet on my cell phone started working again. THANK YOU FACEBOOK! 9 hours of wondering and waiting for the Dears. I walked up and down those stairs to my apartment unsure of where I should be waiting. Finally, I received a call. I was SO relieved that nothing serious happened to them. I waited in Cubic Plaza with the rest of the people who were stranded in Shinyokohama. The lines of people waiting for taxis kept increasing. And the air kept getting colder and colder. The guy that worked at Italian Quarter was super nice. He brought out a cup of hot tea for me and brought me chocolates while I waited oh so patiently for the Dears. Until... we were finally reunited!!! I have never been so happy to see them in my life. I was so happy and excited when they arrived they day before, but I was beyond ecstatic to see them that night.
We got home, and we shared our stories and experiences. The Dears were in Center Kita and walked 2.5 hours back to Shinyokohama. Aftershocks are not my friend. I could not go to bed that night. I am so glad that the Dears are here with me. If not, I don't know what I would be doing at this moment.
Crazy enough, Cuzzo comes out to Japan Saturday. The day after the natural disasters. We obviously thought it was meant to be since she was able to catch a standby flight. Things were fine up until this Monday morning. All day Sunday, we toured around Tokyo. Started in Shibuya, got our Beard Papa's and ate keiten zushi then went to the next area. Harajuku and Omotesando. I finally got my Hello Kitty cell phone back! Walked around and ate a yum crepe! After that, we continued riding the Yamanote Line to Ueno to transfer onto the Ginza Line to see Sensouji in Asakusa. It was a nice little area, but then it was time to ride the Ginza Line back down toward Shibuya. We made a stop in Akasaka for our reserved dinner at Ninja Restaurant. It was a great experience, and we even celebrated Cuzzo's "birthday." It was a great way to end the night.
Doesn't it seem like everything is all peachy keens after having a wonderful day in Tokyo?? Well, I'm not feeling 100% anymore. Please give me strength.
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