# Earthquake in northern Japan
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-northern-japan/457489
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [July 23, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-northern-japan/457489 "2008-07-23T15:33:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-northern-japan/457489/1 "2008-07-23T15:33:34Z")
Just as I was going to be, I felt an earthquake. The news said it was magnatude 6.8, centered in northern Japan.
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### Author:  [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2008, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-northern-japan/457489/2 "2008-07-23T16:27:28Z")
USGS: [Eastern Honshu.](http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2008uva4.php) 12:26 am, local time.
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### Author:  [@Caractacus\_Pott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caractacus_Pott)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-northern-japan/457489/3 "2008-07-23T17:33:54Z")
Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll drop a line to my friends there. It was pretty close to where I had lived. Knowing my luck, a \*kuma no kibori \*would have clonked me on the head.
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### Author:  [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2008, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-northern-japan/457489/4 "2008-07-23T18:32:31Z")
Just as you were going to be what?
😃
Sorry, hope everything’s all right there.
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### Author:  [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-northern-japan/457489/5 "2008-07-24T00:56:48Z")
[QUOTE=El\_Kabong]
Just as you were going to be what?
[/QUOTE]
bed :smack:
My wife and I were not quite asleep, and it first felt like someone was shaking the bed. She thought I was, and I was wondering if anyone else was sharing our bed.
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### Author:  [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-northern-japan/457489/6 "2008-07-24T01:02:40Z")
[QUOTE=TokyoPlayer]
bed :smack:
My wife and I were not quite asleep, and it first felt like someone was shaking the bed. She thought I was, and I was wondering if anyone else was sharing our bed.
[/QUOTE]
\ But you are sharing your bed with someone else: **Beta-chan**! Maybe she started it! 😉
Glad to hear you’re alright.
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### Author:  [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-northern-japan/457489/7 "2008-07-24T01:12:32Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki]
\ But you are sharing your bed with someone else: **Beta-chan**! Maybe she started it! 😉
Glad to hear you’re alright.
[/QUOTE]
She kicks, but despite my wife’s claims, not quite hard enough to shake the bed, let alone a 6.8 M quake.
Maybe next week!
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### Author:  [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-northern-japan/457489/8 "2008-07-24T01:39:57Z")
Still at the office when it happened last night. There was an odd conflict of thoughts between “this seems dangerous, maybe I should take cover” and “I just want to finish making these &#?\*$! corrections and go home.”
Finishing and going home won.
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### Author:  [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-northern-japan/457489/9 "2008-07-24T02:38:25Z")
I was in Fukuoka for a week, someone said one hit up north last week while I was there.
Lovely place. Wish to return. Didja see me waving as I landed at Narita ? 😉
Cartooniverse-san
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### Author:  [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-northern-japan/457489/10 "2008-07-24T02:46:41Z")
Living in Saitama, just north of Tokyo, a couple hundred miles from the epicenter.
I was reading the boards last night when it occurred. I felt the first shaking for about 30 secs., then a more powerful series of shakes. I immediately turned on NHK (national television broadcaster) and checked the Yahoo! Japan website for more info.
It was the biggest quake I’ve felt in a while here. Interestingly, my SO, who was in the wash/laundry room, didn’t notice a thing. Go figure.
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### Author:  [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-northern-japan/457489/11 "2008-07-24T03:03:21Z")
[QUOTE=Sublight]
Still at the office when it happened last night. There was an odd conflict of thoughts between “this seems dangerous, maybe I should take cover” and “I just want to finish making these &#?\*$! corrections and go home.”
Finishing and going home won.
[/QUOTE]
Working way too late. That was the gods telling you to go home.
> [@JpnDude](#):
>
> Living in Saitama, just north of Tokyo, a couple hundred miles from the epicenter.
Where in Saitama? I go golfing near Omiya frequently.
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### Author:  [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-northern-japan/457489/12 "2008-07-24T04:46:20Z")
I was nearly ready for bed. It was a four here, so the house really shook and made big cracking and banging sounds too!
It was bad enough for me to grab the kids and pull them down to the front hall and open the door, but it subsided and I sent them back to bed after a little while.
I’m tired today…
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### Author:  [@Tanaqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanaqui)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-northern-japan/457489/13 "2008-07-24T04:55:43Z")
I felt it up here in northern Gunma too. It was big enough to wake me up and make me turn on the lights (usually I just lie there and hope it stops so I can go back to sleep, damn it.) But I was wondering if I had dreamed it, this morning.
Speaking of natural disasters, there was an insane lightning storm last night. I`ve never heard thunder that loud in my life; it must have been right over me. The lightning strikes were strong enough that I could see them from my kitchen (which has no windows.)