So this afternoon, at around 1:30, I was rushing around getting ready for my English conversation class (which, of course, I was running late for). As I was putting on my shoes, I heard this really odd sound from the apartment above me (I thought). It was kind of hard to describe. Every once in a while, I can hear footsteps, or a vacuum cleaner, from upstairs, but this sounded more like...something heavy rolling over a hardwood floor. It stopped after about ten seconds or so, so I paid it no mind.

Just as I was about to leave, the phone rings. It was Jonny Rasmussen, fellow St. Olaf alumnus, now living and working in the Tokyo area. I was glad to hear from him -- we hadn't had the chance to chat for a while -- but I hurriedly informed him that I was just on my way out. He then managed to stop me in my tracks by saying this:

"Are you okay? Did you feel the earthquake?"

My brain slipped a gear for a moment. Then, I responded, "What earthquake?"

Jonny saw a bulletin on TV that said that there was an earthquake centered on the Satsuma side of Kagoshima Prefecture (that's the western peninsula, where I'm at) and wanted to make sure that I was all right. I spent a few seconds claiming that I had felt no earthquake, when I suddenly realized: So that's what that sound was!

After reassuring Jonny that everything was fine (power and water still on, nothing broken, trucks with loudspeakers still driving around blaring campaign slogans), I headed out to Ichiki-cho for my class. When I got there, I asked them about the earthquake. Reactions ranged from "yes, I felt it quite strongly" to "there was an earthquake?"

But, when I returned to the Ichiki station to catch a train for Kagoshima City, I found out that a few scheduled runs had been canceled due to the earthquake, and I had 45 minutes to wait for the next train. An annoyance, to be sure, but if that's the only inconvenience I have from my first earthquake experience, I'll take it, and call it a good deal.