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By Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman
To see the sakura (cherry blossoms) in full bloom was the main reason we booked a trip to Japan in April, when parks and sideways are abloom.But the Land of the Rising Sun sprung a surprise for us: a series of major earthquakes and more than a handful of aftershocks.
Together with a friend, we landed at Fukuoka, Japan International Airport on April 14, Thursday, past 8 in the evening. We booked a trip to Fukuoka because the airfare was cheap and it was where the sakura initially blossom. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization web site, Fukuoka is the sixth largest city in Japan and the largest city in Kyushu Prefecture. Kyushu is Japan’s third biggest island next to Honshu, the country’s main island where Tokyo is; and Hokkaido, the second largest island where Sapporo is found. Fukuoka is closer to South Korea than in Tokyo, the capital city, which takes five hours to reach by train.
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Our three-day escapade would start at the airport. And no, it wasn’t the typical tourist (mis)adventures like getting lost in translation (because there were tourist maps in English) or getting a food order we didn’t want in the first place. It happened right after hopping into an airport taxi.
My phone’s GPS was on and I was connected to the internet — a message popped on my screen: “Earthquake Alert!” The rest of the text was written in Japanese.
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“What’s the meaning of this?” I asked my friend who was busy explaining to our taxi driver where we were heading. The language barrier was a struggle, we couldn’t understand each other, so we decided to stop the taxi and figure out where our hotel was first.
A few minutes after the text message, the ground started to shake. The lampposts illuminating the international airport were swaying. We were tossed back and forth inside the taxi. The most my friend and I could do was hold hands and uttered foul words under our breathe. Amid our mini heart attacks and exchanges of farewell messages just in case it was our last moment on Earth, the driver just sat there, calmingly Googling on his phone to see where we were going. He was a picture of serenity. Either he didn’t notice that the ground was shaking because he was on his phone, or he was just used to his country’s frequent earthquakes.
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LAND OF EARTHQUAKES
Because it is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions abound, Japan experiences ground tremors almost every day, so many that they seem to become a mundane affair. In fact, 20% of global earthquakes of a magnitude 6.0 and up happen in Japan. A quick check of Japan’s Earthquake Track website said that the country experienced 104 earthquakes just in the past month and 793 earthquakes in the past year. But the tremor that welcomed us on April 14 was different.
News reports said a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit Kumamoto, Japan at the exact moment we arrived in Fukuoka. The Telegraph UK said it “was the worst to strike Japan since March 2011,” the year when a devastating tremor triggered a tsunami, caused nuclear plant meltdowns, and killed around 19,000 people. Within 30 minutes of the first earthquake, a 5.4-magnitude aftershock hit. Reports said 800 people were injured on that night.
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Kumamoto, also in Kyushu region, is only 30 minutes away from Fukuoka City by plane and more than two hours away by train. The intensity of the shaking we felt at Fukuoka City was at level four to five. There were no recorded deaths or destruction of property in the city, but it was enough to scare the hell out of people — or at least us.
But then again, because it was our first time in Japan, the earthquake did nothing to dampen our spirits. Past 10 p.m., after having reached our room and settling in, off we went to stroll around the neighborhood and look for something to eat. It turned out that the only places open at that time of night were convenience stores like 7-Eleven and Lawson. While thumbing through the Japanese magazines at 7-Eleven, the ground started to shake yet again. I immediately ran to my friend who was in the food aisle, “lumilindol na naman! (There’s an earthquake again!).” Again, we held hands and waited for our impending doom. But everyone else was calm and was nonchalantly doing their own thing. A girl in punky clothes was playing with her hair, while the lady manning the register was busy counting the cash. Perhaps it was a signal to call it a night.
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Reports said that at least 11 aftershocks hit on April 14.
We couldn’t help but laugh at ourselves and worry for the Philippines — experts say Metro Manila is overdue for The Big One, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that could flatten the city and kill 34,000 people in seconds. It would hit Makati, Taguig, Manila, Muntinlupa, Quezon City, and Laguna and Cavite provinces. Are we ready? How are we going to react when The Big One arrives? We don’t have real-time text message earthquake alerts. We don’t have public centers for disaster preparation like the Fukuoka Citizens’ Disaster Prevention Center, a facility open for visitors who are interested in experiencing fire and earthquake simulations and learn what to do when a real disaster happens. How ready is the Philippines?
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HOME OF RAMEN AND SAKURA
While our friends and families were worried for us back home, we felt relatively secure and at ease in Japan despite the quakes because we knew that the locals were calm and ready for disasters. So we pursued the original plan: to see the sakuras. 
A thing of ephemeral and fleeting beauty, cherry blossoms have a transient existence, the locals told us in halting English. We almost missed the sight because the blossoms were already starting to wilt when we went to Maizuru Park, a public space for hanami — cherry blossom viewing — where friends, families, and lovers take time off for a picnic. One can check websites that forecast the year’s cherry blossom season throughout Japan, with the trees blooming earlier in the southern end of the country, and moving  gradually to the northern regions and higher elevations. Japan-guide.com, for example, has a table listing cities and regions and the Current State of the blossoms in each (it is the end of the season for most areas now), the Estimated Opening (the flowers opened on March 19 in Fukuoka), and the Estimated Best Viewing (March 30 to April 6 in that city).
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After sight-seeing, we went food hopping. Fukuoka City is apparently the birthplace of the best tonkotsu (pork bone broth) ramen in Japan. There are many ramen (noodle soup) joints peppering the subway stations and shopping malls, and we were told that to find the best we should follow the locals. And there at the Tenjin Station, where the chicest shopping malls and markets are located, is a small eatery called Ichiran. There was a long line of people waiting to be seated and served. We were the 20th and 21st when we joined the line. Tonkotsu ramen is made with handmade noodles, a rich broth, slabs of pork, and an option of chili slices. No two ramen are alike (unless you order the same options), because the customers have the power to choose how they want their noodles done or how thick their soup should be. Manila has a growing number of authentic Japanese ramen houses but the finest and most exquisite still comes right where ramen was born.
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THERE’S A PART TWO
Tired from a day of walking, shopping, sightseeing, and eating, we went to bed early — only to be awakened by another series of shocks. Past midnight on April 16, Saturday, the ground started shaking yet again. It was scary because it was night time and we didn’t know what to do. Should we pack our bags and get out of our room or go back to sleep? My friend went to the balcony and reported, still in a daze, that nothing was happening outside: there was no trace of panic or commotion. The only thing we could do was to pray.
Reports said a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Kumamoto again on April 16, Saturday, killing at least 49 people, damaging 1,000 buildings, and destroying 90 more structures.
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Later that day, while we were in a subway station figuring out where to go next, I got another earthquake alert text on my phone. Everybody at the station got a text update simultaneously because their phones beeped when mine did. It should have created a synchronized terror, yet, in that busy station, we were the only ones who stood in shock and were obviously looking for safe shelter. It was funny — but not quite, because we could not get used to Japan’s earthquakes and it just goes to show how Filipinos like us are not ready when disaster strikes.