The Fashion Project

Hello everyone,

When the earthquake hit, my husband Hassan and I were on the train. I had left work early to attend a job interview in Tokyo, and Hassan had come with me. We were actually on our way from Tokyo to Chiba city to go to another interview when the earthquake hit, stopping the train in the middle of two stations. The power on the train went out, and we sat in silence as the train bobbed violently from side-to-side, watched power lines and even buildings sway out of control for several minutes. Finally, the movement stopped. And then just as suddenly, it started up again, the second time we felt it more keenly because the train was stopped. Earthquakes happen all the time, and at first we were scared but not worried.

Two hours later and still on the train, we were told that the trains could not run due to unknown damage to the track, and the station master began letting people out from an emergency ladder, where we walked along the tracks for a while and then went down to the street. We had tried for about 30 minutes to contact the company where my interview was, and finally got through. We found out that almost all the phone networks were down, and mine was the first call they had received since the quake. Fortunately, we had an internet device with us, but it would be a while before we had time to use it.

After walking to the next station, we attempted to find a bus that would take us back to our home station. There were crowds of people milling about, standing in lines, and trying to buy food. At the convenience store, the only things left on the shelf were pickles and honey. We managed to snag the last two chicken sandwiches, and then waited 15 minutes to use the bathroom. Then we went to the bus stop and waited for a while, and were elated to get on a bus heading to Funabashi station, which was Leg One of our journey home.

We sat on the bus and waited. The bus barely moved because of car traffic, and after an hour we had moved barely 10 city blocks. Eventually we couldn't stand the waiting anymore, and got off the bus. We joined the small groups of people making their way to Funabashi on foot. It was 5:30pm when we began the walk. We walked for half an hour to reach Funabashi station. When we got there, the sight that greeted us was completely disheartening. There were 10 times more people waiting at the station there, sitting on flattened cardboard boxes inside the station to get warm, and wandering around trying to make calls. There were lines for the payphones around the block. We tried to contact a few friends but discovered, like us, everyone was stranded somewhere.

After evaluating our options, we decided that waiting for another bus would be pointless, and the station master told us the trains would not run the rest of the night because another earthquake was expected. So, we did the only thing that made sense- we started walking. Unfortunately, I was wearing pointy-toed high-heeled shoes for my interviews, and walking was excruciating. The Second Leg of the journey was to get to Tsudanuma. If we waited for a bus, that is where the bus would go, since there isn't normally a bus to our home station Yachiyodai from Funabashi. We got some water from the 7-11 and got started.

It took us 1 1/2 hours to get to Tsudanuma. When we got to the downtown city area we discovered one very good piece of news- the mall was still open. This was remarkable, since everywhere there were downed gas lines and almost everything was closed except the convenience stores. We went inside and in short order found a pair of tennis shoes in my size, on sale, for $15. It was a lucky find, since they were nice and I probably would have bought them anyway, had circumstances been different. The relief of wearing tennis shoes after walking 2 hours in high heels (not to mention I had already been wearing them since 6:45am) was indescribable.

We got to the station and found lines of people snaking through the station, up the steps, and around corners who were all waiting for a bus to take them to Yachiyo city. After seeing how many people were waiting, we began to despair, since the station master told us that the buses might stop running at midnight, and with the number of people waiting, it would take at least 8 buses to get to the end of the line. At this point, it was 7:45pm. Since I was now armed with tennis shoes and we were both feeling a flush of energy from the renewed frustration, we decided to start walking and try to hail a taxi somewhere on the way.

Leg Three of our journey would take us from Tsudanuma to Owada, which is the station we live closest by. Buses don't go there, but it is technically closer to our house than Yachiyodai station. We began to walk. Luckily, it is pretty much a straight shot down the road. We walked for two hours before we decided to take a break, and stopped in a family restaurant. Luckily not so many people were attempting this route, and the restaurant was fairly empty and still had all the food on their menu available. We used the bathroom, ate a big meal, and rested for an hour. This is also when we used the internet device to contact family, and Hassan was able to briefly get in touch with his parents by phone. Then, we set to walking again.

The last leg of the journey was hard, it was very cold by this time, and traveling on a straight road is actually much harder mentally, because it feels like it takes longer and the progress is slower. We tried without success to flag a taxi. All the ones we saw were headed to Tokyo, and wouldn't take us in the opposite direction. On our way we saw exactly one bus headed toward where we wanted to go, however it was not bound for Yachiyodai. We concluded that it was very likely we would have still been waiting at the station by that point, instead of almost home.

So, eventually we made it home. We walked from 5:30pm to 12:30am, excluding the hour's break in the restaurant. It took us 6 hours to get home. I have a pedometer on my phone, so I know for a fact that we walked 41,974 steps, which is 30.2km (16.6 miles). At home we found some broken glasses and mugs, some fallen spice jars, and everything on the makeup table on the floor. We also have no gas, which means no stove and no hot water. (Yes, our water pipes are heated with gas heaters in the kitchen sink and the shower.) The trains are still not running, and my company called to say that the schools will all be closed the entire weekend. We aren't sure how long we'll be without gas, but are thankful we still have electricity.

Other than sore muscles, blistered feet, and exhaustion, we are totally fine. We were extremely lucky. Many people are still stranded, and it was a miracle we were together when this happened. We still have a house, and although my contract is now up, hopefully I will still have a new job. (Never made it to the second interview, so who knows.) Thanks for everyone's concern, and we will keep you posted.