Value Village ／ Before you come to Japan
This answer is a draft. It stays unpublished until legal review and source verification are complete.
Most visitors will feel a tremor during a two-week stay and almost none will be harmed. The country records about 2,000 felt earthquakes a year. What matters is knowing the two or three things to do in the first seconds and where information comes from, because the rules differ from what other countries teach.
| Moment | Action | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Alarm sounds (phone blares, TV chime) | Protect your head; get under a table or beside a solid wall; away from windows and shelves | You have seconds to tens of seconds |
| During shaking | Stay put. Do not run outside; do not use elevators | Falling glass and signage outside are the main injury cause |
| In a hotel | Open the door slightly once shaking stops (frames can jam); shoes on (glass); torch or phone light | — |
| On a train | Trains auto-stop; stay seated, follow staff | — |
| Near the coast | Tsunami: move to high ground or the 3rd floor and above of a concrete building immediately, before any warning | Tsunami can arrive within minutes |
| After | Check the JMA / NHK World app; expect aftershocks; do not phone (networks jam) — text | — |
[Verify] Alert thresholds and intensity definitions with the JMA; tsunami guidance with the Cabinet Office; the 1981 standard with MLIT.
Inside a modern building is safer than a street full of falling glass and tiles. Get under or beside something solid and cover your head.
Old advice. Japanese guidance is under a sturdy table or beside an interior wall, away from anything that can fall.
Usually true, but aftershocks follow large quakes for days, and rarely a first quake is a foreshock. Keep shoes and a bag by the bed for a few nights after a big one.
If you feel a strong or long quake near the coast, go to high ground immediately. Warnings follow within minutes; the wave may too. Look for the tsunami evacuation signs (green with a wave and running figure).
Five minutes on arrival: install NHK World and Safety tips, note the evacuation area sign near your hotel, keep passport, cash, charger and shoes together at night. That is what residents do (see the emergency-bag article).
---
https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/Activities/eew.html
https://www.bousai.go.jp/kyoiku/keigen/gensai/index.html
https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/en/
⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.
What we share here are ideas and everyday practices passed down among people living in Japan, together with general information drawn from public sources. They are not official recommendations, and they are not professional instruction. Practices vary between households and regions.
This is general information. Results vary from person to person and depend on your own conditions and surroundings.
Please decide for yourself, using your own judgement, whether any of this suits your situation. We cannot accept responsibility for any damage, loss or injury arising from following this article.
Rules and procedures change. Please confirm the latest official information before you act.
Tell us if this has changed
Approved contributions keep the contributor's name, shown in five languages.
Other languages：日本語 ／ 简体中文 ／ 繁體中文 ／ 한국어
Value Village is not a government body. Always confirm procedures on the official site.
Written by Value Village from public sources. Nothing here is reproduced from another site.