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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/hopdank on 2024-04-03 08:29:13.

My wife and I are currently staying at the Hoshinoya resort on Taketomi in the Yaeyama Islands, and I wanted to share our experience going through the tsunami warnings causes by the earthquake in Taiwan this morning.

We were on a shuttle bus to go snorkeling when the initial warnings came through. Both my wife and I got emergency alerts on our phones - she is using a pocket wifi and I’m on a data-only eSIM. Glad to report that the emergency notification system here works regardless of how you’re connected. We didn’t feel the earthquake from inside the bus, but other guests told us that they felt very mild tremors.

After a short period of information gathering, our bus driver promptly brought us back to the resort. We were initially told that the area was safe and that we could return to our room. However, we soon started seeing additional alerts on our phones and decided to find higher ground on the resort property. Hotel staff must have gotten additional information at that time, and they began sweeping the property and gathering all guests at the front desk. We boarded shuttle buses and were taken to the local elementary school, which is the town’s official tsunami evacuation point.

We stayed there for about 2 hours until given the all clear. There were probably a few hundred people at the school, both tourists and locals. We were comfortable enough, and the local officials distributed water multiple times. They gave relatively frequent updates in Japanese and checked in individually with each person to ensure everyone was doing okay. The hotel staff provided key updates in English, and we always felt sufficiently safe and in the loop.

Overall, we were incredibly impressed by the efficiency, professionalism, and kindness of the hotel staff and local officials. Moreover, the calm demeanor and stoicism of the locals and tourists alike were on full display throughout the entire ordeal. As a bonus, the resort offered free use of our mini bars and complementary lunch when we returned. 🙂

No one wants to go through something like this while traveling in a remote place where you don’t speak the language, but I can’t imagine a much better place to be than Japan when it does. I feel very grateful and privileged to be here - I hope today’s news doesn’t dissuade anyone from coming here in the future.

To anyone out there affected by the earthquake or the aftermath, I hope you’re safe and that your travels get back on track!