Kansai is the part of Japan containing the cities Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. Kobe city is famous for the immense damage it received during the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995.

The Kansai area is far from the epicentre of Friday's quake and it was barely felt by most residents. However, this hasn't stopped panic buying in local supermarkets. Perhaps residents are expecting an escalation in the number of quakes across the country or it could be that they have just realised how...

Chris_D

This is a conversation I had with Haruto, a 24 year old university student from Osaka, who was job hunting in Tokyo on the day of the earthquake.

Me: So you said you went to some company seminars in Tokyo. When was that?

Haruto: Oh, last Friday.

Me: Last Friday? That was the day of the big earthquake!

Haruto: Yeah, let me tell you about it. I was in the seminar and at around 2:50 I felt the earthquake.

Me: It must have felt...

Chris_D