I knew it was a big earthquake when the bathtub I was in started juddering. Fortunately, I thought, a bathroom is supposed to be the safest place to be in an apartment when a quake strikes.

Turning on the TV, I learnt there had been a magnitude-8.5 earthquake - adjusted to 7.8 the next day - off the coast of Japan. The whole nation trembled. But luckily the epicenter was 676 kilometers deep and did not result in a large tsunami. Twelve people suffered minor injuries, and no buildings collapsed.

The May 30 quake was the second sizable temblor Tokyo felt in a week. A much weaker - but far shallower - earthquake occurred close to the capital on May 25.