About five years ago, I had a co-worker who was very concerned about strong earthquakes. She was beautiful and fashion-conscious. Her outfits were always fashionable. However, she always carried a big bag. Sometimes it didn't seem to match her clothes. Actually, she always carried a pair of comfortable, light shoes in her bag. On top of that, there was always a pair of sneakers under her desk. She'd often say to me " Do you realize that we'll have to walk home when a strong earthquake hits Tokyo? You should keep a pair of sneakers at the office at least. Unlike me, you often go out to meet your clients. So, you have to wear good-looking but comfortable shoes". When I was working with her, I didn't have the opportunity to realize that I should have listened to her advice.
When the 3/11 earthquake hit Japan, even downtown Tokyo shook heavily. In the wake of it, all the train services were suspended. As you may know, there were a lot of people in Tokyo who had difficulty getting home. The government strongly advised them to stay at their offices or public facilities like schools, and not to try to go back to home. However, many of them tried to go back to home by walk mainly because they were very worried about their children (there are many double-income families in the Tokyo area). A lot of women suffered from pain caused by their pumps.
According to the news, good-looking sneakers and comfortable shoes have been selling well since the massive earthquake occurred. Although I was at home when the earthquake hit Japan, when I saw a lot of people trying to walk home on TV, I remebered that previous colleague.
Anyway, can you guess why the government strongly advised people not to try to go back home? It's a long story.
I'll write about it in the next post.
