Walking home after a quake in Tokyo: stay put for three days first

On March 11, 2011, trains in the Tokyo area stopped and about 5.15 million people were stranded (Cabinet Office estimate). Many walked home for hours. Japan's Cabinet Office now projects that a major earthquake directly under the capital could strand up to about 8.4 million people across Tokyo and four neighboring prefectures, about 2.5 million of them older adults or people with disabilities. Tokyo's own 2022 estimate is about 4.53 million stranded people within Tokyo. Those figures use different areas and assumptions, so don't compare them directly.

Rule one: don't head home right away

Tokyo asks people to avoid moving around unnecessarily and to stay at their workplace or school for three days. The reasons, from the city's English guide:

• Crowds of people walking home can stop police, fire and Self-Defense Forces vehicles from reaching affected areas, and interfere with search and rescue during the first 72 hours that are critical to saving lives.
• People walking home can be hurt by aftershocks or other secondary hazards. Trying to go home immediately after a large earthquake is described as extremely dangerous.

Tokyo's ordinance on stranded persons backs this up: in a large-scale disaster, businesses must make efforts to keep employees from returning home all at once, and to stock three days' worth of drinking water, food and other supplies. Even so, Tokyo estimates about 660,000 people, such as shoppers, will have nowhere to stay; the city designates temporary facilities that can take them in, usually for three days.

Walking home when it's time

Japan's national guideline assumes stranded people wait in a safe place for, in principle, 72 hours and then head home in stages from around the fourth day, though support may start earlier depending on the situation. A 2024 national guideline on returning home adds:

• Even when trains restart, capacity will be limited, so people who can walk home should do so.
• Don't rush off. Check your route, how long it will take, what to carry, and where you can use a toilet, then decide when to start.

Along the way, support stations help people walking home. Tokyo's booklet describes them as convenience stores, fast-food shops, casual restaurants, gas stations and other businesses that provide road information, drinking water, toilets and a place to rest. The national guideline describes them as operating from about three days after the disaster.

Preparing your route and your legs

• Check routes in advance and keep comfortable walking shoes at your workplace (Tokyo).
• Prepare supplies as if you might have to stay overnight at work or walk home (Tokyo).
• Our suggestions: walk sections of the route on weekends to learn your pace and where your feet hurt; carry a paper map; add blister plasters to your desk kit. Building walking endurance follows the same guidelines as everyday activity.

For staying in touch while you wait, see Japan's 171 disaster message dial; for what to do during the shaking, see Earthquakes in Japan.