I was actually still groggy from sleep

I was actually still groggy from sleep in my 9th floor apartment when the earthquake struck at 11am. Living in Tokyo for 4 years, I was fairly well accustomed to the frequent shakes there, but I had never felt anything like this quake - dishes were falling, whole bookshelves (specially rigged to stand up to quakes) toppled over and spilled their contents over the floor. I remember hurriedly collecting a few important things and shaking as I got down to street level in fear of aftershocks or succeeding quakes. Seeing the tsunami on the television was like watching a movie, it was unreal. But I''ll never forget the evening of the 11th when all of the trains were shut down. Traffic was gridlocked everywhere in Tokyo, and the sidewalks were packed with people who walked for hours to get home that night. Many of the restaurants and convenience stores which were normally 24/7 had to close at around 8pm because all of their inventory had been consumed by now-pedestrian commuters. All cell phone communications shut down so that the airwaves would be open for emergency calls - it was hell trying to contact my stepson who was stuck at his school. All of that and we weren''t anywhere near the epicenter of the quake. I could only pray for the people in Fukuoka - the video clips of destroyed buildings and overturned cars played on the television nonstop were surreal. In the weeks following, the unfolding nuclear catastrophe was a continuous burden. My grandmother was in hysterics, my Korean wife was in a similar state. Despite the fact that little threat to Tokyo ever materialized, the constant fear-mongering of the media took its toll. My wife wanted to get out of Tokyo with a passion unlike anything I''ve ever seen, so we got out. We ended our stay in Japan and moved to nearby, quakeless Korea. Whenever I think back to this event, I am saddened. The quake and accompanying tsunami had a huge human cost - it''s a disaster unlike any I''ve ever had direct experience with. TEPCO''s mismanagement of the Fukuoka plant also took a direct toll on my life. I love the city of Tokyo, and I loved living there. It''s a shame that events unfolded as they did.