Woke up at 1235..a lie in for the first time on tour! The hotel is full of rugby fans here for the cancelled game against France with quite a few having flown in just for the weekend, praying the Japan v Scotland game goes ahead. It was eerie looking out of my window across Tokyo Bay and the streets had emptied out and no vehicles on the roads. I was messaging my son chatting about the oncoming typhoon when he said I’d best stock up with food, nuts, chocolate, Ben & Jerry’s fish food. I responded I’ll be okay as i am staying in a hotel. “What floor?” he asked. I responded 16th floor..”that’s a long walk downstiars!” he said. Damn! That thought hadn’t occurred to me. It was 6pm and I quickly ordered room service!
I was chatting to my assitant and translator Miko, on the telephone, when she mentioned did you just feel the earthquake! I said no but a second later felt the building sway and a few seconds later swayed again..the typhoon hadn’t yet reached us..it felt that we were in for a proper ride in the next few hours. I took the lift downstairs and whilst in it felt a little trepidation of being stuck in the lift..I certainly wouldn’t be priority for the emergency services un der the conditions. I was relieved when it arrived on the ground floor! The typhoon came and went in a matter of 2-3 hours and all was calm again. looking out of my window the bay was rough but it wasn’t as devasting as I thought it might have been..must have lost some speed by the time it reached us.
View from my room this morning is a clear blue sky and calmness. There doesn’t appear to be any significant damage on the bay that I can see – what a contrast from the previous evening. Hopefully, RWC will announce shortly that the threatened Japan v Scotland will go ahead.