Quake safety project gives tourists shaky tea experience in Japan
Tourists visiting Japan got a chance to experience a tea ceremony in an earthquake -- safely simulated.
The Omotenashi Bosai project in Osaka's Minato Ward offered the shaky encounter on Saturday to promote the safe evacuation of foreign travelers in a disaster. It took place in an earthquake simulator truck.
A tea-ceremony room with tatami mats and a hanging scroll was set up on the bed of the truck.
The experience began with a woman wearing a kimono showing participants how to have sweets and tea in a traditional manner.
The shaking that soon ensued simulated quake intensity of seven, the highest on the Japanese scale.
Participants looked frightened and tried to grab onto the tatami mats and floor cushions.
A woman who came from the United States to visit her relatives in Japan said a real earthquake would be scarier.
She said that it was good to be reminded that disasters can happen even while you're on vacation overseas.
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