Sushi chef Soshu Yoshiyama got a rude awakening at 7:58 a.m. Monday when his home in the town of Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, was buffeted by strong, vertical jolts the likes of which he had never experienced before.
He said he thought the earthquake lasted about 10 to 15 seconds.
"It was vertical thrusts and I heard a big 'bang' sound. I've lived here for about 10 years, but I've never experienced anything like this before," Yoshiyama, 68, said in a phone interview with The Japan Times on Monday morning, shortly after the magnitude 6.1 quake rocked the Osaka area.