When I turned on the TV yesterday morning, I saw that the Yamanote Line had stopped due to a power outage. I braced myself for the worst, expecting serious trouble once I reached Tokyo.
Fortunately, the route I use was unaffected.
On the way, I even saw the Yamanote Line running and thought things might be fine, but later it stopped again. I felt sorry for those who had no choice but to rely on it.
That evening, the news reported that as many as 670,000 people were affected. It made me wonder just how widespread the disruption had been.
Being trapped inside a train must have been unbearable, but being stranded in a station concourse would have been just as hard. As someone with claustrophobia, I know I wouldn’t have lasted long.
All things considered, the fact that both the Shonan-Shinjuku Line and the Chuo Line—usually notorious for delays—escaped unscathed was at least a small consolation.
