The summer holiday season is in full swing in Japan on Saturday, with people heading to their hometowns and filling train stations and airports after the weather agency warned of a possible mega-quake.

“This is my first visit to my hometown in five years after interrupting it because of the coronavirus. Now it’s an earthquake,” said 49-year-old Tomohiro Ogawa of Chiba Prefecture at a crowded JR station in Tokyo, adding that he had discussed disaster preparedness with his family following the warning.

On Thursday, the Japanese Meteorological Agency issued its first warning of a possible mega-earthquake in the Nankai Trough, which runs along the Pacific coast. Just a few hours earlier, an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale had shaken southwestern Japan. The epicenter was in the waters off Miyazaki Prefecture, near the western edge of the trough.

Although the Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train operated at reduced speed on a route in central Japan, causing delays of around 20 minutes, reserved seats for trains from Tokyo were largely sold out throughout Saturday.

Haneda Airport in Tokyo is packed with travelers on August 10, 2024, during Japan’s summer holiday season. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

At JR Nagoya Station, a 20-year-old resident of Yokohama, near Tokyo, said he had fully charged his smartphone as a precaution and brought more water than usual.

At Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, seats for domestic flights – including those to areas where the mega-quake could potentially cause damage – were almost full.

“We can finally go on a family trip after having to cancel it again and again because of the coronavirus. I’m worried about an earthquake, but we can’t worry too much,” said 48-year-old Masatoshi Eguchi at Haneda Airport before leaving for Okinawa in southern Japan.

At Miyazaki Airport, 24-year-old Rikuto Kawashima, who came from Fukuoka Prefecture, said: “I was afraid that my parents’ house was damaged by the earthquake (magnitude 7.1). I am glad that I was able to visit my hometown safely.”

Konomi Matsuo of Tokyo was greeted with a hug from her family at the airport and said: “I am worried about aftershocks.”

In Kochi Prefecture, one of the regions expected to be affected by a possible megaquake along the Nankai Trough, Ryuta Nakaoka, who arrived at Kochi Airport from Aichi Prefecture to visit his parents, said, “I will remain on alert until I leave Kochi.”

A university student from Kagawa Prefecture who arrived at JR Kochi Station said, “I am worried (about the megaquake), but I am also worried about my family.”

After the warning was issued, cancellations occurred in many tourist areas, especially on the Pacific coast in central and western Japan. Some beaches in the regions were closed and swimming was banned.

According to local governments, up to 64 people have sought refuge in evacuation centers in Aichi and Kochi prefectures in response to the warning.

For the Bon holiday between Friday and August 18, railway operators said the number of reserved seats on local and high-speed trains as of July 25 was about 1.2 times higher than the previous year. Reservations for domestic flights remained largely unchanged from the previous year.

Motorway operators reported that the likelihood of traffic jams of 10 kilometres or more was 1.6 times higher.

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