Armageddon?

Yesterday morning I awoke thinking the world was ending.

Sirens similar to those used in London during World War Two to warn of impending German bombing raids filled the air, along with loud, fast instructions being called out in Japanese over loud speakers.  This was happening in at least two different locations near to me.  The only time I've heard these sirens being used in Japan was when I was watching footage of the March 11th earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku region on the news.  Because of this, I was rather unnerved and worried.

After everything stopped suddenly and returned to normal, and I could see people strolling leisurely on the streets outside my window, I sat down on my bed, thoroughly confused.  I carried on with my day in a similarly perplexed mindset, and it wasn't until that evening whilst looking at this page on the BBC News website that I found out that September 1st is the national earthquake drill in Japan, where people practice the procedures in the event of an earthquake.

I suppose you could call this one of my first instances of 'culture shock'.

James