If a major quake hits, where do you actually go?
Trains stop. Shops shutter. Streets fill with people who know exactly where to go โ and it won't be your hotel. Every neighborhood in Japan has a designated evacuation shelter. Locals know theirs. You probably don't. This map fixes that, in English, before you need it.
What actually happens next
The hour after the shaking stops is worse than the quake
This is the part most travel guides skip. It's not the tremor itself that catches visitors off guard โ it's everything that stops working right after.
Trains stop โ system-wide, for hours
Operators halt entire lines for safety inspections, not just the affected section. You can't just ride back to your hotel.
Stores close or sell out
Power outages and empty shelves mean the konbini you were counting on may be shuttered or picked clean.
Walking to "somewhere familiar" isn't the safe move it feels like
No transit, no open shops, no idea which streets are safe. Wandering alone puts you further from help, not closer.
Everyone who lives here already knows where to go
You're the only one in the neighborhood without that information โ unless you looked it up in advance.
Not the earthquake risk itself โ Japan's buildings and alert systems are the best-engineered in the world. The real risk for visitors is being the one person in the area who doesn't know where the designated shelter is.
Why the shelter, specifically
It's not just "a safe spot." It's where everything else happens too.
When a big quake hits, Japanese residents gather at their nearest designated shelter โ because that's where people, information, and help naturally concentrate. It's where you sort out what's next: contacting your hotel, finding water, waiting out the trains with other people instead of alone on an empty street.
We won't promise a translator or specific services will be waiting โ that varies by shelter and event. What's consistent is that you're no longer the only person who doesn't know what happens next.
See it before you need it
Your nearest shelter, on a map you can read
What you get
Everything you need, nothing you have to dig for
Your phone's location finds the closest designated evacuation site instantly โ with directions in Google Maps.
What to actually do before, during, and after โ plus emergency numbers and how to reach your embassy. Free, always.
Convenience stores and public restrooms toggle right on the map, so you're not searching blind afterward.
Shelter locations come from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan โ the same official dataset municipalities use.
The map links out to NHK World-Japan and the Japan Meteorological Agency for live English-language earthquake and tsunami bulletins.
One-time, before you fly
Simple pricing. No subscription.
FROM ยฅ500 ยท SINGLE PREFECTURE
The safety guide is free for everyone, always. Map access for your chosen prefectures is a one-time purchase โ see the full breakdown on the next page before you choose.
See prefecture pricing โ