So, you weren't here for the big one on March 11 2011.
The earthquake, one of the largest ever recorded, shut down practically all public transportation for nearly a full day and stranded millions in Central Tokyo. The video below, using cellular phone GPS data, perfectly visualizes the earthquake’s impact.
The video begins at 4 a.m. March 11.
0:15 – about 6 a.m. Early starters begin to head into the city
0:23 – 8:10 a.m. The morning rush.
0:31 – A handful of people appear to swim across Tokyo Bay to commute to work.
0:46 – 2:46. Earthquake tremors hit Tokyo.
0:47 – Everything slows to a dead crawl.
1:17 – 11 p.m. Traffic finally begins to pick up again over 8 hours after the first tremors strike. Nearly all traffic is leaving the city.
1:45 – 7 a.m. March 12. Traffic resumes at a more or less normal pace, proving that even after epic natural disasters, the Japanese will still find some way to go to the office.