![A shelf lies toppled inside a building in Kumamoto after a magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck western Kyushu on Tuesday afternoon. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/07/28/rcv.YNA.20260728.PYH2026072820310001300_P1.jpg)
Korean tourists in Japan and those planning to visit expressed alarm Tuesday after a magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto in the Kyushu region that afternoon.
A South Korean traveler in her 40s, identified only by her surname Lee, said she was on the 14th floor — the top floor of her hotel — in Fukuoka, Kyushu, when the quake hit. "It was even more unsettling because I happened to be on the very top floor," she said. "It shook so much. I had no time to even grab my phone."
Lee said she was in the room with her child when the shaking began. "We were both so startled by how violent it was," she said. "But the building seemed to hold its center — it swayed side to side for a long time, probably because Japanese buildings are well designed for earthquakes."
The quake struck the Kumamoto area of Kumamoto Prefecture in western Kyushu at around 4:27 p.m.
Lee also noted the contrast between her own reaction and that of locals. "We were genuinely frightened, but the Japanese people around us responded calmly, as if nothing major had happened," she said. "It made me wonder whether this just isn't a big deal to them."
A Naver online community dedicated to travel in Japan was flooded with posts raising safety concerns after the sudden quake.
Users shared firsthand accounts from across the country — reporting shaking at Kagoshima Airport, tremors felt in Fukuoka, and startled guests at a hotel in Kitakyushu where emergency alerts sounded and the building swayed.
One user wrote that they were heading to Tokyo on Wednesday and had been bombarded with worried messages from friends and family, even though Tokyo was far from the epicenter. Another user asked whether it was advisable to proceed with a Japan trip scheduled for the following week.
ehkim@heraldcorp.com
