Hi, I’m a structural engineer in Japan with nearly 20 years of experience in the field, and the person behind SafeStayJapan.com.
I’ve spent most of my career thinking about how buildings behave during earthquakes and how we can make them safer.
Japan is an amazing place to travel — for its food, history, cities, landscapes, and culture. But it is also a country where earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, floods, and other natural hazards are part of life.
For those of us who live here, some knowledge about these risks becomes almost second nature. For international travelers, however, things can be much less obvious.
Is this a good area to stay in?
Is it okay to book a hotel near the coast?
Where should I go if an earthquake or tsunami happens?
How safe are buildings in Japan during a major earthquake?
I created SafeStayJapan to help travelers answer questions like these and make more informed decisions before booking their stay.
It’s not just about the building. Location matters too.
As a structural engineer, I naturally pay attention to how buildings are designed to withstand earthquakes.
But when it comes to travel safety, the building itself is only part of the picture.
Even a well-designed building can be located in an area exposed to natural hazards. Knowing about those risks before you arrive can make a real difference.
That’s why SafeStayJapan looks not only at hotels, but also at the areas around them.
The map lets you explore information such as tsunami risk, landslide risk, and designated evacuation sites near where you are thinking of staying.
The goal is not to label places as simply “safe” or “dangerous.”
It is to give you a little more information about the place you are staying, so you can make your own informed decision.
About the information on this site
The disaster-prevention information used by SafeStayJapan is based on data published by Japanese national and local government authorities.
However, no map or dataset can predict every natural disaster. Being outside a designated hazard area does not mean that a location is completely risk-free.
SafeStayJapan does not guarantee the safety of any hotel, building, or location. It is designed as a tool to help travelers research and understand potential risks before and during their trip.
If a disaster occurs while you are in Japan, always check the latest information from Japanese authorities, local governments, weather agencies, and your accommodation, and follow official evacuation instructions.
A note about my English
I’m Japanese, and English is not my first language.
To make this information accessible to international travelers, I use AI tools to help translate and polish the English content on SafeStayJapan.
The ideas, technical content, interpretation of disaster and building information, and final review are my own. I do not simply ask AI to make safety judgments and publish the results without checking them.
AI helps me overcome the language barrier so I can share what I know with more people visiting Japan.
Have a safe stay in Japan.
I don’t want this site to make you afraid of traveling in Japan.
Quite the opposite.
I believe that knowing a little about the risks around you can help you worry less — and enjoy Japan more.
That’s why I created SafeStayJapan.