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Before starting my hunt report, I just would like to make a short preamble, if you only want to read the report, skip this post and go to the second one. I hesitated a lot concerning this post but I think it could answer a lot of question concerning my vacance (sorry Ash, was cut during our chat by nasty tremors but nice pictures and congratulation!). As few know, I live in South of Japan in a city called Kumamoto. I don’t know if outside Japan the event was fairly broadcast (maybe in Montana’s news as Montana and Kumamoto are twin state) but on month ago on April the 14th, an earthquake (Magnitude 6.5 / shindo 7) hit severely the prefecture at 9:26pm. What we thought to be an isolated earthquake was in fact follow by tremors, little brother (Magnitude 6.4 / shindo 6) and the day after at 1 am by big daddy (Magnitude 7.3 /Shindo 7). Since then we experience afterquake every day. Between the 14th and May the 11th the earth shaked 368 times (only tremors above shindo 3) and 1400 times (all tremors) ‘till today. What’s shindo scale ? it is a scale used in Japan which measure the intensity of an earthquake. The scale goes from 1 to 7, 7 being the most intense and effect on human and infrastructure are described as follow: 1 : Felt by only some people indoors./ Upper sections of multi-story buildings may feel the earthquake. 2: Felt by many to most people indoors. Some people awake./ No buildings receive damage./ Homes and apartment buildings will shake, but will receive no damage. 3: Felt by most to all people indoors. Some people are frightened./ Buildings may receive slight damage if not earthquake-resistant. None to very light damage to earthquake-resistant and normal buildings./ Houses may shake strongly. Less earthquake-resistant houses can receive slight damage. 4: Many people are frightened. Some people try to escape from danger. Most sleeping people awake./ Less earthquake-resistant homes can suffer slight damage. Most homes shake strongly and small cracks may appear. The entirety of apartment buildings will shake./ Other buildings can receive slight damage. Earthquake-resistant structures will survive, most likely without damage. 5 lower: Most people try to escape from danger by running outside. Some people find it difficult to move./ Less earthquake-resistant homes and apartments suffer damage to walls and pillars./ Cracks are formed in walls of less earthquake-resistant buildings. Normal and earthquake resistant structures receive slight damage. 5 upper: Many people are considerably frightened and find it difficult to move./ Less earthquake-resistant homes and apartments suffer heavy/significant damage to walls and pillars and can lean./ Medium to large cracks are formed in walls. Crossbeams and pillars of less earthquake-resistant buildings and even highly earthquake-resistant buildings also have cracks. 6 lower: Difficult to keep standing./ Less earthquake-resistant houses collapse and even walls and pillars of other homes are damaged. Apartment buildings can collapse by floors falling down onto each other./ Less earthquake-resistant buildings easily receive heavy damage and may be destroyed. Even highly earthquake-resistant buildings have large cracks in walls and will be moderately damaged, at least. In some buildings, wall tiles and windowpanes are damaged and fall. 6 upper: Impossible to keep standing and to move without crawling./ Less earthquake-resistant houses will collapse or be severely damaged. In some cases, highly earthquake-resistant residences are heavily damaged. Multi-story apartment buildings will fall down partially or completely./ Many walls collapse, or at least are severely damaged. Some less earthquake-resistant buildings collapse. Even highly earthquake-resistant buildings suffer severe damage. 7: Thrown by the shaking and impossible to move at will./ Most or all residences collapse or receive severe damage, no matter how earthquake-resistant they are./ Most or all buildings (even earthquake-resistant ones) suffer severe damage. 90 % of the houses in the little town where the epicenter of the earthquake was, were destroyed, Kumamoto castle is no more and I could continue for days. A simple search on Google will provide you more picture than you want to see. The earthquake happened at the section between 2 fault called Hinagu fault and futagawa fault at a depth of 10 Km. The prefecture is now a paradise for Japanese geologist as new fault were created and because the two side of hinagu fault slide in different direction on 2 meter. Besides the earthquake we entered few weeks ago in the monsoon season and as land is weakened by earthquake it provoked a lot of land slide. This situation caused me to be silent on the forum and forced me to stop fossil hunting for weeks until last week. Was a little bit tired mentally so I needed to get some fresh air and to think about everything but earthquake so I went to my 2 preferred spot on the 13 and tested my chance. The post that follow is my hunting report.