The magnitude 7.3 earthquake came early on Saturday when most people were sleeping. Inside a hotel in Kumamoto, people stayed awake after the quake.

This hotel in Kumamoto is housing more than 200 customers. Tranquillity was broken when a strong quake hit in the early hours this morning. Out of safety concerns, customers were gathered in the lobby...

"We think it would be much safer to stay in this hotel than to leave it. Please stay here for a while. If you go back to your own room, please inform our staff in advance," said a hotel employee.

"When the quake came, I was about to fall asleep. Then a message came in, saying the level of quake was six, the second highest one. That really freaked me out," said a hotel customer.

The ensuing aftershocks have kept the customers on high alert. Some of them had planned to leave the quake-hit areas much earlier. However, transportation has now become a problem.

"We are all worried a lot, as we planned to leave tomorrow. But now, both the Shinkansen and buses have stopped services. We have no idea when we can leave here," said a tourist from Hong Kong.