I’ve discovered everything from miniature sewing kits to hiking gear in hotels around the world.
So I was delighted to find something new during my first hotel stay in Japan — a flashlight.
At the BnA Art Hotel in Tokyo, a tiny flashlight was mounted to the wall near the light switches. I guessed it was used to avoid running into a wall during a late-night trip to the bathroom. Or maybe it was a handy way to dig through a suitcase without turning on a light and waking up anyone else in the room.
A few days later, I checked out of one hotel and into another. Sure enough, I found another flashlight resting near the bed. Later, at a stay in a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn, I discovered another tiny light. Throughout the rest of my trip, nearly every place I stayed had a small flashlight mounted to the wall.
The more flashlights I spotted, the more it became clear that they weren’t just torches used to navigate midnight bathroom trips.
Instead, I learned they’re there for emergencies like earthquakes.
The flashlights are there in case an earthquake strikes
Japan sits where multiple continental and oceanic tectonic plates meet, which means earthquakes are common, according to the United States Geological Survey. In fact, the same source reports that Japan has the most earthquakes in the world.
“Since earthquakes are a regular occurrence in Japan, earthquake preparedness is something that is ingrained into Japanese daily life,” Andres Zuleta, the founder of the luxury travel company Boutique Japan, told Insider.
“Japanese hotels have flashlights in their room as part of earthquake preparedness,” Zuleta said.
If an earthquake hits, it could impact a region’s infrastructure, which means electricity and light may go out.
The flashlight is placed in each room so people will have a light source to help them navigate out of the hotel in an emergency.
After checking in and out of a handful of Japan accommodations, I not only found the lights to be a handy reading light at night, I was comforted by their greater purpose and kept my fingers crossed I wouldn’t need them during my two weeks in the country.
