Briton Emma Ward, 41, who was on a skiing holiday in the resort village of Hakuba, said the quake had hit “without warning”, prompting her group to take shelter under a table in a café. She told the BBC that the intensity of the tremors caused people to flee the building entirely, she said. “The worst part during the earthquake was not knowing how intense it was going to become. It’s a very frightening experience,” Ms Ward said.