Residents queued outside supermarkets to stock up on supplies, but some convenience stores were closed because there had been no product deliveries.
A sign at one store told customers: “We’re closed today. We’re evacuating.”
Relief efforts were already underway, with construction workers trying to mend road cracks with heavy machinery as rescue, army and police vehicles rushed to the scene.
At Shika Town Hall, a 58-year-old resident who gave her name as Yuko was also waiting for water, handed out in small plastic packets by a masked official in a blue jacket.
“We really need water. An experience like this is a sobering reminder of how essential water is,” she told AFP.
After the main shockwave on Monday – a public holiday in Japan, when loved ones gather to ring in the New Year – people in the worst-hit areas were urged to evacuate as authorities warned of the possibility of large tsunami waves.
“I was on the second floor watching TV when the quake struck,” Yuko said, adding that she had to hold on to the screen to stop it from toppling over.
“I feared for my life of course, but I couldn’t just run away, because I live with my family.”