Transport Returning to Normal in Japan's Osaka Despite Tremors

Dozens of domestic flights in and out of Osaka were grounded on Monday, while train and subway service in the Osaka area, including bullet trains, was suspended to check for damage. Passengers exited trains on the tracks between stations.

International airlines including US-based Hawaiian Airlines waived cancellation fees for flights to Osaka, E-Turbo News reported.

On Tuesday, bullet trains and some local trains resumed operation in Osaka, but thousands of commuters walked home after Monday's strong earthquake in western Japan affecting the metropolitan city of Osaka.

Tremors believed to be aftershocks of Monday's major earthquake rattled the western Japanese prefecture of Osaka throughout Tuesday as well.

The magnitude 6.1 quake hit before 8 a.m. on Monday in northern Osaka. On Japan's seismic intensity scale of zero to seven, it's categorized as a six-minus. The quake left four people dead and at least 376 injured.

Agency officials are warning of the growing risk of landslides or building collapse in the hardest-hit areas. They are calling on people to stay alert for further seismic activity in the next week or so.

Some subway service resumed in the afternoon, but stations remained crowded with passengers waiting for trains to restart, many of them sitting on the floor. Long lines of people waited to board bullet trains as they resumed operation.