Can you believe it’s been six years? Six years since the 2011 Tohoku tsunami and earthquake and also six years since I was living in Japan. I visited Tohoku in 2014 and saw a some of the areas hit by the tsunami and the damage that was still evident there. Work is still being done … Continue reading
Today marks the 5th anniversary of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in which 15,894 people lost their lives. 2,562 people remain missing. The damage was immense, but over these last five years the people of Tohoku have done an amazing job of keeping up the ‘ganbarou’ spirit and rebuilding. Even five years on there is … Continue reading
It’s been four years since the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami (東北地方太平洋沖地震). I don’t have a whole lot to say today, but I can’t let the day pass without saying anything. Not a day passes without me giving some thought to Japan, and especially to Tohoku. When these big disasters happen in other parts of the … Continue reading
In my last post I wrote about a morning visit to Shiogama (塩釜), and left you waiting for me to move on to Matsushima (松島). So, here goes! After visiting Shiogama Shrine, I made my way back to Hon-Shiogama Station and waited for the next sightseeing boat to Matsushima. It was a dull day, and … Continue reading
On Tuesday 3rd June I visited Shichigahama (七ヶ浜). Shichigahama is not a place many people will have heard of, but it’s been somewhere I’ve been aware of for the last few years since I first got involved with the charitable organisation Seven Beach Aid. Shichigahama, or ‘Seven Beach Town’, is home to the founder of … Continue reading
I know, I know… I really need to get these posts finished! I’m not quite sure where the year has gone, but back in June I was exploring Kamaishi (釜石) in Iwate Prefecture (岩手県) and now it’s about time I told you about it. Kamaishi was not a place I had heard of until 2011, … Continue reading
As I sat with my new friends in a small, newly rebuilt restaurant in Shichigahama today looking at the sea I realised why I feel such a connection with Tohoku and with the disaster area in particular. Of course I was in Japan at the time of the earthquake and tsunami, which brought me closer … Continue reading
Today I had the absolute pleasure of meeting some of the ladies from Yarn Alive, a charitable group based in Shichigahama. Yarn Alive started as a group of people meeting up to talk and knit after the tsunami in 2011, and has become a project which is now able to help others in need by … Continue reading
I’ve seen so much today. Whilst travelling down the Sanriku coast I’ve seen things my eyes could hardly believe. Huge spaces where there should have been towns. I also went to visit the ‘Kiseki-no-ippon-matsu’ or ‘Miracle Pine’ in Rikuzentakata. It was pretty moving, especially with the wrecked building that has been left beside it. This … Continue reading
One more post for tonight. It would be impossible to travel around Tohoku and not think about the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. However, until I reached the coast today I had seen no evidence of damage, and everything seemed to be business as usual. Kamaishi was badly hit by the tsunami, and this … Continue reading
Haikugirl's Japan 