Tag Archives: Tohoku Donation

A Trip to Tohoku

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We are back from a trip to the Tohoku area. Or more precisely to Ishinomaki (1, 4 and 5 in the picture below). We left on Saturday around midnight and drove throughout the night to arrive in Ishinomaki early in the morning. During the two days we stayed in the area we stopped at different places to drop off supplies that they needed to get started in their new temporary homes or to continue their lives in whatever was left of their own homes.



Our stops where the following:

  1. Ishinomaki (1) to drop of supplies at a temporary home and have breakfast.
  2. Fukukiura (2) to drop off supplies.
  3. Kobuchihama (3) to drop off supplies at a temporary home.
  4. Kobuchihama (3) to drop off supplies at a fisherman and his wife’s home.
  5. Kobuchihama (3) to drop off supplies at another temporary home.
  6. Kobuchihama (3) to watch the saving of a fishing boat.
  7. Kobuchihama (3) to check the new freezer.
  8. Kobuchihama (3) to drop off some furnitures at a beauty salon.
  9. Ishinomaki (4) to drop of supplies at various temporary homes.
  10. Ishinomaki harbor (5) to check one of the worst hit harbors in the Tohoku big earthquake.

Common denominator between all our stops was the friendly people that we met. They all welcomed us with big smiles and something to drink and/or eat. And always having a friendly word to us. It made it all so much easier 🙂

Round Trip in Ishinomaki

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Chie and I had breakfast at 8 am. Then we met Ishihara-san around 9 am to cross the road to buy some supplies for our round trip in Ishinomaki. We were going to visit people that lived in Fukukiura but that have now been forced to move to Ishinomaki due to the earthquake and the tsunami in March. Some of them have moved here so that there kids can be close to school as they family no longer have a car to drive them. Instead the husband takes a bus to Fukukiura every day to work on restarting the fishing business – a trip that takes 40 minutes by car.



We made about 4 stops at different places around Ishinomaki. It was strange to see how just living a block further up from the sea could make all the difference. At one place whole houses had been swept away or been destroyed beyond repair. The next block or so up they were intact and people went on with their “normal” life.

Final Stop in Kobuchihama

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Our final stop of the day was at a beauty salon. It had just reopened after the earthquake/tsunami and was in some need of furnitures that we had brought.



After the short visit at the beauty salon we all went to Ishinomaki. When you are going to and from Kobuchihama by car you have to watch out for all the pot holes in the road. Some of them are bigger than other.



In Ishinomaki we stopped at Aeon where we all had dinner. Once we finished the dinner the grow split in half. Ishihara-san, Chie and me staying at a hotel in Ishinomaki while the rest returned back to Tokyo.

New Freezer

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A while back Ishihara-san’s group used the money from flee markets and donations to buy a freezer. Today we could have a look at the result 🙂



The Story of a Fishing Boat

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While the other kept on delivering supplies to various people around Kobuchihama I join with Toru-san to have a look at a second harbor. Today they had almost recovered one of the lost fishing boats and we wanted to have a look at it.

The story of this particular fishing boat begins when the tsunami hits Kobuchihama. The tsunami took it and pushed it all the way up on a mountain side where it got stuck with about 5 other boats of its own size. What to do for a 2 ton fishing boat but to sit there on the mountain side and wait for help. And that’s what it did. For 6 months.

Eventually people came to its and its friend’s rescue. But it was hard work since they had to roll the boats down the mountain side on tree trunks. Finally, today, the boat was back in the harbor with only one more obstacle to clear.



After some tries the boat was dragged over the barrier and safe back in the harbor. Though you could only hint a smile on the boat, my guess is that it was as relieved and happy as its owner.



The End.