Arrived in Ishinomaki

Ishinomaki is a seaside town, 50km north from Sendai.
I used to use a train called "Senseki-line" to go there to enjoy fresh seafood. This city is very famous for its fishing port.


Unfortunately the rail tracks were hugely damaged by the Tsunami (I heard that they have twisted horrendously and the train company cannot foresee when the service will be back to normal...) and currently the train service is limited between Sendai and the town 10km south from Ishinomaki.

I left Sendai by bus and 1.5 hours later, I stood in front of the station.

Apparently the whole town smelled pretty badly... rotten fish.
Fish and seafood carried to land by the Tsunami have become rotten after 48 days.
People are trying to clean up the town, but stinking seafood is everywhere; on streets, in mountains of rubbish and in rice fields.
The town has been suffering a dust problem as well- once mud dries, the dust stirs up. In addition destroyed old houses contain asbestos and it's very harmful to human bodies.
You need to wear a mask to prevent breathing (or even lung) problems.

The station building wasn't used. Buses arrive from nearby towns.


The station shopping centre and arcade were even worse. The Tsunami destroyed everything. It was told that the area improved a lot since then, but I could hardly see the town I had known about.

The dome on the photo above is Ishinomaki Manga Comic Museum. The walls look fine at a glance, but it was told that inside is messed up completely. The buildings around it were flattened. It looks like another planet...

The shopping arcade was like a ghost town. Debris and mud were collected on both sides of the road.


I headed for Ishinomaki Senshu University. Many volunteers and charities use it as their base. A charity I work for also has its office there.

It's a massive camp site. I heard that during weekdays more than 500 people stay there, and on weekends, the number increases to over 1000.
Contrary to my expectation that I would stay in one of them, I was driven to an old one-storied house. Below (the one at the back on the photo) is the house I stayed at for 3 days.

This house is in the area called "Watanoha". The Tsunami struck severely here as well. It destroyed many buildings, houses, and rice fields. Some people lost their lives in the area.
The house is only 2 blocks away from the point the Tsunami reached on that day.
We were warned; "If another Tsunami strikes the city during our stay, run up the mountain behind".


Here is the girls' bedroom (I shared it with one girl)- and unbelievable! I could sleep on a BED in my sleeping bag!!! Too luxurious for a volunteer worker.

I shared the house with around 15 people each day. I met many people with different backgrounds. Different from staying in tents, we might have less privacy- we shared lots of time, food and thoughts. I was very lucky to spend useful time in this house. I'll write about it another time.

I took a rest this evening and prepared for the next morning.
I was greatly shocked by seeing the city with my own eyes.

Even though I didn't do any work, I was exhausted.

I'll update the rest later.