Risa on 24th

2nd day in Sendai, my parents and I drove to the North of Miyagi Prefecture and saw some towns; Wakuya, Kogota, Matsushima.

Driving towards north

We drove to admire cherry blossoms. Concrete roads have loads of cracks, and gravel is temporarily used to fill them in. Very bumpy.
Here are some photos I took on our way...

A tea shop which has lost all the tiles from the roof. The blue cover is temporarily used for avoiding further damage. Although this shop seems to be lucky enough to continue their business.

The entrance of the nearby shrine called Kamo shrine. The lantern stone statues fell down.

Volunteer centres were set up on motorways a few days ago to give information for people who are eager to do volunteer works but don't know where and how.
Japan will soon celebrate "Golden Week" (holiday period from the end of April to the beginning of May), and many people are expected to come to the area to support victims.

It's not a hill... it's a rubbish mountain...
On the side of roads debris is collected and piled up here and there.


"Hanami" or cherry blossom viewing at Shiroyama Park (with a castle ruin) in Wakuya

As part of the typical Japanese culture, people go out to cherry blossom spots and eat/drink under the trees, admiring the blossom.
As cherry blossoms in Sendai have faded and started to fall, my parents and I drove 50 km up north to the town, where the trees are famous for their beauty. Many people did visit the place, but none of them had parties. People were just quietly viewing them.
Mum said that "The occurrence of natural disasters doesn't change plants' life. Flowers and trees still bloom here and there".
I heard it with mixed feelings by seeing the view of damaged buildings and cherry blossoms all together.
Even the replicated castle's walls were collapsed and we were not allowed to come closer.
I truly hope that the beauty of blossoms give some hope or courage to the people.

It looked like a usual scenery before we arrived.

Taking a close look at it, the walls has fallen down. The castle was cordoned off.

Visiting Mum's cousin's house - Kogota

Although this area is inland, the town saw one of the biggest earthquakes on 11th of March.
Their house itself is really strong and has small damages, but on our way to their house, we saw a collapsed temple (top part of the building fell off ) with a toppled guardian statue with its head fallen off or leaning poles/traffic lights or opening cracks, which clearly tells the tragedy.

Huge crack (or even a gap) in the ground

Destroyed "Dozo"- traditional stonehouse

It's just impossible...

Mum's cousin was supposed to start a new business (importing and selling exclusive coffee beans) in April, but it has been delayed and they are struggling and waiting for the day to come. The earthquakes threw everyone into chaos. On one level or another, everyone is suffering.


Driving back home through Matsushima
Matsushima is one of the 3 most beautiful spots in Japan. This is 20km up-north from Sendai. This seaside town was struck by the Tsunami as well as the earthquake. It was reported that the town had less damage compared with other seaside towns, since over 260 small islands shielded the area from waves and most of the town is high enough from the ground. However, the shops on the sea level have suffered. It was told that the height of the wave was a few metres.

Distorted shutter of shops

Glass windows were even weaker.