Volunteer Work in Watanoha Area

About Watanoha area

Watanoha area is a district where I stayed for 2 nights and worked on the first day.

This area sank around 75cm because of the earthquake and rice fields around here are filled with sea water at high tide.

Sea water has started to fill this rice field.

According to the local people, this area is much cleaner than before. But it will take a long time for the town to recover to the original state.

Rubbish was still scattered in all directions.

Rotten squids on a road. They have given off a terrible smell. I felt sick when I arrived in the town the day before. But on the second day I seemed to get used to it.

A destroyed concrete wall. At school we have earthquake disaster drills in Japan. I remember that we were told that if an earthquake happens, we shouldn't walk along the wall. I just saw the best example here. 

Crushed cars bumped into a house. I wonder how the owners of these cars escaped on the 11th.

I heard from a local guy that when the Tsunami struck on the 11th, how to deal with one's car became the difference between life and death. Many people tried to escape from the Tsunami by their cars. It paralised the traffic. Some people abandoned their cars and ran towards mountains or high-up places and survived. On the contrary most of the people who had decided to stay in their cars lost their lives. One of his friends miraculously returned to life even if he was caught in the wave with his car. His car was lucky enough not to be hit by big floating objects. He waited for a while until his car came to the surface and broke the car window with his hammer and escaped. (Taking along a hammer is miraculous to me...) I think this is a really rare case.

According to a gardener who also worked as a volunteer, different to other trees, bamboo reacts immediately when they suck sea water. They change their colour into yellow.



Task of the day- cleaning a shrine

There are many rice fields around here, and the stalks from the fields were carried by the Tsunami and scattered all over this area. We need to take them away as soon as possible. There are a few reasons for this;

Blocking passages

Stalks would raise the temperature inside by fermenting and they could cause a spontaneous fire

Finding objects of memories of people

I worked with 3 team mates. We were asked to start cleaning a shrine with beautiful cherry blossom trees in full bloom. On our way to the shrine, I had seen many houses with mountains of straws. I asked why they wanted the shrine to be cleaned at first, rather than anybody's house.

According to a guy who worked with us, it's a shrine which worships a local God. The local people gather here from time to time for events or praying. They were supposed to hold a traditional cherry blossom festival, but they couldn't because of the disaster. They want to show their respect to God and hope that God protects them. They prioritise a shrine over their own property. That was a thought-provoking answer.

We put straws and twigs covered with mud into bags. Straws on top were dried and dried mud was blown up by wind. Inside was wet and heavier. I felt this was a never ending work... The amount of the straws in front didn't seem to get smaller. The photos below are one of the mountains we fought with. (Another mountain is on the other side of the shrine and not on these photos.)

Before and After 

The "Torii" (Shinto gateway) was terribly destroyed by the earthquake

 We put aside people's memorable objects when we found them. I really hope that they will be returned to the owners in the future.

When we worked, we received appreciative words from local people walking by. They must have indelible scars in their hearts. Just thinking about them, my heart ached. This work wouldn't delete their experience, but I want to support them as much as possible and help them get their normal life back as soon as possible.

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.

Time to head to Ishinomaki

I'm going to Ishinomaki soon for volunteer work.
Ishinomaki is a north seaside city of Miyagi where the Tsunami struck severely.

It may be a really small help, but I hope my action will be some help to the people and the city.
This is what I've wanted to do from the first place- be there and be with the people, share with them.

Will update when I come back- It will be a few days later.

See you!

Meet the Deputy Mayor

26th April, 11:30- at Miyagi Prefectural Government

I met Shuichi Miura, the Deputy Mayor of Miyagi Prefecture and reported to him that all the collected money was transferred to their account.
I explained how we organised the Cakes for Sendai, and how our friends and families have supported us through the event.
I also gave him a DVD which has the wonderful photos from the day.

According to him, the money is going to be used for provisional housings and their daily essentials to be installed- such as washing machines, hoovers, refrigerators etc. Your money is supporting people's daily life.
Thank you so much!

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.

Risa arrived Sendai

Risa is in Sendai over Easter holidays - she plans to report us what she sees, while she's working as a volunteer.

Here is her first impression of her hometown:

"I arrived Sendai a few hours ago after 17 hours journey. (London- Narita(tokyo)- Haneda(tokyo)- Sendai (just outside of the city); journey was not bad actually)

Sendai airport is the place where over 1000 people were stuck on the upper floors after Tsunami struck on 11th of March.

When I stood on the landing step of the airplane, I felt the mud smell in the air.

The airport has partially re-opened for 10 days, but the scenary around the airport is just awful and shocking- devastated land with flames of houses, upsidedown cars, rubbish...not the city I knew any more."

Jazz pianist Tom's next gig

While Risa's on the plane to Sendai, I'd like to keep introducing our contributors in UK.

The jazz pianist, Tom Millar, who played at our event, is currently an MA student at Royal Academy of Music.

His next gig is on Monday, 2 May, at Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho along with his course mates. He's a talented, up-and-coming pianist, so please check it out.

Details:

On: Mon 02 May 2011

Royal Academy of Music PG Jazz Composers Octet

Show Time 8:30pm / Doors Open 7:00pm

Price:£15.00 per person + pizza

Venue: Jazz Club Soho, 10 Dean Street,Soho, London W1D 3RW

Raised money in total is...

★ £5,488.05 ★

Even 5 Euro cent (which was probably mixed in by mistake) was converted into 5 pence by one of our staffs.
We sent all money to Social Welfare Division of Miyagi Prefectural Government today.

What a wonderful result!
Thank you all for supporting us.

I (Risa) am flying back to Sendai tomorrow to see my family and friends.
I'll update what I see and hear there!

Tea

Our tea at the event was pretty special.

Tim d'Offay from Postcard Teas supported our project from start. He donated all the tea for the event as well as a beautiful tea sets for raffle.

And he spent his Sunday day-off making tea for us, just after coming back from China on Saturday. His wife, Asako, and Hisayo, a staff at Postcard Teas, were all there too, and baked cakes and Japanese sweets.

Jane, Asako and Pippa - Tim's tea expert friends - supported us on the day, too. Both Jane and Asako were in West Japan lecturing on tea, when the earthquake hit, so they knew the impact first hand.

Not only donated a lot of raffle prizes and provided us tea equipments, Jane also made special effort to come to our event, straight from Heathlow on the way back from Argentina!

They didn't ask us to promote their business, but I strongly recommend you to visit the beautiful tea shop near New Bond Street, and find more about the tea through their courses or books.

Cakes

At the event on 10 April, we had about 50 cakes - which one was your favorite?

They are all baked by our friends and colleagues.

We tried but couldn't record all of them. Please let us know which one you baked!Some of the cakes (including this cherry blossom one) are made by our friends from the Cake Committee. They are a bunch of people who bake with " passion, obsession, madness and art".

Our tea-party style was inspired by their events, and they supported us from the very beginning of the planning - and donated generously.

Thank you Peter, Karen, Nora, Geoff, Jinny, Mehdi, Induja, and all their friends for amazing cakes!