Blogs from Iwate, Japan, Asia

We got up early on 13 October to catch the 8:40 ferry from Ura no Hama harbour. Upon arrival at Aceport Kesennuma harbour, we got in a taxi and headed for Kesennuma station. A number of taxis came to Aceport Harbour; it was very convenient. I’ve heard that all the taxi companies have been relocated to higher ground, a couple of miles away from the harbour, since 11th March 2011. All the taxi drivers we met experienced the huge tsunami on that day, and talked about their experiences and views of the ongoing restoration project. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) It took 10 minutes by taxi from harbour to Kesennuma station. After the disasters, JR (Japan Railway) Ōfunato Line managed to get the line restored between Ichinoseki and Kesennuma, but not further towards Ōfunato: Kesennuma has become ... read more

Unfortunately, it was rather cloudy and started showering in Ichinoseki in the morning, while we were walking to the station. We headed to the platform for Kesennuma line. As planned, we caught the 9:10 train for Kesennuma. There were quite a few people getting off at Geibikei. My mother quietly said, ‘Where are these people going in the rain?’ I smiled and said, ‘Of course, they are all going to Geibikei – like us, they are getting on the boat along the gorge this morning.’ We bought the tickets and left our big pieces of luggage at the ticketing office. Despite the rain, a large number of crowds came and joined a queue for the boat ride. We ensured to stay together so that we would get on the same boat. As it was raining, a ... read more

Taro Bosai (disaster prevention) tour The train brought us to Taro at 13:34. Having seen four people carrying suitcases, a young lady, who was waiting at the end of the subway, asked if we were the Yamato. She had brought one of her colleagues so they would show us round with two cars. One of the tourists appeared at the same time as us; she was interested in joining the bosai tour. At Taro, we were shown harsh realities as we came out from the station. Pointing at empty ground where weeds were growing, the female bosai guide, Ms Hirai, said: ‘Until the morning of 11th March 2011, there used be a travel inn and the supermarket selling fresh fish and vegetables. Also there was a building called “Taro Kanko (tourist) centre” underneath the bank of ... read more

Kuji, north edge of Sanriku Railway, is home for Amachan, a female diver on Kosode coast, which was dramatised on the NHK – Nippon Hoso Kyokai: Japan Broadcasting Corporation, between April and September 2013. I felt this city was rather quiet. We walked to Michi no Eki (The property is located in the middle of tourist destinations and houses facilities for tourists such as tourist information centre, restaurants, and supermarkets selling fresh fish, meats, dairy products and vegetables taken from local farms and fishermen) Kuji, Yamase Dufukan (House of the ground and wind). It was just 10 minutes’ walk from the station. Although it wasn’t lunch time, we firstly entered the restaurant ‘Sankairi’. It was at 11:30 when we sat the table, but the restaurant was nearly a full-house. My father took a set menu (with ... read more

Ofunato / Iwate Am Ende meiner Japan-Tour besuchte ich meine Freunde, die ich in kennengelernt habe. Wir unternahmen eine kleine Wanderung im Regen an die Goishi-Küste (碁石海岸), und sahen uns im Ofunato-Museum die Ausmaße der Tsunami-Katastrophe im April 2011 an. Nach einer schönen Zeit in Ofunato fuhren wir zuerst zum goldenen Tempel "Chūson-ji" in Hiraizumi und dann weiter nach Hanamaki/Namari in einen Onsen. Das ist ein SEHR heisses Bad - ca. 42 Grad.... read more