Last year I went to Ishinomaki 石巻, one of the cities that was hit hardest by the Tsunami auf March 2011. Though, or maybe because most of the debris has been carried away the scenery is still very depressing. The port area was devestated and we were told the story of two school buses. One brought the students directly to higher ground, the teachers of the second bus decided it would be best to bring them to their parents. From the second bus, only two adults survived, one of them later committed suicide out of remorse.
Although almost everyone in this city has some kind of tragic story to tell, people are carrying on. We visited a local NPO who tried to improve the situation through a special care-sharing service and a group of old women who creatively use old kimono fabric donated from all over Japan to create new goods. In short: we met lots of people who suffered, but who are still full of life, not thinking about giving up.
I think as long as people like that live there, the area will surely recover. At least I hope so, because they are great people.
So you’re ready to live in Yamagata. But where, exactly, will you end up? And what is this ‘Touhoku’ place that you’re hearing about?
Chances are that if you’ve never been to Japan, Touhoku hasn’t been on your list of places to visit. Located in the northern region of the main island (not including Hokkaido), this region houses 6 prefectures - Aomori, Iwate, Akita, Miyagi, Yamagata and Fukushima. If you’ve been placed in any of these prefectures, you will be living in Touhoku.
In many ways, Touhoku remains out of the reach of popularity among foreign tourist attractions. Although it’s beautiful and houses much of Japan’s nature and homely countrysides, it doesn’t have a lot of big cities. The main one is Sendai, located on the east side of Miyagi prefecture, and it is within relatively easy access from the other prefectures by train, bus or shinkansen.
The climate might be of some concern to those of you coming from hotter regions. In the winter, Touhoku is quite cold and tends to experience a LOT of snowfall. Make sure to pack a nice winter coat and boots if you’re coming over - but don’t forget to pack a sense of adventure as well! Because of the snow, there are numerous mountains and slopes for skiing and snowboarding, so there’s never a boring day, even in the winter.
In the summer, the temperatures climb to the 30s and it gets incredibly humid. Because of this, you will want to find yourself a comfortably cool river or even travel to the seaside or the ocean to cool off in the beautiful, clean waters.
So, what is there to do?
Touhoku is a great place to see the real Japan - the side that isn’t sold to visitors through popular advertisements and foreigner-friendly designed shops. Through living in Touhoku you will get the privilege of seeing incredible nature reserves, mountains - get to participate in planting rice and take part in local festivals.
**Aomori Nebuta Festival**
**Akita Kanto Festival**
*Yamagata Hanagasa*
*Miyagi Zao Crater*
*Yamagata Yamadera*
These AND MORE are waiting for you to explore in the grand, lush region of Tohouku.
(Following @isaacleejiehao ’s date log since he touched base here 1 week ago)
Coming to Ishinomaki, this place is, in all honesty and awe, the most desolate compared to all the cities I have ever visited in Japan. The buildings are low-rising and sparse, and the grey rainclouds spread evenly across the sky. There is a typhoon in town these few days, and hopefully when it subsides we can go full force in our activities here. The conditions of our accommodation here aren’t the best, but a bed, shelter and wifi is all we need to work with right now and I’m grateful for this.
I have started to shoot more on my DSLR than with my phone camera in light of the photobook we hope to produce, and so instagram updates may not be as frequent. Nonetheless we’ll strive to keep constant updates as we trudge through this chaotic vast landscape of nothingness which amidst all the gloom, it seems, still possesses semblances of hope for recovery.
Remembering the March 11, 2011, Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami today. I had the chance in the summer of 2017 to visit one of the towns that was almost completely wiped out by the disaster. I enjoyed speaking to the locals and seeing firsthand the recovery process. The small fishing town of Onagawa in Miyagi Prefecture is a shining light of the strong will and never give up attitude of the Japanese people.
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Photo Credit: Me
Onagawa Miyagi Prefecture
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Shiogama, Japan - Bronze lanterns in Miyagi-ken, Shiogama. You can see the carving of Hakutaku on the Lantern of Shiogama-jinja. The Miyagi prefecture itself is located in the Tōhoku region on Honshu island. Picture is around 100 years old.
![[ Day 10 - Derelict ] (Following @isaacleejiehao ’s date log since he touched base here 1 week](https://64.media.tumblr.com/fc6a9e92cfd0f42e6e369a85c0f130ba/tumblr_na3d1kr8641r3dvueo1_640.jpg "[ Day 10 - Derelict ] (Following @isaacleejiehao ’s date log since he touched base here 1 week")
