Part 1: Volunteering in Ishinomaki (Days 1-2)

My final week in Japan was spent volunteering in Ishinomaki with Peace Boat, a Japan-based non-profit that has been very active in helping out since March 11. For those of you who aren't aware, Ishinomaki was one of the most seriously affected cities of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, with over 46% of the city destroyed. One elementary school, Okawa Elementary, was completely destroyed, killing 74 of 108 students and 10 of 13 teachers and staff. Despite such loss, I rarely witnessed the people of Ishinomaki expressing anything but strength. Their perseverance and kindness was unimaginably amazing.

The trip there was very well organized: Peace Boat picked us up in Tokyo on the night of July 29th, and we took an overnight bus straight to base camp at Senshu University in Ishinomaki, where we arrived bright and early the next morning. 

Base camp

After getting all of our things into the tent and collecting our rental equipment (boots, rain jackets, etc.), we set straight off to work at Kobuchihama, a local fishery that had lost everything in the tsunami. We spent much of the week there stringing oysters onto ropes for harvesting, a process that takes two years to cultivate, so you can imagine the devastation to the industry that was caused. We worked right alongside the fisherman, who'd lost so much, but it was actually their liveliness and energy that kept spirits up.

Photo credit: Hai Huynh

The building we worked in. The tide would come into it
when it was rising because the land had shifted,
causing roads and buildings to flood daily.

Right outside where we worked

Photo credit: Hai Huynh

Stringing oysters
Photo credit: Hai Huynh

That evening, we also helped load two trucks full of supplies for Niigata, an area that was flooding due to heavy rains, causing tens of thousands to evacuate their homes.

Photo credit: Yannick Hiryczuk

Day two wasn't as physical, as we were lucky to be a part of the the Ishinomaki Kawabiraki (“River Opening”) Festival, which is held on July 31-August 1 every year. There was much debate over whether or not it would be held this year, but eventually the people of Ishinomaki decided to continue the tradition, honoring the memories of the tsunami victims with 10,000 paper lanterns down the river. That day, we prepared the bottoms of all the lanterns with waterproofing spray.

Photo credit: Peace Boat

Photo credit: Laurel Raab

The evening was very somber. The lanterns were released at 6:30 pm, each with a victim's name written on the side. We were later told a story about one of the fishermen we'd been working with that absolutely broke my heart. He'd been desperately searching for his daughter and wife's lanterns, but had only been able to find his wife's. Finally, after finding his daughter's, he ran to nearest shop to buy a rope, so he could tie them together. So they could be together forever.

Lanterns on the streets, decorated by children.
Photo credit: Laurel Raab