On the second day, we headed to tsunami-struck Sanriku and Ishinomaki. From watching on Television it seemed safe to assume that it was a bad situation in Ishinomaki but it was worse than we could ever have imagined. However, now that some amount of time has passed since the earthquake, we came to the town to report on how the recovery effort is going.

Along the way we drove past many SDF vehicles.

The situation inside Ishinomaki cityFar from the sea it wasn’t any different to normal, but the closer we came to the coast, the amount of garbage lining the roads was increasing.

As we expected, the SDF was working here too. With “The Bringer of Hope” written on signs, they seemed to be bringing hot water for baths.

There were a lot of cherry blossoms in bloom. This photo of the coast is taken from a plateau in Hiyoriyama.

Sakura of Hiyoriyama Park, with a background of a coastal scene, they were beautifully blooming.

Down to the coastal landscape.

Shopping center in the city.This message had been raised to encourage the reconstruction effort.
With lots of customers and an abundance of stock, the store was finally making a comeback.

Taking to the highway, we headed to South Sanriku.

On the way, a train was stopped on the tracks. I wonder if it has moved since the earthquake.

Inside Minamisanriku. Nothing but rubble. Unlike Ishinomaki, there are almost no left-over buildings.

A house that was left over. A buoy that should be in the sea is wrapped around it.
It is thought that the tsunami was as high as 30 feet.It is not hard to imagine the greatness of the tsunami.

Self-Defense Forces had also arrived in Minamisanriku.

Police and Cranes from all over Japan were arriving and we could see the signs of a recovery towards the future.

Ishinomaki and Minamisanriku’s famous coastal road still has yet to return to daily life.
However, that day is getting closer.
Japan’s SDF are helping with their support vehicles and depending on the places there were sometimes a lot of people gathered.

Also, it may be because of the Sakura that we saw on the first day, but the Sakura we saw at the disaster sites will live strong in our memory.

Sakura of Hiyoriyama Park.

On this report we were left feeing that the disaster was such a serious situation, but it was amazing that amongst all of that was the innocent and clean nature of the Cherry Blossoms.
So, to the people who are in trouble due to the earthquake and the tsunami, we hope that they can use both the power of people and the power of nature to put things back on track.
Finally, we hope from the bottom of our hearts that people’s lives can go back to how they were before the disaster soon.