Tour guide Tsuyoshi Sawaguchi recently took an 11-member group from Kyushu University around the Taro district in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, to explain the impact of the tsunami that wrecked much of Japan's northeastern coastline in March 2011.

"What is important is protecting your life by yourself. I want you all to think of that meaning with your loved ones," said Sawaguchi, 36, after showing his guests from the southwest a DVD of video footage shot from the sixth floor of the former Taro Kanko Hotel immediately after the magnitude-9 earthquake.

It depicts the moment the sea rose as high as nearly 10 meters as a fierce wave suddenly engulfed the quiet town, including the squeaking of the seaside building.