The fine drizzle falling on the picturesque fishing village of Kyubun, Miyagi Prefecture, is dampening Toshikazu Takahashi's normally sunny disposition.
The unfavorable weather has scuppered plans by Takahashi and 35 fellow fishermen to start cleaning up the battered quay just 50 meters from where his home once stood, and assemble bamboo rafts in preparation to cultivate the area's renowned oysters.
"We have waited and waited but neither the central nor the prefectural government will do anything, so we've decided to get on with it ourselves," said Takahashi, 54, who lives in a tent erected on the bare foundations of his home together with his wife, Teruyo, mother, Mitsuko, and their poodle, Denmaru.