Like many residents of this port city known for its rich bonito, saury and shark fin catches, Marivel Gunji had worked in the fisheries industry, in her case for more than a decade. When the earthquake hit March 11, she was at her factory slicing up fish that seemed to suddenly come back to life.
"It shook so hard that the fish were bouncing and bouncing, as if they were alive," said Gunji, a 32-year-old Filipino who came to Japan 13 years ago. "I was really surprised because it shook so strong."
So was everyone else. When the quake stopped, Gunji's boss urged everyone to evacuate. Gunji heeded the warning but soom found herself in the middle of a traffic jam caused by others trying to flee the impending tsunami.