After an 18-hour journey, a navy blue van pulls into a convention hall parking lot in the city of Nanao in Ishikawa Prefecture, which is now a lifeline for evacuees from the massive Jan. 1 earthquake.
Volunteers swoop in to unload boxes fixed with essentials — from diapers to ingredients for Japanese curry — that had been brought in from almost 800 kilometers away. Signs on the van show where their trip began: Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture — one of the areas hardest hit by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
“We understand how difficult this all is because of our past,” says Hiroyuki Takahashi, 49, a politician-turned-entrepreneur working with the Iwate group, who had arrived ahead of the van by train the day before.
Most of the goods came from Otsuchi, a small fishing village where around 40 to 50 residents rallied to help those affected by the magnitude 7.6 earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula on New Year’s Day.
The team is just one element of a grassroots mobilization campaign to support quake victims, made up of volunteers from Ishikawa Prefecture and far beyond.
Bringing hope
For the team from Iwate, the mission was especially meaningful. Almost 13 years ago, Otsuchi was devastated by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the Tohoku region. What wasn’t destroyed by the shaking was consumed by fires and overtaken by tsunami waves that raced through town, leveling everything in their path.
Speaking outside of Nanao Sunlife Plaza on Saturday, which at the time was hosting 600 evacuees, Takahashi says he hopes the Iwate team’s efforts can bring hope amid unclear prospects for returning home.
He said this initiative would continue long term, with the group aiming to make multiple trips as the relief effort continues.
Tomo Fujiwara, 39, part of the team that made the drive from Iwate, says many of the people who donated relief goods aimed to recall what made them happy when they were evacuees themselves in the aftermath of 3/11, such as hand warmers and snacks.
As he spoke, two fishermen from Anamizu, a town that suffered severe damage in the earthquake, were loading up a portion of the supplies from Iwate.
“In times of crisis, all we have is each other,” Fujiwara says.
Source of strength
Inside the evacuation center, Shu Kokaji, 43, leads a meal preparation group with exuberance, cracking jokes and drawing laughter from the assembled volunteers.
But speaking in an interview later in the day, he says that despite the occasional moments of levity, he and his teammates are in pain.
He recalls how his heart ached as he watched news of the 2011 disaster on television, but that he never imagined his hometown would one day be on TV for a similar reason. In the quake, his own home managed to remain standing, but his children face constant anxiety. Even the slightest aftershock brings them to tears.
“When I found myself in this position as a disaster victim, I truly realized how difficult it must have been for them,” Kokaji says, wiping away tears.
Despite the pain, Kokaji says he wanted to give back to his community, especially considering its aging population. “I think it's crucial for our younger generation to make an effort,” he says.
At the evacuation center, that effort manifests in a variety of ways. Amid the tragic circumstances, Kokaji aims to bring people joy in some aspects of evacuee life, trying his best to help them gradually be able to smile again and transition back toward some semblance of normalcy. It happens with meal prep, too. Instead of just offering rice balls, the team tries to make warm, homemade meals, and occasionally, treats such as cream puffs.
“When they eventually leave this place, this experience will become a source of strength,” he says. “That’s why I try to be this energetic.”
Kokaji himself believes his community can overcome the disaster.
“It feels like my heart is about to break so many times,” he says. “But I’m so grateful to the people supporting us.”
Takahashi, part of the Iwate team, also recalls how grateful he was when people from around the nation offered support for his community.
“But now, it’s our turn to help,” he says. “We’ve become comrades sharing the same pain.”
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