Three spots in Japan will make your transition back to travel an educational one
With COVID-19 vaccinations ramping up, some people may be ready to leave their neighborhoods and go traveling again. Three spots in particular are good if you're into history.
The secret to this sake’s flavor? Aging it underwater
What started as an experiment has turned into a way for Otokoyama Honten brewery to recover from the 2011 Tohoku triple disaster.
Japan's 'manbō' moniker for virus measures under fire for minimizing crisis
The city of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, has criticized the use of the word that can refer both virus steps and a fish that has symbolized the city's post-disaster reconstruction.
Ken Watanabe's support for survivors of 3/11 is a 'lifetime's work'
The actor's decadelong efforts to help survivors of the March 11 disaster include opening a cafe in Miyagi Prefecture and launching websites to solicit donations and words of encouragement.
Funding crunch hampers preservation of sites hit by 2011 quake
Officials say maintaining the sites has become an increasing struggle amid public apathy and drops in both donations and paying visitors.
Miyagi firm first to get sustainable label for bluefin tuna fishing
A fishery based in northeastern Japan has acquired the world's first certification for sustainable bluefin tuna fishing, according to the Marine Stewardship Council. The MSC's blue fish label certifies that Usufuku Honten Co. in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, takes full measures to ensure that the endangered ...
Ebisu statue, lost following 2011 tsunami, pulled from waters off Miyagi
A statue of Ebisu, the Japanese god of fishermen and luck, was pulled from the sea Tuesday and will be given a new home near the Miyagi Prefecture port from which it was swept away during the devastating March 2011 tsunami. The statue depicts Ebisu ...
Tohoku residents try to keep memory of 3/11 quake and tsunami alive through VR and wreckage
Conveying the fear of when a massive earthquake and tsunami strike is no easy feat. But eight years on from the disaster that shook the nation to its core, schools, municipalities and museums in the Tohoku region devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake in ...
Sameya: Making shark profitable and delicious
For his food truck, Sameya, owner-chef Takumi Takase has developed a delicious menu of dishes using shark meat from Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, providing a stable income for local fishermen.
Shop selling sharkskin products hopes to revive tsunami-hit Kesennuma, known for shark fishing
The owner of a shop specializing in products made from sharkskin hopes the business will help revitalize a northeastern Japanese city devastated by tsunami and fire following the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011. Makiko Kumagai, 58, opened the store Sharks in a make-shift ...
University student cycles from Aichi to Miyagi to spread messages of hope from disaster victims
Kenshi Yamamoto, a 20-year-old university student from Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, made a 1,746 kilometer round-trip bicycle journey earlier this month to Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, to challenge post-disaster media coverage that he believes focuses excessively on depressing news. Yamamoto visited the Tohoku region three times while ...
In tsunami-hit Kesennuma, fishing industry recovers but scars remain
A stranger visiting the fishing port of Kesennuma today may not realize that six years ago it suddenly became the scene of massive, deadly devastation. Much of the land in the port's waterfront area remains vacant, except for the foundations of hundreds of structures swept ...
