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 ...
Bridge linking Miyagi Prefecture's disaster-hit Oshima Island with Kesennuma is opened
A bridge connecting Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture with a nearby island in the Pacific Ocean went into service Sunday. The bridge to Oshima was built as a lifeline for its residents. When the island's ferry port was damaged during the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, ...
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 ...
'Kesennuma and Memories of the Great East Japan Earthquake'
Feb. 13-March 21 Immediately after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, the curators of the Rias Ark Museum of Art in Miyagi Prefecture began documenting the aftermath. Their quick response and follow up resulted in the 2013 exhibition "Documentary of the Great East ...
Miyagi teen savors first win at Iwate racetrack
A teenage jockey from Tohoku recently made her professional debut, achieving a long-held dream after having nearly abandoned her career following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. "I hope people (in my hometown) will step forward a little watching me," said Mayu Suzuki, 18, from Kesennuma, ...
Kesennuma unloaded around 26 tons of "katsuo" (bonito) in its first catch of the season Monday in Miyagi Prefecture, bringing hustle and bustle back to a fishing port that was nearly wiped off the map by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Kesenuma has led ...
Tohoku finding real recovery hard to come by
Yumiko Onodera is a survivor. She saw her town of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, devastated by gigantic tsunami and ensuing fire from damaged heavy oil tanks at the major fishery port on March 11, 2011. The fire engulfed and destroyed her residential area in the Shishiori ...
Elderly perked up by Filipino caregiver
Laughter is often heard from some 40 elderly people who receive day care services at a care home in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, thanks to the presence of a Filipino worker. "When I speak in English, grandpas seem delighted," Charito Ito said, revealing her secret for ...
Rebuilding hope, one stitch at a time
Most of the 19 women from the tsunami-hit city of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, who work for Tamako Mitarai's knitwear company had no professional experience as knitters. It may not sound like an impressive operation, but the 28-year-old president paints a lofty vision for them: to ...
