Continue reading »]]> Even though my next town Kamaishi has plenty of hotels which have already been restored, I’m still having a hard time finding a room. There is a huge steel plant in Kamaishi which is fully functional again. A major part of the city is located in a long, narrow valley which reaches far into the countryside with a steady incline towards it, which is why this part of town survived the tsunami. The thriving economy here results in fully booked hotels. After hustling to the fifth hotel, I finally find a room. I’m stressed out, and I just want to leave the coast behind me already.

The next day, I finally reach my destination, the reason for my journey through this disaster region: the Kindergarten Midori for which I collect donations.

When leaving Otsuchi for Miyako another typhoon passes through. However the eye of the storm lies over the sea. Still it causes such strong winds and heavy rain that its impossible for me to film Otsuchi. This town tops everything I’ve seen so far in terms of destruction. It could also be Hiroshima one week after the detonation of the A-bomb. It’s horrible! Grey rain beats over the sulky wasteland of rubble and foundations. The horizon disappears in eternal mist. I’m just here for a few days but the people here face this scene of devastation every day!

To a great extent my next city of Miyako was mainly spared because it was fortunately protected by a peninsula which blocked most of the tsunami. Still here I cycle through a small part of the city completely wiped out as well.

The cliff shore from Miyako on towards Kuji

From Miyako towards the north the seashore turns into a – at some points 200 m high – cliff coast. It would be 90 km from Miyako to the next biggest town Kuji. Too far for me to make it in one day with my heavy trailer and several mountains and valleys in between. So I search for a hostel in Tanohata, a little town in between. When reaching it in the evening it turns out it is closed. My fault. I didn’t call them to place a reservation. Of course it’s the only hostel in this little town. I ask at the Koban (local police station) if they had some advice. They call several guest houses for me – yes I know something like that would never happen in Germany but seems to be a matter of course for them – but all are full. There is a small hotel near the shore about eight km away from here they tell me. Meanwhile it’s dark outside. Shortly before I hit the road again my back light won’t turn on. Somehow the strong rain of the last typhoon must have damaged the internal electronics. Of course worse always comes to worst. As if this wouldn’t be bad enough already the police guys warn me that it’s a very dangerous course through a very deep and narrow canyon. I better not tell them my back light does not work as I’m pushing my bicycle around the corner while saying good bye to them.

The cliff shore from Miyako on towards Kuji

I’m slowly approaching the canyon. And it is deep indeed. The street has no continuous crash barrier. What also makes me anxious is the fact that it is in the middle of nowhere and there are no cars passing. So should something happen to me here it might take some time until somebody would discover me. At least it’s a clear bright starlit night and not too cold. On one hand the contrast of the steep canyon walls against the jewelled sky looks somehow threatening but on the other hand it has something romantic. Nonetheless. Both are pretty distracting and it happens that I almost plummet into the chasm. It is so dark that I barely see anything despite my front light.

I survive the canyon and finally reach the hotel. Of course it’s full. After the chase for free rooms and escaping two typhoons and seeing so much destruction within the last few days and the struggle through the canyon and therefore being absolutely exhausted it drives me to total desperation. I really can’t go on any longer! Apparently the hotel owner sees how desperate I am. He knows there is really nothing around here where I could stay. He also knows it would be quite cruel to send me away so he decides to convert the common room to a room for me. I want to get out of this area! I really want to get out of here!

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Special thanks to: Mattew Hahn, Travis Haby (text revision), Tori & Kyle Sharpe (all U.S.A.) Hubertus Neidhart from Webspace Provider Network for excellent web page hosting services; Lilith Pendzich

Continue reading »]]> Even though a typhoon is approaching I reach my next host Henry nearby Ishinomaki, mainly dry. When trying to call him from a phone booth I almost splat a small frog sitting on the dial pad. I can’t believe my eyes. He was lucky. I almost dialed M for murder. But I have to admit this color scheme fits quite well to the green corporate design of Japanese’s national phone network NTT. What a slick marketing trick.

The next day Henry and his friend Mike guide me through the area hit by the tsunami.

The tough time lies ahead of me. I reached the strip of coast hit worse by the 3/11 tsunami and will cycle all the way through it until I reach Aomori prefecture in the very north of Japan’s main island, Honshu. I do this knowing that I did not find a single host there, and will have a hard time finding accommodation.

Tsunami warning sign

However in my first town Minamisanriku I am lucky, as there is a little elevated peninsula which was mainly spared by the tsunami. Luckily there is also a little ryokan (cheap Japanese style hostel). So for today finding accommodation was just a minor matter, especially against the problem I am facing now: when asking for the way I am being told that it’s still about one hour to the hostel. Also the man is nice enough to let me know that the typhoon heading towards the coast has accelerated. Just now I’m realizing that it was a really silly/stupid decision to cross this area during typhoon season. Especially now it would not make a lot of sense to have a tent with me, as it would get blown away. So I better hurry because it’s also about to get dark. Of course there are three mountains ahead of me.

I’ve been cycling for 30 minutes now, and a pick-up slows down next to my right. It’s the man I asked for directions. While driving, he points with his thumb to the truck bed and looking at me through his window, waiting for my reaction. Since I don’t want to take the risk of getting blown away by the typhoon, I nod my head. He overtakes me and pulls off into the next bay. It’s already the third time here in Japan that I’ve been offered help from a complete stranger.

Stranger in the night

The typhoon passes at night and astonishingly, the next day is completely clear. Perfect conditions for cycling. As the impact of the tsunami is more than a year back, the streets are of course cleared. Sometimes there are detours because the original road was flooded by the sea as the country sank in some parts during the earthquake.

Rubble mountain

When cycling through this area I witness uncountable numbers of big rubble and garbage/rubbish mountains. Hundreds of excavators separate the bulky garbage/rubbish. They pile up mountains of rusty and completely deformed cars, or half-rotten wood-like broken bars and splintered furniture. Smaller other deformed metal pipes, filthy plastic parts or musty blankets are being separated manually. The extent of those hills is often as wide as a football field, or even bigger; sometimes they are as tall as a four storey/story building. These hills are ubiquitous!

My next destination Kesennuma resembles an expanse of ruins. For the first time in my life I am in a disaster zone. I only now realize how big the difference is between imagining and experiencing a disaster area. We all saw the terrible pictures on TV, on the internet, news papers and magazines. Probably over a thousand times. Still, nothing of that shows anywhere near the full scale of devastation here. I have to experience this especially when searching for accommodation, but I’m lucky, and find a hostel some distance from the sea.

Leftover in Minamisanriku

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Special thanks to: Mattew Hahn, Travis Haby (text revision), Henry Ngai, Tori & Kyle Sharpe (all U.S.A.) Mike Onotera, (Canada), Hubertus Neidhart from Webspace Provider Network for excellent web page hosting services; Lilith Pendzich

Continue reading »]]> One Year after Fukushima

In memory of the victims of the earthquake-, tsunami-, and the nuclear reactor disaster of Fukushima one year ago I decided not to post an article this Sunday. This entry is dedicated to the victims and their dependants.

Our thoughts are with the people who lost their lives or existence that day.