KESENNUMA - BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE

28/03/2021

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING....

This is us. We’ve been turning these pages for you for a decade. We and many other contributors have been honored to keep you up to date on the city we all love so much.

We’ve been honored, too, with our own tairyobata flag, presented to us by Mayor Sugawara. This link will whisk you back to January 6, 2019 for that story:

https://m.facebook.com/kesennuma/photos/p.2194644587246804/2194644587246804/?type=1&theater

And here’s a link to Hamarainya! It’s the city’s official Facebook site, and a “big sister” to us in keeping you informed:

https://www.facebook.com/prkesennuma/photos/a.336312216456503/459847390769651

It’s been a fun run and a volunteer effort for all of us, but now it’s closing time. We may pop in again when there’s something special we want to share with you. And you can scroll all the way back to our beginning anytime.

Our title says it all: “Kesennuma, Building for the Future.” Arigato, dear reader, for helping us build!

27/03/2021

While many of us continue staying home, this may be a good time we update our bucket list, so let us assist you; here are some useful online resources for your planning a future trip to Kesennuma, which hopefully will happen sooner than we imagine!

▪️“Visit Kesennuma” https://visit-kesennuma.com/
This website is a vault of tourist information that will definitely lure you to Kesennuma. Enjoy browsing its beautiful collection of travel journals and lively videos on our local charms. It even has got a digital concierge that can instantly provide you with an ideal itinerary customized to your preferences − super cool, isn’t it? Available in five languages (EN/KR/CN/TH/ID).

Following websites, all available in EN/KR/CN/TH, may also come in handy if you wish to explore our neighboring towns and Tohoku Region further:
▪️“Visit Miyagi” https://visitmiyagi.com/
▪️“Travel Tohoku” https://www.tohokukanko.jp/en/index.html
▪️“Tohoku 365: Tohoku Travel Magazine” https://tohoku365.com/en/

Among so many amazing places and great foods that Tohoku has to offer, our obvious recommendation would be us! Until we meet (again) here in Kesennuma, our good friends, let’s stay safe, healthy, and happy.

A Fishing Port in Harmony with the Ocean. Visit Kessennuma.

24/03/2021

If you didn’t pour yourself a Black Tide in our previous post, pour it now. There’s a lot to learn and enjoy in this fascinating wrap-up of the past ten years.

For 10 years, the people of Kesennuma have channeled their passion and ingenuity into rebuilding their tsunami-stricken coastal community, only to confront new existential threats: depopulation, a decline in the area’s fishing industry, and the COVID-19 pandemic. A local journalist–turned–civi...

23/03/2021

Thirsty? Pour yourself a cold Black Tide brew and drink in the story of how it bubbled up right here in Kesennuma. Cheers!

2011年3月11日の東日本大震災から10年、被災地の復興への歩みは続く。Japan's 2011 Fukushima earthquake and tsunami hit Kesennuma hard. Black Tide Brewing hopes to promote "Made in Kesennuma...

20/03/2021

Say the word “seawall,” and you may trigger a tsunami of opinions. Yes, they’ll protect us; no, they’ll be expensive eyesores; and so on. With profound respect for all sides, we offer this summary of how the debate is playing out in Kesennuma.

How does a coastal community defend against a 1,000-year tsunami while preserving its connections to the sea? The author, a local politician and former journalist, recounts Kesennuma’s seven-year quest for solutions.

19/03/2021

Yes, that really is movie star Ken Watanabe surveying the wreckage after the tsunami a decade ago. Walk with him now as he revisits Kesennuma and our neighbor towns, where his efforts have helped and inspired us beyond measure.

On March 11, 2011, Japan was rocked by the Great East Japan Earthquake that tragically claimed the lives of more than 15,000 people. Since then, Actor Ken Watanabe has repeatedly visited the area, met more than 20,000 people, and heard their stories. Watanabe eventually opened a café in Kesennuma, ...

18/03/2021

Taylor Anderson didn’t teach in Kesennuma, but no matter. We honor her and all the other Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) who speak English as natives and help our kids to learn it and connect with the world. Arigato, ALTs!

For Andy Anderson, the pain of losing his daughter Taylor in the massive tsunami that struck northeastern Japan in 2011 will never abate, but his resolve to carry forward her legacy in Japan is one way he copes.

17/03/2021

The best way to handle an emergency is to prepare for it before it happens. Here’s how that worked for a day care center full of babies and children.

SENDAI -- The now-defunct Ikkeijima nursery center on the coast of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, was completely destroyed by tsunami following the 201

16/03/2021

If we had to choose a single photo to symbolize Kesennuma’s response to the disaster ten years ago, this might be the one. His head is bowed, his gaze is down, his world is in ruins behind him. But his jaw is clenched in determination as he carries water to his stricken family. Here’s his story, then and now.

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/03/000a749db934-feature-japan-tsunami-survivors-trying-to-return-favor-10-yrs-on.html?fbclid=IwAR2ixiRL7WhReBixWdisT-eOiOpWOFwA773gbJSffZf5HtxHhML5IaqcRcU

A large photo on display at a memorial museum for the 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture in northeastern Japan, shows a 10-year-old boy walking in front of a pile of rubble, his jaw clenched and a bottle of water in each hand.

15/03/2021

This is the monument we couldn’t show you last week! It has now been unveiled, and with profound appreciation we share with you this article by our TOMODACHI.

Oshima residents are taught: "If you feel an earthquake, immediately get to high ground and do not go back for anything or delay for any reason." It is a rule that saves lives.

14/03/2021

A bit of photo wizardry doubles the rainbow of colors in our fish market by night. May your nights and days to come be filled with such beauty!

A fish market facility in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, which was hit hard by a tsunami in the wake of the March 2011 huge earthquake, is lit up in seven colors on Tuesday night, two days before the 10th anniversary of the disaster.

11/03/2021

On March 11, 2011, life ended for so many we loved, and it seemed to end for the city we loved as well. But on that dark day, amid the tremors, the torrents, the flames, and the scramble to survive, a new life began in our midst.

A decade later, Haru Murakami celebrates his 10th birthday with his sister, Akara, by chomping as he did then on a card reading “Arigato” — “Thank you” to all who have helped us. And all of Kesennuma marks this special day in a city reborn and growing and looking forward to a promising future.

Happy Birthday, young Haru-chan, and Happy Rebirthday to our beloved Kesennuma!

Haru at one year old and today; photos courtesy Kesennuma City Public Relations

08/03/2021

Friends, helpers, volunteers, neighbors all over the world, we could not have come this far without a decade of support from all of you! We thank you for caring for us, dear friends. Read on as we update you on Kesennuma’s 10th year of rebuilding effort after the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011.

We now have two beautiful bridges across our bay. The arched one opened in April 2019, connecting our Oshima Island to the mainland. Our island will no more be isolated if disaster strikes, as it was 10 years ago!

The other is a sleek, soaring cable-stayed bridge that just opened on March 6. This bridge was an unfinished link in Miyagi Prefecture part of Sanriku Expressway that stretches 359 km from Sendai to Hachinohe in the northern part of Japan. You’re missing something if you haven’t checked the video of the commemorating “Niagara” of fireworks we posted a few days ago! Thanks to this mostly toll-free highway, all built at heights safe from any future tsunami, Kesennuma is now only a 90-minute drive from Sendai. That’s an hour shorter than before!

Overlooking these bridges and Kesennuma Bay, our Memorial Park will open on the tenth anniversary of the disaster. A monument, the Sail of Prayers, stands there as a symbol of remembrance and appreciation. Built with support that included crowd-funding, the monument evokes hands raised together in prayer, or a sail that we command with a will to ride fortune’s shifting winds into a hopeful future.

Another big milestone for us is coming up in this 10th anniversary month. A large highway rest area complete with a local specialty section and eat-ins, familiar to the Japanese as “michi-no-eki” (meaning “roadside station”), will open near Oya Beach on March 28. A great line-up of Kesennuma-made products will welcome you, including a fish tank to provide visitors with the freshest catch. You’ll enjoy a great view of the white-sand beach from a large window or from the roof deck. The beach will open this summer, a triumph for the local people whose unrelenting effort has changed the original plan for a seawall in a way to preserve the beach.

Yes, we’ve come a long way. Let us share with you some more milestones from our past ten years:

The debris processing was completed in March 2014.

The first of the public houses and buildings built in response to the disaster became available in January 2015. A total of 2,087 household units in 35 locations were prepared, with the last one completed in May 2017.

Under the neighborhood relocation program, a total of 907 parcels of land were prepared in 46 new neighborhood locations safe from a tsunami. The first handover of the land was in March 2014 and the final one, which took some time due to land elevation work, was handed over in March 2019.

The Land Readjustment Programs elevated the land by 1.3 to 5.5 meters above sea level for a total of 85.8 hectares (212 acres) of land. The elevated area includes Shishiori, where the large ship No. 18 Kyotokumaru was swept inland by the tsunami. The ship was dismantled and removed in 2013, reflecting the residents’ vote against preservation. In this tsunami-and-fire devastated Shishiori district, a health and welfare center was relocated inland with major support from Taiwan Red Cross.

The inner-bay Naiwan area, the heart of the city, was also elevated. The Naiwan community worked hard to reach a consensus and negotiate with the prefectural government against a high sea wall -- holding more than 150 meetings in five years while trying to rebuild their own homes and businesses. The result? Come visit the shopping zone built ingeniously and beautifully combined with the seawall. So as not to spoil the refreshing bay view, the seawall, in some parts along the bay, adopts a flap-gate system that actually becomes taller if stricken by a tsunami!

Our list of milestones goes on.

Our city hospital was relocated and renewed in November 2017. The city library equipped with a childcare center opened in the summer of 2018, with Indonesia generously supporting us on the children’s book section.

Our Disaster Memorial Museum opened in March 2019, with a part of what had been Koyo High School preserved as it was right after the disaster to convey the impact of the tsunami and the importance of being prepared. The relocated Koyo High School now stands on a safe site, and its students have formed a Kataribe (narrator)-guide Club to carry on the message of the disaster to the future.

In May 2019, our new fish market began operation under top-quality hygiene standards. A new shipbuilding facility, which is a consolidation of the four tsunami-hit shipyards, was completed also around the same time.

A welcome terminal on our Oshima Island opened in March 2020, serving as a tourist information center and local specialty store. The panoramic view from the top of Mt. Kameyama is a must-see of the island. Currently a free shuttle bus service runs on weekends and holidays from the parking lot midway nearly to the top. We’re still debating whether to replace the disaster-stricken chair lift which offered us a fun ride from the port to the top. It’s a hard choice, involving funding and maintenance problems.

The wonderful old Oshima Ferry does not run between the island and mainland anymore. Now it takes us on a leisurely ride, from spring to fall, for a view of the new bridge from below. A plan for night cruises is in the works, to take us under the new bay bridge for dramatic views of the lofty span lit up in the dark above.

Our four beaches were all named among the 100 cleanest beaches in Japan. Kodanohama Beach on Oshima Island reopened in 2012, and Koizumi Beach in 2019. Oisehama Beach was ready in summer 2020 but the opening was postponed due to the COVID-19 situation. With Oya Beach also being ready this summer, people will be able to enjoy all our beautiful beaches once again.

Finally, our city hall is planned for relocation from the present bay area to the Tanakamae area, where the city hospital used to stand. The schedule is not yet confirmed.

So, here we are, friends.

Sounds great, doesn’t it? Well, Kesennuma is not without its problems. We face a serious population decline and a low birth rate. Although we pride ourselves in being Japan’s No. 1 bonito port for 24 years in a row, the longtime smaller-fish catch throughout Japan is a worrisome issue. And just as it is in the rest of the world, COVID-19 is hitting us hard in our way of life and our economy.

We still struggle and continue to pray at the loss of so much that is precious and dear. But at the same time, we’re filled with appreciation and warmth in knowing that we’re connected to all of you and the world.

Thank you for supporting us throughout these momentous ten years. Thank you for giving us the strength to carry on. Thank you for being with us, weeping with us, and rejoicing with us in however small but firm steps we take.

Arigato! We’re Kesennuma, we love you, and we'll never pause or stumble as we stride with hope and confidence towards the light.

06/03/2021

Would you like to see a photo of this wonderful new monument mentioned in the news link? So would we! The story will keep us warm while we wait for the unveiling.

https://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0007196717

And we hope these photos from our January 2012 posting "Marines Return To Oshima Island" warm your hearts as well!

Photos from January 2012, courtesy of Kesennuma City Public Relations

03/03/2021

For these U.S. Marines, the hardest part of helping was just getting here. Their story will moisten your eye and warm your heart.

https://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0007176859?fbclid=IwAR0yj4yENNtUvAZ7BvPhak7l8hsJGMT0HPqRaZcD7G3M5YMttwOePFl2wZc

02/03/2021

If you’ve missed the live streaming of the commemorative "Niagara" of fireworks with sparklers set off from our brand new bay bridge, here’s a glimpse of the fantastic view for you!

As was posted yesterday, the bridge will officially open as part of the Sanriku Expressway on March 6, connecting Sendai, Kesennuma, and further north to Aomori.

Video by Tatsuaki Mori

28/02/2021

Picture this: a fantastic bridge, leaping gracefully for 1,344 meters across Kesennuma Bay, all lit up and dazzling its admirers with a “Niagara” of fireworks and a sky full of sparklers dancing in the night above it. Want to see such a breathtaking sight? So do we!

Come join us in the moment we have hoped and prayed for, as we approach the 10th anniversary of a disaster that changed our lives and reshaped our beloved city. At 7pm on Monday, March 1, Japan Standard Time, this milestone event will be live streaming for half an hour, and this link will bring you to our happy city to enjoy it with us:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix7HqjXXDCcl

The bridge will officially open as part of the Sanriku Expressway on March 6, connecting Sendai, Kesennuma, and further north to Aomori. After this spectacular opening, it will be lighted every day after sundown until 10pm, lighting up our hearts as well.

「Remember 3.11 彩れ！未来への架け橋」 「気仙沼湾横断橋」が完成した気仙沼湾に、追悼と感謝の想いを込めた花火を上げます。メイン企画として復興のシンボルであり、未来への架け橋ともいえる「気仙沼湾横断橋」を主塔...

28/02/2021

YOU, ME, AND KESENNUMA, Page 260

Whatever you’re doing, stop. Click this link, my traveling friend, and come with me for an adventure we’ll never see again: a thousand people strolling over a part of the new Kesennuma Bay Bridge. When it opens officially on March 6, this soaring span will carry vehicles only. But this day, to the music of voices and the heartbeat of taiko drums, we walk where only wheels will roll.

https://youtu.be/eBDot4swKvk

気仙沼市の新たなシンボルとして期待される「気仙沼湾横断橋」（宮城県気仙沼市、全長1344メートル）で21日、「開通記念ハイウエーウオーキング」があった。東日本大震災から１０年という節目の日を前に、市民約1,000人....