Tetsu and I had a long day yesterday and he was up and ready for his holiday at 2:30 AM! Yes, the man wanted to get the most out of his one day off and his plans were to go see the sun rise over the Pacific. As we live three hours inland... well, that was why we had the early morning/middle of the night start. Choco got packed in as usual and off we went trying to beat the light seeping over the eastern horizon.
I'm not sure if you could say we won as the day was overcast and cloudy and there was never a specific point when the sun "rose". The sky just kept getting lighter and lighter and we arrived at the coast and the sun seemed to be somewhere near the horizon. I'd call it a draw.
Though we don't get to the ocean often, it is a lovely way to spend some time... listening to the waves, looking for interesting rocks and fragments of shells. At six in the morning hardly any people around either though it is still too early in the season for there to be swimmers or waders.
As always, we enjoyed camera time.
What on earth am I shooting at?
Ah.... Pebbles and a shell.
There was a park to walk through with Choco and then it was back in the car to head up the coast... No real destination in mind but it turned out to be a thought provoking day.
Six years ago North Eastern Japan was hit by the Great Earthquake of March 11, 2011. Minutes later the 30 foot high tsunami struck the coast which destroyed towns and caused fires and destruction. The tidal wave also damaged nuclear reactors in the area. The calamities caused by the earthquake vary in intensity... earthquake damage... tidal wave damage... radiation contamination.
Even in my Nikko area residues of earthquake damage have been removed... We still see an occasional roof that is tarped over but most damaged structures have been torn down or repaired.
Along the coast the repair work is ongoing... We headed into Fukushima where the damage along the coast was the greatest. Where once beautiful coastline and quaint fishing villages could be seen, now there is a long seawall and levee which is under construction. No longer is it possible to enjoy the scenery as safety is the priority for these coastal towns.
All along the levees, trees and shrubs are being planted, which makes for an interesting interlocking of griding and will hopefully one day grow again into thick greenery.
In the distance, on the coast, there is a lot of heavy machinery but further inland there are miles and miles of these unmarked bags of waste. Tetsu and I assumed that they contain the topsoil of contaminated towns... As there is nowhere to dispose of all the topsoil, the bags are stacked four or five deep and though some stretches are hidden by fencing, there they sit with no where to go...
As we drove further north into Fukushima we began to notice less people, fewer cars. There were odd signs along the road that I didn't understand and Tetsu admitted that he didn't either.
This is one of the signs. It says: "For the next 17 kilometers (about 10 miles), two wheeled vehicles and pedestrians are not admitted."
And suddenly there were guard posts set up along the road... Unarmed of course but there were guards making sure that no bicycles nor motorcycles nor pedestrians were entering the area.
Radiation. A few years ago this road, this area was impassable. There were roadblocks turning all through traffic back into the central part of Japan. I don't know when the government decided that it is safe to PASS through the area, but only in a protected car, and only at a rate that passengers got quickly were through and out of the area.
Suddenly we were in a true ghost town. No people except for the many, many guardsmen (all wearing simple face masks much like they were trying to keep the spring pollen at bay). All intersections were blocked like this with guards and police cars, the homes and stores all abandoned and now grown over.
Of course no stopping was allowed so I took these photos as we hurried through the area in a meager line of other cars. Miles upon miles of abandoned buildings and cars. Nothing has been removed from the buildings. They were abandoned within hours of the nuclear disaster. Nearly 57,000 people were evacuated from Fukushima, and many have never returned or have only been allowed to return months and years later under strict escort, to remove personal items of value.
Tetsu and I began our coastal journey from the south... beyond the area of the map... As you can see from the radiating circles, the level of radiation... carried by the wind, differed. The center is where the Fukushima nuclear plant was situated. I am pointing at the stop where life had resumed to where there was a rest area for cars. Of course pink, yellow, and blue areas were all evacuated and now the blue area is being evaluated for residential return. Tetsu and I drove to this point and then turned around and drove BACK through the secured areas.. It was either that or go inland making the trip quite a bit longer.
This had probably been a semi-residential area. Large traditional homes, still seeming in good condition, but now unlivable, the driveways secured so that no one can enter.
Of course the nuclear plant is not visible from this road but I noticed this sign pointing to the ultra secured area. It says that there is a screening area... probably daily those guards and of course the people involved in reconstruction of the plant must be screened for their radiation levels.
I unfortunately missed taking a photo of a digital sign over the road that notified drivers of how much radiation there is in the atmosphere... Much like a speed sign telling you how fast you are driving. This sign let us know what the level of radiation was on our road. Gulp.
Lots of police cars and police bikes patrolling this road making sure no one stopped nor tried to get past any of the roadblocks that led to former residential areas and farms. I wonder what the police bikers think of that... Other two wheeled vehicles are not allowed in, remember. More signs saying beware of wildlife as wild boar have taken over the area and I supposed any cattle that survived have proliferated.
As we made it past the final guards, there were still signs telling how far inland the tsunami had reached and we then passed through towns that were considered livable... but hardly any people have returned. It is too hard for the residents to remake their lives in a place with a dim future and danger lurking on the other side of a guard post. Though the Japanese government is hoping the area will make a comeback, to Tetsu and myself, it seems like it will be an impossible task.
I'm actually not sure what this housing is... It is obviously new but it looks sturdier than the temporary long barracks like housing that the government built for evacuees. Maybe housing for workers? Maybe subsidized homes for families who lost everything in other parts of Fukushima?
We stopped at a gasoline station once back outside the secure area and talked a bit with the worker there. He said most everyone was evacuated south and so even now people working in the area commute thirty minutes or so rather than return to live in the town.
He did suggest we visit a fishing village that had been wiped out because of fires after the tidal wave and they were trying to reconstruct their village again (on the same spot... with a new protecting levee). We arrived in the fishing village and all was new and shiny. The town was having a Shinto Ground Breaking ceremony and the atmosphere was festive with lots of alcohol being consumed and loads of children eating snow cones etc.
Portable shrines for blessing the plots of land in the ground breaking ceremonies.
A couple of the Shinto priests making last minute ceremony plans.
People seemed very happy. They were starting anew with new homes to be constructed and new dreams. Tetsu and I had lunch at a new sushi shop and we bought some seafood to enjoy and help support the area.
My last picture of the town with their planted levee in the background and construction materials nearby. Hope abounds!
Heading back home Tetsu says to me,
"It is one thing to have survived the earthquake. It is another to have survived the tsunami. In time people move on with their lives. But that radiation... It is hard to accept how life has been interrupted by the radiation damage. I wonder if recovering from that is even possible."
