Damage from the earthquake

5 months have passed since 3.11 Earthquake.

I got a fax from the owner of our Fukushima branch school buiding. It said the city found out the damage of the building is getting bigger due to the aftershocks and is very dangerous.  I must close the office by the end of August.
I was of course surprised to hear this. But I cannot complain when I think of people who had to suddenly stop their business after the earthquake. It just means it was that big.
One of our staff members found a big crack on the third floor of the building in April and took  a picture. He again went to the same floor and found it was much bigger. Well, we'd better get out of this place!!

Tono Watanabe is an artist in Date-city. He asked us to translate his poem into English. He has a message for the people all over the world.
Please check his page!
http://ateliertono.blogspot.com/2011/07/from-all-of-us-in-fukushima.html

Children need to evacuate!

I know some places in Europe are offering projects to accept children from Fukushima. But think of the number of children. We need more and more projects. If you know any project that is to accept people from Fukushima to be away from radiation, please let us know!

Police Cars

While driving, I realize I often see police cars from other prefectures. It usually doesn’t happen in Japan because they have territories and never encroach on each other’s. However, after the earthquake, many police cars came into Tohoku area to help us out. It’s very encouraging.

I also find my feeling toward the sound of helicopters got changed. Actually I didn’t like the sound of helicopters. It reminded me of a war movie, “Apocalypse Now” every time I heard it. But now it’s a symbol of someone’s rescue to me. Maybe they are carrying some food or medicine for those who lost their homes. Maybe they’re hurrying for someone who is sick and waiting for a rescue. I look up, find the helicopter and pray!!

Green Hope!

A farmer whose greenhouses were damaged by tsunami spoke about his experience on TV.

He lives in Soma City near the coast. On March 11, Tsunami came into his greenhouses, where he grew asparagus. Tsunami left sand from the sea and mud from the nearby paddy fields in his greenhouses. The damage looked too big and he almost gave up. However, volunteers came to his farm. He didn’t expect a lot because they are not farmers and from far away cities. But to his surprise, they worked VERY hard. They were all wet with sweat. They shoveled out the mud and were even running when they went and dumped the mud. He felt very encouraged to see all those people. At the same time he was ashamed that he wanted to give it up. Now he is working on his farm taking care of his asparagus again. He wants those volunteers to see that now the asparagus is growing thanks to their work.

I was also surprised to see the asparagus is growing normally because many times I heard experts say the land was damaged by salt water and it wouldn’t be used for farming.

Anyway, it was really great scene to see—green asparagus coming out of brown ground. It looked very bright to me, just like a hope for recovery.

I went to the art musium in Fukushima City.  I enjoyed the peaceful space and time there.

Big Crack!

My husband and I went shopping in Nasu Garden Mall on May 4th. We used the Tohoku Express Way. The road was very bumpy. We can tell it was fixed quickly but not in the best way. It will take a long time to have the smooth express way as before.

Some people think we should not go out too much only for our own pleasure when we think of those who are living in shelters. But actually people in suffered area say, "Please go out and enjoy yourselves and buy things from Tohoku. That will help us a lot." 

When the cherry blossom viewing season came to Tokyo, the governor of Tokyo asked people to refrain from having drinking parties outside. But it caused an economical damage to businesses not only in Tohoku but other places throughout Japan. The whole society is really closely connected!

On our way back home, we found a big crack on the road!!  Even after 2 months, it is still left undone. The road is of course closed. It is nearby place, maybe about 15 minutes from my house. We also found a big crack in the paddy field.

Good Song!!

Inawashirokos is a rock group made after March 11 Earthquake by 4 members who are all from Fukushima. Its name was taken from a famous lake in the center of Fukushima, Lake Inawashiro.
Now it's like a theme song for poeple in Fukushima. It sends out the message that we all love Fukushima.
Try it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CQJuAN2BEY

Today I went for jogging along Abukuma River. We saw the snow rabbit on the side of Mt. Azuma. When spring comes, the snow starts melting and it looks just like a rabbit. We call it "Snow Rabbit". It tells us the time for sowing.

The white part on the left is the Snow Rabbit.

It's also a season of peach blossoms. Fukushima's peaches are very sweet. But this year can we really enjoy them?

I also went to a bridge called "Showa Ohashi". It's unpassable after the earth quake. I saw a gap at the end of the bridge. Maybe part of the road sank about 20 cm.