Ishinomaki Tsunami 2011 Devastation

In order to access Tashirojima (Cat Island) you have to take a ferry from Ishinomaki … and that’s how I ended up there.
Originally I had no intention to do any sightseeing or take photos there, but when I saw how badly the city had been destroyed by the tsunami I was so sad and shocked. I also wanted to show others how some parts of Japan look after over a year (May 2012) since the tsunami and earthquake hit Japan in March 2011.

 

Ishinomaki City (石巻市) is a city in Miyagi Prefecture, not too far from Sendai.
Compared to other spots in Japan I guess it’s not a major tourist spot at all. One more reason to share my travel log with you!

Almost everywhere in Miyagi Prefecture you can still see the damage that the Great Tohoku Earthquake 2011 caused.
Some of the cities near the coast in Miyagi Prefecture have not only been damaged by the earthquake, but also been severely devastated by tsunami waves. Ishinomaki City was one of them.

My hotel “Toyoko Inn” was in Furukawa and while there wasn’t any damage due to the tsunami, the earthquake destroyed a lot. Even the hotel was still undergoing reconstruction work.

From Furukawa it takes about 80 minutes to get to Ishinomaki.

The view from the 2nd floor within JR Ishinomaki Station.

You will run into characters of the famous manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. His mentor was Osamu Tezuka!
The cute cat-shaped buildings on nearby Tashirojima (Cat Island) were designed by Mr. Ishinomori!

While Ishinomaki doesn’t have to offer that much in terms of tourist spots, I guess for fans of Shotaro Ishinomori’s series such as Cyborg 009, Himitsu Sentai Gorenger or Kamen Rider, it’s definitely worth a visit.

The station and everything around it is full of his characters.
There were only a few coin lockers in the station building. There were some bigger ones a few meters away, outside of the station, too!

JR Ishinomaki Station is very colorful!
In pink letters it says: “がんばろう！石巻” (Hang in there, Ishinomaki!!)

A few meters away from the station, you’ll find this huge “Manga Map” that shows all the spots of interests for Mr. Ishinomori’s fans. While some of the characters look familiar, I have to admit that I don’t know any of his series. How about you?

On the left you can see a small sign that says “coin lockers”. That’s where you can find the bigger coin lockers I mentioned earlier.

Ishinomaki Station is quite small. You can even see the trains from outside of the station!
Even here you’ll run into colorful illustrations.

On the left you see from where I took the previous railway photo. This is a really nice café. You can access the train platforms from there as well!

Even the mailbox in front of the station features some characters!

This map shows you the “Ishinomaki Manga Road“. It displays all the spots where manga figures and statues are located.

The area map in front of the station mentioned Manga Island where you can see the cute cat-shaped buildings I posted in my last entry. Not surprising as “Tashirojima” officially belongs to Ishinomaki City.

Instead of getting off at Tashirojima, you could go all the way to “Ajishima” (網地島) where you’ll find beautiful beaches!

 

The Ishinomaki Tsunami Devastation

I took all the photos you saw so far in the morning before taking the ferry to “Cat Island“. Up until then I didn’t even notice that Ishinomaki was damaged that badly. I think that was partly because it was really foggy in the morning, so I couldn’t see much.

However, once I came back from Tashirojima in the afternoon and the weather was clearer, I saw how severely the coastal area had been devastated.
Even one year later they were still cleaning up the mess!

After coming back from Cat Island I decided to save my money and walk back to the station instead of taking a bus or taxi. It should have been a very short walk, but … I didn’t expect to see so much destruction.

I knew that the coastal area was hit by the tsunami, but that was over a year ago, so I surely didn’t expect to see what I got to see.
No matter where I looked, there was a lot of empty space. The houses that once stood there were simply washed away by the high tsunami waves.

All – completely – gone! :(

I was very shocked. I kept standing there for a long time …. looking at the empty spots where once houses stood …. and the piles of garbage, … belongings of people … who might not even be alive anymore.

I felt extremely sad. By seeing this right before my eyes, it became obvious to me just HOW destructive the tsunami must have been …. and that the people living there didn’t have the slightest chance to run away from it …

Laundry, dishes … everything was still left the way it was.

It felt like I was in the atomic bomb museum of Hiroshima or Nagasaki … where even the clocks stopped when the bomb hit …

The sign you see in the right photo was in the 3rd floor. I think that shows well how high the tsunami must have been.

At first I wasn’t sure if it was ok to take photos (morally, not legally!) …. I didn’t feel good about it. I felt like a nasty tourist who came all the way just to stare at the miserable situation of others and then take photos of it.

But as this wasn’t the case ….. and because I REALLY wanted to share my experience with others … I figured it would be ok.

All the houses that are still standing are deserted. All belongings are still inside, too.
I fear that’s because the people who lived there haven’t survived …

The front door was pushed in by the strength of the waves. There were broken bits of glass everywhere.
It looks like the bathtub came falling down from the second floor.

The bicycle also didn’t survive the tsunami it seems! :/ ….

This area was completely washed away. It seems only the houses that were close to the mountains were protected.
Isn’t this just a horrible image? Doesn’t it look like the tsunami just hit a few hours ago??? But actually it was 14 months(!!!!) ago!

I suppose it’s dangerous to go in there. It looks like the ceiling is coming down any second.

I’m sure that you’ve seen on TV that even big ships were swept away by the strong tsunami. In Ishinomaki there were still a few ships stuck on the mainland.

Although I was not on Cat Island anymore, I ran into this adorable cat. ^-^
It kept meowing. It was as if it was telling me what happened here last year. The cat also looked a bit battered. I bet the cat had gone through a lot, too!

I was actually surprised that there was no barrier or at least a rope and a sign saying: “Danger! Don’t enter!“.

Anybody could just enter! I’m especially worried about kids going in there to play. A lot of those buildings looked like they’d fall apart soon!

Although the area was damaged so badly, you still could see and feel how beautiful it once was … and hopefully it can fully recover soon!

There were so many deserted buildings and shops.

I don’t know the truth, but I suppose that the people living there either didn’t survive or simply have no money to start reconstruction work.
Either way, it clearly shows that Tohoku still needs help – and if it’s just in form of tourists that bring some money back in!!!!

ALL the buildings that were lined up in the first row right in front of the ocean got dramatically damaged.
Some houses farther behind were a bit luckier.

Half of the building is missing. I suppose there were stairs up to the second floor and some area where you could walk and access those doors that now hang up in the air. Scary!! I wouldn’t want to park my car too close to that house. What if it collapses?

Devastation no matter where you looked! And if you now think that I invaded somebody’s house, you’re wrong!
I think you already saw that some houses had their windows burst and doors washed away.
Thus you got to see what was inside the houses without actually going too close to them.
I’m not sure what exactly that big thing in the background is, but it looks heavy.
After breaking through doors and walls, the waves were obviously still strong enough to make this big thing fall!

The parking lot was hit as well. Actually I’m surprised that it’s still standing. It’s probably stronger than it looks!

Despite all the devastation the people in Ishinomaki seemed to be happy. A lot of them thanked me for visiting. They told me that not many tourists had come since March 2011. Not only foreign tourists stayed away, but also Japanese.
I think it’s slowly recovering, but we still need to spread the word!

Ishinomaki needs our support!

This is the Ishinomori Manga Museum (石ノ森萬画館) dedicated to the manga works of Shotaro Ishinomori whose characters are spread throughout the whole city.

As the museum is situated right next to the Pacific Ocean it was damaged by the tsunami as well and thus had to close its doors.
Reconstruction work was still going on when I visited.
On November 17 2012 it finally re-opened.

I found this hilarious! It says “Dumbass, don’t freaking park your car here!”

It uses very rude Japanese, but in smaller letters (on the very left) it’s written one more time in more polite Japanese. Typical! *g*

 

 

The beautiful background makes you almost forget about the horrible things that have happened, but the little destroyed house in the center reminds you of it again …

As you know I always take photos of the manhole covers of every city I visit.
Ishinomaki has by far the most colorful and beautiful ones I’ve seen in a long time!

The damage caused by the earthquake can still be seen everywhere on the streets. As it isn’t anything major they haven’t repaired it yet.

As soon as you leave the coastal area you won’t notice any major damage anymore.
The tsunami also reached the areas here, but I suppose the damage wasn’t as bad, so it was easier to repair things.

From here you walk through a shopping district to the station and Mr. Ishinomori’s figures are greeting you at every corner.

The one on the right looks like it’s watching out for something bad / scary to come. It was staring in the direction of the ocean. Considering what happened a year before … it’s kind of sad, don’t you think?

Many other famous manga / anime artists came to visit Ishinomaki in the past few years. Do you recognize any of the characters, series or artists? ^^

I guess Lupin is the most famous among all of them?!

The characters of Cyborg 009 were standing in front of shops, banks and post offices.

The yellow letters say “漫画の国・いしのまき”: Land of Manga – Ishinomaki

Apart from all the figures you could also see a lot of “Hang in there, Ishinomaki!” messages.

 

After arriving at the station I checked out the tourist information building. There wasn’t much, but you could buy books or postcards, featuring photos of the destruction. The money will be used to rebuild Ishinomaki City! So, definitely go there and buy something! Even just one postcard can help!

I left Ishinomaki with mixed feelings. All in all I had a great time. I was able to FINALLY visit Cat Island and confirm with my own eyes that everything was (relatively) ok. And despite all the horrible things that have happened, the people in Ishinomaki keep living happily. They haven’t given up in the least!

My next stop was Akita Prefecture where I visited Akita City and Kakunodate! The latter being a very famous cherry blossom viewing spot.