Volunteering in Fukushima.

This blog is dedicated specifically to my experiences in Chiba Prefecture - but for just one post, I want to talk about outside of Chiba.

"Fukushima Organic Cotton Field"

One of the absolute musts on my list of things to do before leaving Japan was to volunteer up in Tohoku, the region devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.

I was in Japan - in my little town of Kamogawa - when the earthquake struck. It was a terrible experience, and I'd like to hope that no one ever has to go through such a tragedy again.


And yet - I am embarrassed to say that it took me over 2 years to actually get to Tohoku. I'm so glad I got to go though - it was encouraging and inspiring to meet the locals and other volunteers.

My lovely kohai who joined me for the trip up!

As you might guess from the caption of the first photo, our mission was a part of a project to grow cotton in abandoned fields, located along the coast of the lovely Iwaki City in Fukushima Prefecture.

This particular volunteer event happened 2-3 times a month, for abotu 4 months throughout the year, from planting the seeds to harvesting them.

Half of the fields we were working in (the other half was right across the street).

Since it was a day trip, we only really got to help out for 3-4 hours. But it was great to be up there, and the local residents seemed quite happy to have us as well (thank you!).

We also helped weed.

We went at the beginning of July - with the end of rainy season, the humidity had hit and the sun was beating mercilessly on our backs. Despite the short amount of time we were actually there, we worked up a grimy sweat.

The placard all the way says "Welcome to the Iwaki Organic Cotton Project Group"

In between our work in the fields, we had a lunch break a nearby hotel, which also served as our location for the baths afterwards.

(left) Pamphlet describing the Fukushima Organic Project, and (right) our bentos (lunch boxes)

Lunch was neat because after everyone was done eating, we had a couple of speakers - the local volunteers. They described the earthquake and tsunami, the aftermath, and how it continues to affect their lives even now.

They are striving to rebuild their lives - and simply hope that others won't forget about them.

Our loyal steed, which took us from Tokyo Station to Fukushima and back!

So that concluded Part 1 of our day. Part 2 was taking a brief tour of the areas hardest hit by the earthquake/tsunami (from within the bus), a short stop at the tourism/local product center to pick up any souvenirs, and then back to Tokyo.

A couple shots from the bus tour of coastal areas devastated by the tsunami:

On one side, you could see this gorgeous beach - which used to be filled with tourists around this time of the year

Just opposite was this scenery - houses totally demolished, wiped away by the tsunami.

Again, another local resident came on board to describe her own experiences and those of friends during the time of the earthquake. She appeared totally calm as she described it all to us, but...woah. It was so intense to be there.

Apparently one of the major local products is fishcakes.

Ending the day on a semi(?) bright note though, we finished up some shopping to support the area! We only had about 30 minutes - I thought it was longer, but time flew by in a moment. I wasn't able to buy as much as I had intended to.

I got some fried fishcakes for dinner though, as well as my must for traveling to any new places: ice cream!

Red bean ice cream! Not so original, but a no-fail-go-to flavor.

Ray of hope.

Re-energized by fishcakes, ice cream, and more than anything else - the courage of the people of Iwaki - back to Tokyo we went! I look forward to going to Fukushima (and the rest of Tohoku)...hopefully for a longer period next time!