Scenes from Ishinomaki, Vol. 5
At the end of April, cherry blossom season finally arrived in Tohoku.
April 25, Nakase
April 28, Nakase
Kyuenji
Ishinomaki Senshu University
Ishinomaki High School
Tateyama Sakura Park
Mt. Haguro
Ogatsu Chuo Park
Onagawacho Onmaehama
Onagawacho Sogo Undo Park
Oshika Peninsula Oginohama
From Hiyoriyama, you can see the recently re-opened Nippon Paper factory.
The grounds of Kashimamiko Shrine.
The entrance to Hiyoriyama Park.
Hiyoriyama
The view of Ishinomaki Bay from Hiyoriyama Park.
Kadonowaki Elementary School
And then, on April 30, Peace Boat had the opportunity to join the “hanami” (cherry blossom viewing) party sponsored by Akitaya.
Last year’s event, which Peace Boat was also invited to, was on April 22. It was a difficult time — the local residents were living in shelters, busy rebuilding their lives, while the volunteers worked tirelessly to distribute food and clean the mud from the streets. But the cherry blossoms were in full bloom this year, too.
On the day of the hanami in 2011, residents greeted Peace Boat volunteers with big banners saying “Appreciation,” “Thanks!” and “Let’s take the next step forward together.”
We keep them proudly displayed on our wall to this day.
