05
Feb 2012
Miyagi Prefecture is proud to cultivate the second largest volume of oysters in Japan. Volunteers are active helping to collect scallop shells to use for the cultivation of oysters. This is especially important as the recovery of the fishing industry is vital for the local community, yet many local residents working on this are elderly people living in temporary housing or partially damaged houses.
04
Feb 2012
Volunteer carpenters work to build a wooden deck for the “Onagawa Container Village Shopping Centre” in Washinokamihama, Onagawa, next to Ishinomaki City. This opened in July 2011, and is greatly supporting the lives and employment of local people. The deck was built in December-January to help deal with the cold winter and with further expansion of shops.
21
Jan 2012
Last year Peace Boat began an experimental project to support the Temporary Housing complexes, which is now officially launched! This project will see our volunteers installing planters at the temporary housing areas in the city. The report below concerns the rebuilding of community through such projects.
17
Jan 2012
It has been 17 years since the day that 6,434 people lost their lives in the Hanshin Awaji Earthquake in Kobe.
Today at 5:46 in the morning at Ishinomaki’s Nakase Ishinomori Manga-kan, the 1.17 Hanshin Awaji Earthquake Memorial Service took place. About one hundred people from Ishinomaki and relief support groups in the area attended the service. Candles were lit as a requiem for the souls of those lost 17 years ago.
16
Jan 2012
Danny Choo, a blogger world-famous for his commentaries on Japanese pop culture, has made a video about Peace Boat’s activities in Ishinomaki. It was aired on “Culture Japan”, a blog following the Japanese Otaku culture and Japanese youth trends, and can now be viewed on YouTube. ●Culture Japan Season 2 Episode 1 – Tohoku and the Tsunami ⇒ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-X0Ovt4YHM Many might question why volunteer activities have been featured on a show about culture. However, there are people from many walks of life who are interested in volunteer activities for the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami relief project. Danny, in his typical style, came to Ishinomaki in an itasha, a […]
29
Dec 2011
On December 23, a special Christmas event was held at Hashiura Elementary School in Ishinomaki. The event included a special class by Mr Ototake Hirotada, well-known for his book “No One’s Perfect,” a live performance by FUNKIST and a concert by the “music volunteer club” formed by students of this school.
29
Dec 2011
Kinkasan around 20 minutes by boat from Ayukawa on the Oshika Peninsula, Ishinomaki. Located in the Pacific Ocean, the entire island of Kinkasan is considered to be sacred areas of Koganeyama Shrine. Because it is said that if you visit this shrine for three consecutive years, you will never be in financial difficulties for the rest of your life, the shrine attracts many visitors from throughout Miyagi and other prefectures every year around the new year.
The road connected to the approach, however, was collapsed after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami and subsequent typhoons. The island’s only souvenir shop was inundated with dirt and sludge, as was the water tank that holds the water required for daily life. Thus, the island was not in the condition to host visitors. To once again enable people to visit the island comfortably, organizations belonging to the Ishinomaki Disaster Recovery Assistance Council (IDRAC) gathered and implemented the “Kinkasan Support Project” between December 19 and 23.
27
Dec 2011
Peace Boat activities to support the local fishing industry in the Ishinomaki area were carried out in 16 coastal locations in Ogatsu and the Oshika Peninsula, on 160 days in 2011. Throughout 2011, a total of 10,300 volunteers (7,757 Peace Boat regular and short-term volunteers (including international volunteers) and 2,543 corporate volunteers) took part in this operation.
While providing assistance for aqua-farming season may be restarted in 2012, Peace Boat would first like to extend our appreciation to all those who participated in activities this year, and report on the results of 2011.
26
Dec 2011
The documentary, “One Step Towards Recovery – Ties Between Survivors and Volunteers” is now available on line! It is a 24-minute-long film featuring the Kawabiraki festival held in Ishinomaki this summer, interviews with local survivors, and footage of relief activities such as provision of meals, mud clearance and fishing industry support.
24
Dec 2011
Photographs of scenery in and around Ishinomaki, by Nakamura Mitsutoshi.