05
Aug 2011
On August 1, the second day of the Kawabiraki Festival, there were many high-spirited voices flying about the shopping arcade on Tachi town’s main street. 4 and a half months after the disaster occurred, the street which had previously been full of sludge and piles of broken housing and furniture was clean enough to hold a parade. The liveliness of the area is continuing to come back bit by bit.
04
Aug 2011
The “Ishinomaki Recovery Market” was set up at the Kawabiraki Festival to sell local and traditional products of stores that had re-opened since the disaster, with proceeds of sales further contributing to recovery efforts. Another popular area was the Ishinomaki Childrens’ Play Area, set up to provide somewhere for children to enjoy themselves – still rare in Ishinomaki, where many parks cannot be used. We hope that Peace Boat was able to contribute in a small way to the revitalization of local industries through the Ishinomaki Recovery Market. Thank you so much to all of the volunteers, and particularly to the people of Ishinomaki who came to the festival and offered such warm encouragement!