Coming back to Tomioka town is always an experience of heavy emotions. I first came to this area near the old train station in 2015 soon after the 20 KM evacuation zone order was reduced to around 11 KM from Fukushima Daiichi power plant. It looked like a ghost town where everything stopped on March 11, 2011. Destroyed homes, broken roads and debris everywhere. The only signs of human trace were the flowers at the small memorial site for the tsunami victims near the ocean. (For more pictures and the story I wrote that time, click here)
Midori and I have come here every year to see the changes since the evacuation zone was opened. This year we decided to stay here for a couple of days to see what life is like for evacuees who decided to return after 4 or 5 years. When we arrived at the train station Wednesday evening, the first thing we noticed is the newly constructed embankment. The height was noticeably raised and I couldn't help but wonder what all is covered under the concrete surface, because what we have seen before, are the piles of black bags containing radioactive topsoil removed from farmlands in Fukushima.
The full moon over the ocean looked sad. As we drove around the area, we discovered an open area where the old embankment still remains. There we saw black turf bags of soil on the shore.
There was one clinic in town and a mobile internal radiation monitoring station on the clinic parking lot. This station is run by the Ministry of Environment and the staff were friendly (I can't write anything about what they shared with us or post photos, sorry).
The houses and apartment buildings in this town look sterile, just like so many fields "naked" with their topsoil removed in the rural area. It was hard to tell whether these houses are occupied now and if there were anyone who make these places their home again.
This unfinished building below grabbed our attention but we couldn't understand why anyone would start putting in the glass first before finishing the rest of the building. Then someone told us that this construction was begun before the tsunami but the owner disappeared after the tsunami; no one knows what happened to the owner or what would happen to this structure. What amazes us is that the foundation was built with earthquake-proof materials, therefore these structure stood undamaged, and no glass broken, even after such a great earthquake as 3/11!
Some sad signs of life are below. We saw a row of houses with broken windows patched up with duct tape and cardboards. Signs of thefts.
It is strange to see vending machines right in the middle of a residential area without any store. What is even more strange is that there were no flower gardens or pots in this apartment complex below, other than a row of young trees planted by the construction company. A Japanese home without a flower plant indeed looks sterile. It doesn't look like a Japanese home I know. This is where we saw signs that people have returned, but these signs are yet far from people making their home again.
Midori and I have come here every year to see the changes since the evacuation zone was opened. This year we decided to stay here for a couple of days to see what life is like for evacuees who decided to return after 4 or 5 years. When we arrived at the train station Wednesday evening, the first thing we noticed is the newly constructed embankment. The height was noticeably raised and I couldn't help but wonder what all is covered under the concrete surface, because what we have seen before, are the piles of black bags containing radioactive topsoil removed from farmlands in Fukushima.
The full moon over the ocean looked sad. As we drove around the area, we discovered an open area where the old embankment still remains. There we saw black turf bags of soil on the shore.
Yesterday morning we went out for a stroll to look for signs of life and to pray. We hardly saw anyone walking on the street. The only place we could see people was a mall that had a grocery store, garden/home repair store, general store and a food court. During lunch hour, the food court was busy but soon after that it quickly became empty.
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| "Sakura Mall" |
There was one clinic in town and a mobile internal radiation monitoring station on the clinic parking lot. This station is run by the Ministry of Environment and the staff were friendly (I can't write anything about what they shared with us or post photos, sorry).
The houses and apartment buildings in this town look sterile, just like so many fields "naked" with their topsoil removed in the rural area. It was hard to tell whether these houses are occupied now and if there were anyone who make these places their home again.
This unfinished building below grabbed our attention but we couldn't understand why anyone would start putting in the glass first before finishing the rest of the building. Then someone told us that this construction was begun before the tsunami but the owner disappeared after the tsunami; no one knows what happened to the owner or what would happen to this structure. What amazes us is that the foundation was built with earthquake-proof materials, therefore these structure stood undamaged, and no glass broken, even after such a great earthquake as 3/11!
It is strange to see vending machines right in the middle of a residential area without any store. What is even more strange is that there were no flower gardens or pots in this apartment complex below, other than a row of young trees planted by the construction company. A Japanese home without a flower plant indeed looks sterile. It doesn't look like a Japanese home I know. This is where we saw signs that people have returned, but these signs are yet far from people making their home again.
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