Tohoku Trip Day 3-4 - Kamaishi, Iwate

***Disclaimer: Please note these posts are retold as interpreted. They also reflect my own personal views and opinions and not those of the seminar,  its professors and lecturers,  or affiliations. In addition,  these photos and stories can be quite tragic and gut-wrenching,  so proceed at your own risk. Some of these photos I did not watermark,  because I feel it would be a good thing to pass them on.***

On the third day we took a long (5 hours?) bus ride to Miyagi's neighboring prefecture, Iwate to visit a town call Kamaishi, also hard hit by the earthquake and tsunami. Before leaving Sendai though, we made a brief stop at the Sendai castle park to see the ruins of the Aoba Castle. 

The actual castle was burned down in the fire bombing of 1945, but bits and pieces of its outer wall and the watch tower still remains. We didn't wander off that far though. Because the castle was built on top of a hill, so the watch tower is way off else where. Watch a video I took of the view atop this hill where the castle used to stand. That is a gigantic Buddha statue in the far distance (see video). Being up that high really makes you feel like king of the hill, doesn't it? 

Gokoku shrine.

Tohoku Trip Day 2 - Onagawa, Miyagi

***Disclaimer: Please note these posts are retold as interpreted. They also reflect my own personal views and opinions and not those of the seminar,  its professors and lecturers,  or affiliations. In addition,  these photos and stories can be quite tragic and gut-wrenching,  so proceed at your own risk. Some of these photos I did not watermark,  because I feel it would be a good thing to pass them on.***

On our second day, we visited Onagawa, another town devastated by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. 

The sight was eerily familiar - it was mountains after mountains of debris.

Tohoku Trip Day 1 - Ishinomaki, Miyagi

Over the past several weeks, hubby has had the pleasure to take part in a summer seminar that focused on the economical impact of March 2011 earthquake and tsunami on Japan. The highlight of the seminar was a few days' trip up to the northeast with an NPO to visit some of the towns hardest hit by the disaster. With some luck (and a really kind professor), I was allowed to tag along and join hubby and his students in broadening our horizon. 

***Disclaimer: Please note these posts reflect my own personal views and opinions and not those of the seminar, its professors and lecturers, or affiliations. In addition, these photos and stories can be quite tragic and gut-wrenching, so proceed at your own risk. Some of these photos I did not watermark, because I feel it would be a good thing to pass them on.***

Our trip started with a nice Shinkansen ride with a bento lunch featuring Sendai's regional specialty - cow tongue ^.^ The green roll is Sendai miso wrapped in a shiso leaf, which hubby and I already tried early on in the year at cook book party.  The cow tongue is underneath it, and while the thought made me squirm a bit, it was actually not bad!