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Recovery from the March 11 Disaster

An ongoing documentation of the recovery of the tsunami-hit coast of northeastern Japan with an emphasis on tourism and infrastructure.

Twelve years after the tsunami

On the first day of our trip, we visited the coast around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant...
By Stefan Schauwecker·April 3, 2023

Eleven years after the tsunami

Since my previous visit, the rebuilt city centers along the Sanriku Coast have further grown livelier...
By Stefan Schauwecker·November 17, 2022

Ten years after the tsunami

A decade has passed since the tsunami. Progress felt slow in the beginning when debris removal along the devastated coast alone took over a year
By Stefan Schauwecker·July 8, 2021

Nine years after the tsunami

Soon a decade will have passed since the 3.11 disaster. On our first visit in April 2011, recovery seemed unbearably distant...
By Stefan Schauwecker·July 2, 2020

Eight and a half years after the tsunami

We traveled by rental car from Miyako to Sendai. The highlights of the trip were watching a Rugby World Cup game in Kamaishi and...
By Stefan Schauwecker·September 25, 2019

Eight years after the tsunami

For the first time, we exclusively used public transportation to travel along the coast...
By Stefan Schauwecker·April 18, 2019

Seven and a half years after the tsunami

We traveled by rental car from Sendai northwards to Hachinohe, staying overnight in Miyako and covering over 400 kilometers...
By Stefan Schauwecker·October 23, 2018

Seven years after the tsunami

On our 3-day trip we witnessed much progress in the recovery efforts along the coast, as devastated town districts have been coming to life again and even the worst-hit city centers...
By Stefan Schauwecker·April 24, 2018

Six and a half years after the tsunami

In many of the destroyed town centers, the colossal work of elevating the ground by several meters and constructing massive seawalls is nearing completion...
By Stefan Schauwecker·October 17, 2017

Six years after the tsunami

The enormous task of elevating the ground of coastal districts by several meters and re-enforcing the waterfront is finally approaching completion...
By Stefan Schauwecker·April 24, 2017

Five and a half years after the tsunami

This time, we started our journey in Morioka from where we reached the coastal city of Miyako in under two hours by rental car...
By Stefan Schauwecker·October 12, 2016

Five years after the tsunami

Five years after the big disaster, increasingly many new residential districts are being completed, allowing...
By Stefan Schauwecker·May 25, 2016

Four and a half years after the tsunami

On this trip we witnessed further progress in the monumental project to raise the elevation of entire former city districts by several meters...
By Stefan Schauwecker·November 11, 2015

Four years after the tsunami

One year year after our last visit, we witnessed a lot of visible progress. Most eye-catching was the work on raising the ground of former town centers...
By Stefan Schauwecker·April 25, 2015

Three years after the tsunami

The focus of efforts along the Sanriku Coast have now definitely shifted from the clean-up to the reconstruction phase, and the recovery progress is becoming more and more obvious...
By Stefan Schauwecker·April 18, 2014

Two and a half years after the tsunami

Clean-up efforts seemed to be nearing completion, as some of the last remaining damaged structures and most mountains of debris have disappeared from the cities...
By Stefan Schauwecker·October 14, 2013

Two years after the tsunami

After seeing little dramatic progress on our previous two visits, we felt that the recovery process has finally started to shift...
By Stefan Schauwecker·April 16, 2013

One and a half years after the tsunami

On the first sight, not much drastic change was visible, but on a closer look many steps towards recovery were...
By Stefan Schauwecker·October 12, 2012

One year after the tsunami

One year after the tsunami, we revisited some of the worst hit cities along the Sanriku Coast in Miyagi and Iwate Prefectures on April 16 and 17, 2012...
By Stefan Schauwecker·April 27, 2012

Half a year after the tsunami

A little bit over half a year after the tsunami, we revisited some of the worst hit cities along the Sanriku Coast. In most areas the debris has been sorted and collected into huge mountains, paving the way for reconstruction...
By Stefan Schauwecker·October 18, 2011

One month after the tsunami

One and a half months after the March 11 disaster, good progress has been made on clearing major roads, recovering victims and reinstating the food supply. The self defense force and police from all over the country were...
By Stefan Schauwecker·April 30, 2011
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Our rail pass calculator is now handling regional passes

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The thrill of Japanese Boat Racing

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Stepping back in time in Kawagoe

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Quiet and nostalgic times in Tomonoura

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