Visiting Ground Zero

There were many, many ground zeros during the tsunami. Most of us have seen footage of the tsunami from up and down the eastern Japanese seaboard.

See if you can find this in the video!

However, today our group went to Kesennuma, a small town about 2 1/2 hours North of Sendai (see the map).

This town is a bit famous thanks to YouTube and is actually the town in which the video I posted earlier.

Watch the video again. We drove down the roads since washed away. We passed by and looked up to where townfolk congregated wondering if this was the end. We arrived almost 3 months later and found this:

There is so much to do...

Japan is Waiting...

"Flight of Friendship is the first large group to visit Japan since the disaster (大震災 - daishinsai)."

Smiles at Starbucks, Oregon loves Japan!

So that's why the girls at Starbucks were so happy to see us...

This was one of the boldest statements I had heard regarding the impact of the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster that hit northern Japan.  This "three-headed monster" had taken a toll none of us had really expected to have our presence validate.  Seriously, tourism in Japan had taken that much of a hit???  Our guide patiently explained that the disaster did not just impact tourism in northern Japan, it affected tourism everywhere in Japan.

Imagine if the impacts of Katrina in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast had impacted everyone's image of the United States and all tourism to New York, California, Las Vegas had ground to a halt.  Tough to imagine, isn't it?  But that is what is happening here, and the lot of us could do nothing but shake our heads.  Kyoto, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Nagano...  We are sorry...

And so we woke up to our first full day in Japan.  85 travelers from the US received the following treatment which can only be described as: historic, never freaking happening again, momentous, heartfelt, すごい (sugoi):

Thanks you Commander Freeman
(resident of WA!)

• No Expectations: We stepped off the bus and climb the eight flights of stairs with no other thought than that we had woken up in Japan.  As we assembled in a well-monitored room, the US Ambassador to Japan (Ambassador John Roos) stepped up the podium and gave us a reality check, proceeding to share with us first hand accounts of ground zero.  Of hugs given, of tears shed, of the personal trauma of a major earthquake in Tokyo, of the mobilization of US forces (24,000 personnel, 24 ships, 189 aircraft), of partnership with the Security Defense Forces, of accomplishment, of devastation, of inspiration.  Further first-hand accounts by Mr. John Meed, Ms. Kambara and Commander Freeman gave the group a well-rounded briefing on what to expect from the logistical to the personal.  We learned that in the eyes of children there is hope, that recovery is an attitude and that despite the loss, Japan's preparedness had potentially saved thousands of lives.  From all of us, thank you.

Fuji TV Board Room transformed
into Lunch Room

• Starry Eyes: Imagine the President and CEO of ABC or Time Warner invited you to a personal visit.  Imagine that they opened up the board room (at Fuji TV) and that president (Mr. Hieda) personally sat with you and enjoyed one of the most luxurious and decadent bento boxes ever seen (confirmed by colleagues who had lived in Japan extensively).  This just doesn't happen.  It doesn't, but it did.  The Japanese are looking for signs of hope and recovery, not just internally, but externally as well.  We are a sign, hopefully a good one, but we have punctured the dam of perception that Japan is not yet ready.  It is, it has been, let the flood begin.

• Home Away From Home: In Shiodome, a business center next to Shinbashi station (JR line), on the 42nd floor of the City Center building sits the Oregon Bar & Grill.  Views abound, a replica of the Oregon governor's office welcomes guests as they enter, Rogue Ales pour freely, Oregon Pinot Noir is showcased and the menu does its best to represent the "Slow Life" values of Oregon cuisine and culinary habits.  A fitting end to an auspicious day with live and lyrical music from Nu Shooz.  But it ain't over.  Maybe the most well-known and well-respected American Nikkei in the world crashes the party.  Senator Daniel Inouye, on his own mission to Tohoku, swung by to provide a few words of inspiration...  From the US government, way to represent...

Fuji TV's homage to "From Oregon With Love" in 

honor of the Flight of Friendship

Surreal.  Simply surreal.  And lets put this in perspective, this is by far the easiest part of the journey we are on.  From tomorrow forward it will only get more difficult.  We have been warned.  We will be tested physically, emotionally, psychologically.  We may leave wishing we could have done more but we jump in knowing we will do all we can.

Is there something we can do???

As I start this first entry, there are a few things that I want to get out of the way.

I think most people who know me understand my love and appreciation of my Japanese heritage and a bit about the journey it has taken me to get to where I am today. I have had the good fortune of working in scenarios that have involved extensive travel to Japan where I have deepened those feelings and made many good friends along the way. And just as fortunately I have been able to become part of a community that values this heritage, through respect, through friendship and through blood.

And so it was that my heart and a bit of my soul sank on March 11, 2011.

Like everyone else, I'm sure the footage of the Pacific ocean surging 10 kilometers over the fertile, populated lands of northern Japan was surreal and something out of Hollywood. But we all soon realized that the "shock and awe" campaign Mother Nature provided, and the devastation she left behind was real.

It was real.

Since then, I've donated, I've joined fund raisers, encouraged our son to bring donations in the form of coins to his school, but in the back of my mind I kept waiting for something else, something a bit more personal to allow me to give back, if just only a little bit...


And so it was with a muted, tenuous joy that I received word of Sho Dozono and Azumano's Flight of Friendship. To me, the stars had aligned, the kharma wheel was spinning in askance and giving me the opportunity I had been silently longing for. To erase all doubts, a timely phone call from a well-respected leader of the community provided further inspiration and sealed the deal.

And so I head back to the homeland, to see if we can lift sodden and shaken spirits and replace some despair with a little hope.

The world moves so fast and it is so easy to forget what happened yesterday, so it is also my hope that we can help remind others that this fight is not yet over and to assure those in the greater Sendai area that they are not forgotten.

I will use this channel as an opportunity to share the experience as well as to respond to the many questions and comments I am hoping the group receives. I will entertain questions and comments on SideStreet's Facebook page and Twitter feed　 and try to respond to them here.

Wish us luck and if you have any hope or well wishes you would like us to take over, let us know.

Cheers,

Sean 江草