3/11...one year one

The Blog has been neglected of late due to extra studies. But, I have to write my thoughts on today.

I thought it important to share today with friends given the sheer atrocity of this day last year. It was a lovely day in Tokyo; the sun was shining and positive vibes were plenty.

We ate a great (British) lunch and then moved to a nearby cafe. A few of us stopped on a bridge at 2.46pm to remember. It was peaceful, sunny and we all stared thoughtfully into the murky water below. What got me was that not a single car stopped; not another pedestrian paused for thought. It seems Tokyo really never stops. That made me sad, sadder than the events themselves.

Since last year, there have been endless stories of positivity, progress and peace. Residents of Tohoku have come so far (not all of them, it must be also noted and still many are suffering in shelters) and we have to take this as our inspiration. If they can move on and look ahead then, so can we.

 Japan, Tohoku - we love you.

Caroline Pover of 'Being-a-Broad', has been doing so much to help Japan. And in this blog, she mentions the Sendai house!!

Awesome, http://www.carolinepover.info/2011/05/part-2/


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Pulling teeth

So, we went to the pet store yesterday and there is no sign of my donations notice anywhere.

It is so tiring. There is either red tape preventing me from getting the message across or there is the general notion that I am a foreigner with a flyer and that is all.

The post office near our house told me to come back another day when a more senior member could authorise me putting up the notice. It is just frustrating, there is space on the board and it is causing no harm.

More annoyingly so, this is a gesture so small that is helping the country in something so big.

The notice basically explains about JEARS and says that if you want to donate, here is the Sendai address or, if you want to give locally in Saitama, just call me, Lee.

It is not a rude, demanding nor forceful notice at all. I just cannot comprehend why no one will accept it.

One supermarket said a flat 'no'.

I need to adjust the techniques. One friend has suggested approaching vets at their clinics with a phot album and asking for a donation box to be put in their clinic. Sound good, right?

But, I know of just one clinic in this area....

Still, there are some more shops and people I can approach.

Next week is our food drive, where friends will come and visit us and bring something to contribute for the animals.

I even had the mother of two kids, (not even my students, such is the generosity) offer me big bag of food and snacks at school.

I now need to transport the +6kg bag home!

Basically, I want to return to Tohoku in a few weeks. I want to see Namiko San and her dog too and I want to be able to actually contribute more to the endless need for food and supplies.

Right now, I have to mail a girl about cat supplies!

Let the collection begin!!


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Location:Kasukabe,Japan

Bumps

By the light of day during my journey home (from the bus as I write), I can see the freshly painted parts of the expressway, along with the cracks and small rubble at the side of the road, memories of March 11.

I'm getting used to these rocky road trips now. The bus just hit a huge bump just now, the bigger the vehicle, the bigger the bump feels, I guess.

The Tohoku Expressway is one of the nicer routes to take. You can actually see the countryside and towns nearby and appreciate the beauty around.

Gambarre Tohoku.

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Location:Tohoku Expressway

May Day

When the door opened to the JEARS apartment, I was greeted by so many faces, it was hard to keep track! There must have been about 9 people there at that time, plus Omori San, who lives upstairs.

It was a crazy encounter; I dumped my bags, got some donations from Yumi, and quickly got changed into some trousers. I packed my rain boots, my waterproofs and was good to go.

Today, I was going with Yumi's gang. I wanted to help them a little, like they helped me and also, Shichigahama is an area I am fond of as we used to go there often for so many beach BBQs.

Shichigahama still doesn't have water, local shops have limited supplies and you cannot even pee in a local convenience store, now that is saying something as usually, a convenience store sorts you out for everything.

So, why are we here? The whole of Tohoku has suffered from the events of March 11th, and so many people have suffered in so many ways. We see on the news endless tales of destruction and loss and it is to these areas only where the majority of money, food and volunteers go.

Shichigahama is a set of bays and the shape of these bays meant that some of the destruction was lessened. Small islands out to sea or inlets held of the tsunami just a little and this meant that the damage was not as severe as in some other coastal towns.

So, in Shichigahama, there are still many houses missing, flattened or ruined by the wave, but there are still many standing. And, it is for this reason the people are put aside by the Japanese Government. I suppose the logic is that they have a house, so they are OK.

This is far from true. Water is still limited if any at all, food supplies are lacking as shops cannot get deliveries still. Those with cars can access shops further away, but they must still be careful, as gas is limited too.

Yumi had heard the story of people in Shichigahama and knew she had to do something to help.

First stop was Fumiko's house.

Fumiko used to live down below by the water a long time ago. She sold her house and moved uphill. Of her former house, all that remains is the second floor. The house itself, or what is left, has been thrown over towards other buildings. Fumiko must be feeling glad for her decision to move, but, rather than dwell upon selfish mullings, she, has taken to helping all her local neighbours. She is a very jovial lady, full of energy, spirit and a lot of laughter!

We started to set down the donations (yumi had to takkyubin some of the boxes of clothes up as there simply was not enough room in the van!).

Meanwhile, Fumiko San was the first ( of many! ) to get her hair cut.

The donations were sorted out both inside and outside the house. The van was also reloaded for a wee journey down below. Some neighbours came and collected some goodies.

We drove down to the coast and saw Fumiko's old house, along with more destruction.

The harbour had bad damage and one area

was being used as a central

dumping ground for garbage. Amongst the wood and the dirt, there was a small children's toy, a stark reminder of who may be among the victims.

Along the coast, some houses were fine, some houses missing, and some marked with signs that read, 'limited entry' or 'unsafe'.

You would not expect people to be living in such buildings, but they were, somehow, and getting on with it as best they could.

Donations were accepted graciously although in a fiercely proud nation, it can be hard to offer things, even at times like this.

We even delivered to a small gas station that was open, but surrounded by destruction.

Impressive, but sad, but life goes on and the clean up must continue.

Back at the house, we sorted through more donations and reloaded the van.

Haircuts were still going on in full swing, mostly obachans, older ladies whose mobility is limited. Everyone was grateful for the support and had a little chat with us. We even got an invite for coffee at a neighbour's house, but we had to keep going.

Next stop was Yougai, down by another bay. The fishing bay had a couple of boats overturned and on top of each other.

We went right to the end of the bay to a house at the end. From the drive, you can see the beginning of Matsushima Bay,

a bay famed for it's beautiful islands and ranked one of the top three sits in Japan. Apparently, the islands broke the tsunami wave a little and were not destroyed at all. Yokatta!

I could see the tourist boats going to and from the islands, business as usual, it seems. it is Golden Week after all.

We delivered more food donations and divided them up so each neighbour could receive a bag. I walked with Rena to one house nearby. She was an old lady, very cute. Her house was not in good shape and had the 'limited entry' sticker on it. She showed us a massive crack in the driveway as she laid down her bags by her kotatsu.

I suddenly felt very empty inside. How could this lady be alone? And living in a house that was not safe? She smiled and invited us for coffee, but we had to get back to help at the main house.

We loaded the van with garbage to take to the tip. The tip was a big open space with a massive collection of frisbee, televisions, computers, not to mention rubble, all collected since March 11. There was a bad smell too.

Over by the fridges, there was a collection of toys with the Japanese flag blowing in the wind next to them. Yet another horrid reminder of the young and helpless victims.

We made a couple of trips here, offloading many things that had been damaged in the outhouse, television, shelving unit, many toys, electrical goods etc.

The hut itself had been thrown to another area of the garden completely. It was now back where it belonged but it was still wet inside. Tomorrow's was to clean and dry out everything in the outhouse and the shed.

At the end of the day, we were welcomed into Fumiko's house for snacks and juice. We all chatted and shared stories. One lady had family in Ishinomaki and her father was living in a shelter there. He wants to kill himself because life is so slow to progress. He has nothing and just lives day by day in the centre with nothing to do. She, is plagued with worry, especially as he won't leave the area as it is hometown.

Yumi gave out some remedies for the ladies of the neighbourhood (she is a herbalist by trade) and hopefully, they will feel less stress very soon.

I was also introduced to a lady whose dog had been very sick since the earthquake. She has a pomeranian and he is hardly eating and also vomiting. All the vets in the area that she knows have had their clinics destroyed or lost in the tsunami. I had to act now to help her.I promised I could return either the next day or the one after with a solution, a vet or some meds, something, anything to help.

A few calls later and I knew who to contact. I would mail the vet later, a Sasaki Sensei who has been helping immensely since the disasters. We would get this dog better quickly!

We quickly popped into the neighbour for coffee, where her hospitality was just wonderful. One coffee and two green teas later (it would have been rude to refuse) along with a chocolate bar ( the generosity is astounding - remember, we are there to give them food!), my gamman and stretch was slowly fading. I would need the toilet very soon! We were all the same.

It had been almost eight hours of running around and work and not going to the loo. We had a portable toilet, kind or and if we really wanted to we could have used this...!!!

We drove off, leaving Maria still cutting hair, ( I think she helped almost thirty people by the end of the day!!). I had to get back to my base to see what was happening.

We eventually found a conbeeny with a toilet (!)

and treated ourselves to a post-pee coffee!

Much needed and well deserved!!

Back at the JEARS house, the teams were still out. One was in Iwate collecting cats and dogs at the city hall.

The others were in Fukushima.

I was alone for a while, so Fumiko (it's her mother's apartment we renting) popped over. Omori San upstairs had made curry for the volunteers, but they hadn't returned, so I could get double helpings!

I sent mails to the vet and spoke with Fumiko about an Aigo centre nearby. Usually an Aigo centre is a friendly place for the animals. It is the hokenjos where the animals have one week to live if no one collects them, sometimes these animals come form the aigo centre, so we though we would make a plan to go there's tomorrow morning. I also wanted to sort out the sick dog, so I had a plan, i just didn't have transport.

Thank goodness for friends and good people! Fumiko was coming to get me at 9am, from there, the rest would fall into place, I was sure of it.

Yumi has a page on facebook - Follow her and her team's work here -

https://www.facebook.com/pages/DIRECT-HELP-for-victims-and-animals-REJECTED-from-shelters-in-JAPAN/185436641502603

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Location:Shichigahama & Sendai, Miyagi

Golden Week - travelling up north

So, I had never even met my travelling partners before, but Yumi chan and I had sent a few volunteer related emails and somehow I didn't feel out of place asking to hitch a lift with them to Miyagi during the busy Golden Week holiday.

Yumi had her own little group going to help an area of the Miyagi prefecture that seem to have been cast aside by the Japanese Government. Her mission is to deliver food and essentials to these areas in Shichigahama, as no one is providing for them.

They had a van packed full to the brim with so many things, boxes of clothes, croissants, fruits, washing products, you name it, it was there, all the things we take for granted in our weekly shop.

Miraculously, these kind hearted people found the space for my lard arse in the back of the car along with my over packed bags with things for my own organisation.

We were all volunteers. These days, half of Japan are volunteers. It is the new boom. Everyone wants to help in so many ways.

The expressway was busy but we were not held up.

At the stop offs, I was amazed by the volume of cars, buses and people. I have travelled to and from Sendai by road so many times and have never seen it like this. Apparently, there were 300 000 volunteers heading to Tohoku this holiday!!! That is a lot of people!!!

The road, as usual now, was bumpy in Fukushima. The roads have been fixed but some of the damage shall never go away.

Yet, this being Japan, none of this affected us at all. We got to the Izumi Inter turn off at around 4am, so we were able to sleep for a few hours before heading to the JEARS apartment.

The team sleeping in the cramped van
1. YUMI, ring leader and general awesome lady!

2. KENGO, our ever persistent driver and strong helper.
3. RENA, Kengo's wife and another awesome lady!
4. MARIA, a trained hairdresser, coming up to chop, chop, chop
5. LEE, me!

Check out this link for Yumi's work...https://www.facebook.com/pages/DIRECT-HELP-for-victims-and-animals-REJECTED-from-shelters-in-JAPAN/185436641502603

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Location:Tohoku Expressway

JEARS, Lending a hand.

DAY ONE

I went to Niigata to go and help with JEARS, the animal rescue team set up to help those animals suffering after the tragedies of 3/11.

Today, I get to meet the JEARS team and work through the logistics of the day.

Reports come in regularly of cats and dogs found, missing or even floating on debris. JEARS tries to respond to all of these.

The tragedies that Japan has suffered are unbelievable and so many people have been affected in so many ways. Lots of these people have pets too. What happens to them at times like these?

That's where JEARS comes into play. JEARS is the product of three animal rescue groups, joining together to offer extra help for the animals affected by the events of March 11th and its consequences.

An earthquake is enough to scare a creature for life, (heaven knows our little French Bulldog is very on edge when anything moves these days) let alone witness a tsunami. The animals emerging from these disasters come in all shapes and sizes and temperaments.

Each animal has its own story and you can read about some of the rescues on the page

www.jears.org

The best plan of action for my first day with the organisation was to head to Animal Friends to load the truck with food, so we were prepared for the next day.

Animal Friends is based in Niigata. they have a shelter there, housing many of the rescue creatures. The other two organisations (Japan Cat Network and Heart Tokushima) also house some of the rescue animals.

I took a quick video of the area, which is beautiful; the surroundings are perfect for the animals and they are all so happy to be looked after there.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiHpTRmUvNc

The dogs are taken out regularly for walks and I was lucky enough to walk this little lady.

She had been found by the side of the road and it was only after a bit of food that she was able to get up to walk with the JEARS team.

She is so docile and sweet. I really hope her owners find her or she can find a lovely home.

The animals looked happy and it was so lovely to see them all.

So, our mission was to get food!

And, that we did. We have all sorts of food, wet food, dry food, tinned food, thank you to all those who have donated!! And of course we have snacks too. Chuck cleaned the back of his truck to prepare it for the load.

With this food, we would be able to feed the animals at evacuation centres, give to those who are unable to buy supplies in local stores and, of course, feed the animals we might find on the streets.

We were ready for the day ahead. Being based in Niigata means that the road trips to the affected areas are long, very long. They stretch across to the other side of the country, so we have to be up early each time, and brace ourselves for a long day.

DAY TWO

This is my first trip out with the team, and I would like to point out, that as I talk about the length of the day in the car, please just think about the members of Kinship circle and JEARS,

who, have been hard at work since March 11th. We are entering our fourth week since the quake, so that is a hell of a lot of kilometres covered by car.

We had 3 teams out on Saturday. One car headed up to Minami Sanriku and Rikuzentaka to deliver food, especially for a bunny rabbit! and to rescue a cat! One lady thankfully survived the tsunami with her 3 cats, but, in the evacuation centre, her pets were not allowed. She had been keeping her cats in her car until she found out about us! We were able to take two of the cats earlier in the week and today, they were one step closer to being reunited. This car (Chuck's truck) was starting in Niigata, heading up to Iwate and then back down the coast to evacuation centres in Fukushima. It was going to be a long day for them.

Another car went out following up on reports of animals wandering the streets, simply abandoned in the sheer haste to leave their town, or told that their pets could not travel with them, they knew nothing better than to untie their chains and hope that they would go and find food themselves. I believe they picked up two dogs and one cat from this journey. Well done! Sadly, I don't have the pictures, but some of the rescues are blogged on www.jears.org and www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/japan_quake/notes.html

Our car headed out to scan districts for any signs of life and to also speak to members of the public, to make them aware of what we are doing. It is important that people know who to call and the methods of help available.

It took us a good four or five hours to drive to Fukushima. There were many pit stops, adjustments to the plans and a little getting lost along the way too.

We were armed with a Geiger counter, and each had a mask, just for extra protection.

It was difficult to navigate the whole time as various roads were closed because they led to the exclusion zone or they were damaged after the quake.

We spoke to a photographer, who informed us of animals within the zone simply roaming aimlessly. he was a kind soul, and gave them some bread that he had carried with him, but these animals were still there, in need of shelter and in need of food.

And, a lovely couple we met, who owned their own beautiful Labrador, Ruka told us they they had seen a dog dead on the road just the other day and that they had heard of more near the zone. Such were the tales of sadness, being reported to us all daily. We bear them in mind for the next day's planning. Today, we couldn't go and we had to scan the coast and inland for any signs of animal life.

What we witness along the way, is really hard to describe. Of course, I have seen the reports, the videos, the pictures, but still, to see it in real life just breaks my heart even more.

I blogged it all on the long journey back.You can read about that here

http://leonorasophie-everyday.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/searching-for-animals.html

There is also a selection of pictures here -

bb

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvgvZOZZ8WM

It is still hard to fathom, how the apparently beautiful, deceptively calm waters in the distance could cause all that damage.

We passed so much debris, so many clothes scattered along muddy rice fields, so many smashed up cars, that finding an animal would have been a miracle, but we were still hopeful.

Along one road, we heard barking, so we backed

up to find a way off the main road and down through

to where the sound was coming from.

We saw 2 dogs chained up outside, but they were the lucky ones. Their owners were just returning from a food shopping trip. We chatted for a while and then offered them some food.

They were very grateful, it is really hard to come by supplies, especially in rural areas at this time.

We searched and we searched. All that is there is just rubble.

Here is a small clip to give you an idea of the road by the coast.

jgjg

www.youtube.com/watch?v=53zYgpz_S5s

Our search was fruitless, but having seen the fields of debris, it is hardly surprising. It was already time to journey back across the country.

Once again, let me remind you, that, at present, our teams are doing this on a daily basis....phew.

Reaching the hotel certainly did not mean it was goodnight after the day's hefty road trip, oh no.

Car number one were due back with the cat from Iwate!! Car number two were still in Fukushima making sure the dogs and cat would make it safe back to the shelter in Niigata.

The cat from Iwate made it back to the hotel! He miaowed a lot, but eventually settled....in the sink of volunteer Jennifer's bathroom! Thank you Jennifer! He had been in the carrier the whole journey back, sitting on Jennifer's lap. He did a few pees there too, so they both came to the hotel very stinky indeed!!

DAY THREE

The challenges for today varied.

One team headed to Fukushima again following even more reports of stray animals roaming the streets. We loaded up 2 cars full of food in order to hand out at the evacuation centres from where there have been reports of none.

(Pic - Adrienne from Kinship circle)

The team that day rescued a tired-looking, hungry dog and brought it back to the shelter.

My challenge was slightly different.

I was to help Jennifer get Shun Kun, the pee-ridden cat back to Animal friends, a mission much easier said than done!

Have you ever tried to smuggle a cat out of a hotel?

I have smuggled a hamster into a few hotels, but that is a very different story!!

Shun kun was miaowing the whole way.

We decided to take the stairs down a level to the 10th floor and then take the elevator, but would you believe it...on every floor there were cleaners, and by the time we got to floors 3,2,1,B1 & B2 , all the doors were locked!! So, back we were up to 4 again, although, someone was there, so I grabbed the carrier off Jennifer and ran up to 5th and across the corridor. Of course, he miaowed just as we went past one of the workers, but we made it to the elevator out of breath! PHEW!!

Shun kun was to be reunited with his two friends at the shelter, and his owner as soon as she is relocated. God bless her and good luck to her.

I am now going to stay and help with JEARS for the duration. We have endless plans to rescue, endless plans to help more needy creatures. We can only do this with your help too. Thank you so much for your continued support.

Much love to all the animals. XXX

((more photos here - https://picasaweb.google.com/leonorasophie/1820110404JearsNiigata#))