Japan

Just back from a couple weeks in Japan.  We spent most of our time cruising the far north of the country, the area in which my wife was born.  While in that region, we spent some time in the beautiful coastal city of Ofunato.   Along with its beauty, Ofunato is also one of the towns hit very hard by the tsunami of 2011.  And it was the tsunami and an opportunity to volunteer there, with Habitat for Humanity, that took us to Ofunato. 

Before leaving home I made a few of the 4x6 inch Japanese flag mosaics, similar to those I sold as a fundraiser for the Japanese town of Mashiko, Japan back in 2011.  The plan for these Japanese flag mosaics was really just to give them away to people as we visited the region.  And that is what I did.

One of the mosaics was given to the owner of an izakaya (sort of a Japanese pub) by the name of Engawa.  We dined there one night, had an amazing meal and an awesome time. The owner of Engawa lost her previous business, a hair salon, to the Tsunami when the entire building was washed away.  So as not to be kept down for long, she and her 85 year-old mother chose to reopen this fantastic izakaya.  What a great time we had there.  And she seemed really happy to have the mosaic, which in turn made me happy as well.

Another mosaic was placed in what has become an Ofunato tsunami museum of sorts.  A local carpenter in Ofunato has been collecting items found after the Tsunami, with which he then built the museum/play house for local kids to explore (shown below).   I took a couple pictures of my little mosaic from the inside as it now hangs in the structure.

I also gave a mosaic to some friends we made in Ofunato, Ken-san, Ishihara-san, and Yoshiko-san, while working with Habitat.  Thanks to them for contributing to a really rewarding experience.

And a larger version, about 27 x 12 inches, made from wood off our old cedar fence.  I brought this along and it now hangs in the window at the in-laws in Hachinohe, Japan (pictured below).