An ayoda in Noto

August 15 (click on any pic to enlarge) It's been a week since we've returned, I dove back into my day job and jet lag has hit me really hard. But through the mental fog I'm able to reflect a bit on our time in the Noto Peninsula, a trip which I'm still surprised actually happened. It took awhile to arrange this year's visit, since this situation is still pretty raw. We posted previous pics to show there's still a lot of recovery ahead. So many homes in disrepair, particularly near the coast. Although the earthquake happened on January 1, we spent our time helping people move in, move out, or simply clean up. Also, we saw temporary housing still being built, a bit surprising. The volunteers kept changing each day (we're front / left). I still am amazed at how volunteers kept coming in and out each day from all over Japan, let alone from other countries. The leaders each day had to create / recreate teams to be sent to the different service areas. At 8:00 a.m...

  We literally get down and dirty with the day's assignment. There was a small tsunami which flooded homes a few yards from the coastline. One issue was sand washed under the house and covered the house's foundation. I believe the concern was this would eventually cause problems with mold. The flooring was removed so the frame could be exposed and cleaned as well as allowing us to remove a layer of sand which covered the foundation. We had to crawl under the house to get to much of the sand. That's Peter working underneath the remaining floorboards. FYI we all took turns doing the crawl. Once we removed the sand, the support beams for the flooring needed to be wiped down. We also wiped down flooring that was largely intact, but covered with a fine layer of dirt. The last time Peter was with our team was 2017. He was quite helpful then, since most of our work was visiting the "kasetsu" (temporary housing) residents or doing community outreach, not physically taxing...

  July 30 Earthquakes cause unexplainable damage. A house that's fallen off from its foundation sits next to a house seemingly intact, the residents still able to live in their house. Most of the damaged houses are older, more traditional wooden structures with the heavy tile roofs, yet I also saw houses less than 20 years old rendered uninhabitable. We jumped into a van and took a 2.5 hour ride to join a team of 13 to the Noto Peninsula. On the country side, they don't have a complete sewer system, so water from cooking and cleaning drain into concrete-lined ditches, which eventually flow into a nearby river. The earthquake and later heavy rains caused the ditches to become filled with mud and debris. Our job was to clear the ditches to allow waste water to flow again. (In case you're wondering, bathroom "sewage" does not drain into the river and are properly disposed elsewhere.) We were given the option of starting a day later with the cleanup team, they assumed...

 August 1  The Noto Peninsula is a hidden gem on Japan. Beautiful forests and fields, right on the ocean. And the forests are incredible. Our job is to help restore the area as best as we can. The original estimate was 299 dead, about 1,200 injured, over 60,000 homes damaged. Many eventually find themselves in a "kasetsu juutaku," temporary shelters pictured above. We're guessing each unit is about 200 square feet, which includes kitchen and bathroom facilities. Many will eventually find themselves there, albeit there's some reluctance to do so. Plus there are some alternatives. Here's an example. We returned to the house we helped clean out yesterday. I now know our purpose was to help prepare their home to receive family friends. The latter's home is still liveable, but will need several months for extensive repair and slight remodeling. We were assigned to help move furniture, books, and other goods that will be in the way of the reconstruction. Neighbors h...

July 31 As I mentioned previously, earthquakes are unpredictable. It's appearing we'll be working most days on the Noto Peninsula (the city of Suzu, to be specific), a 2.5 hour drive each day. It normally takes less time, but there are areas where the road collapsed, others where the road cracked, dropping the road a foot or more. I appreciate our drivers, they're navigating narrow detours and literal bumps on the road (it's a bit jarring). Our job on Wednesday was to help a family clean out their house of quake-damaged items (damaged goods, water damage, etc). The house fortunately was minimally damaged, but there was a lot to both toss and reorganize. Worth noting, the Noto Peninsula is a destination for tourists who want to explore less crowded traditional areas. Whereas Kyoto and Shizuoka (Mt Fuji area) are overwhelmed with foreign visitors, Ishikawa (which includes the Noto Peninsula) are hidden gems, even though they're continuing to recover. The teams we work...

August 2 Click on any photo to enlarge We returned to the Noto area, this time to a city called Suzu. We helped empty the home pictured (no inside photos to protect their privacy) as the house suffered major damage from the Jan 1 quake. I could tell in its heyday (don't ask me what "heyday" means) this hose was a showcase of traditional Japanese architecture and design. So much finished wood, fine details in places I didn't expect, especially the exterior. The original owner was the family patriarch, we cleaned out the house while preserving some family photos and certificates. I'm certain we've worked in similar hot and humid conditions, but I probably erased the experience from my memory. Suffice to say we were pretty soaked with sweat, yet somehow we got the job done with minimal issues. The family thanked us, staying there was no possible way to complete this task without help. (This train stop may have been abandoned during the pandemic.) I could easily c...

August 5  We have Mondays off, so we've decided to give you a behind-the-scenes recap of our trip. This is the Uchinada Bible Church, which graciously hosts the Noto Help effort. Apparently there's no church big enough in the Noto Peninsula that can house this operation and its staff and volunteers. Although it takes 2.5 hours to travel to the disaster site by car, it nonetheless works. When we arrived, the display indicated the number of volunteers who've served from around the world with the Noto Help effort. By the time we leave on Thursday, this number should be significantly past 3000. Our accommodations are basic, but it works. I mentioned previously I had trouble sleeping on the floor, they provided an air mattress for me. We've limited access to the shower since that's on the other side of the building housing female volunteers, but between that and the local hot springs, we've managed. The men's room is down a flight of stairs. Most importantly, thi...

August 6 Hey y'all, it's Peter. It's been a week since we touched down in Japan. To keep things (relatively) short, between a lost wallet, a surprise change in accommodations, and tomorrow being our last full day in Japan, I'd say we're seeing just how far we can be stretched. The work we're doing has been the highlight so far. The days we took off weren't bad but I would rather sweat doing important work rather than sweat walking for hours trying to track down our lost money (we did find it, but boy, what a way to reach 20000 steps). I won't deny that just me and Dad feels like a Japanese comedian duo or ボケ (gag) and ツッコミ (retort) with the positions changing occasionally, but we're looking forward to having a bigger team next time (hint, hint) so it's not just two clueless Odas playing "guess or google translate" I'm turning it over to my dad now, but seriously, thank you for your support in all shapes and forms. またね、bye! Click on ...