Northern Japan 9 Months Later

tensai-riottensai-riot Registered Users Posts: 279 Major grins
edited December 13, 2011 in Street and Documentary
I had the opportunity to visit a city called Otsuchi in the Northern region of Japan that was devastated by the tsunami on March 11th this year. I used to live in this area (a Morioka city) about 10 years ago and visited these coastal communities a couple times. It is amazing to see how zero rebuilding has taken place, and all they have really been able to do is clean up, which is still not done! Anyways, this area of Japan still needs our help, and will so for some time to come by the looks of it.

1: Inside the Otsuchi City Hall
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2: "The Phone is Broken"
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3:
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4: Emergency Exit-Unfortunately many did not heed the initial warnings and did not flee.
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5: Commuting through Chaos
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6: "To Live and to Love"
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A bunch more on the site so check um out if you have time. C&C always welcome =)
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Comments

  • M38A1M38A1 Registered Users Posts: 1,317 Major grins
    edited December 7, 2011
    Just saw the entire gallery.... Thank you for sharing the images, and yes, there appears to be a lot of work ahead.

    .
  • MarkRMarkR Registered Users Posts: 2,099 Major grins
    edited December 7, 2011
    Powerful stuff.
  • tensai-riottensai-riot Registered Users Posts: 279 Major grins
    edited December 7, 2011
    M38A1 wrote: »
    Just saw the entire gallery.... Thank you for sharing the images, and yes, there appears to be a lot of work ahead.

    .

    Thank you very much for checking the entire gallery, and for your comment. Hopefully the area will be able to bounce back like Kobe, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and other cities around Japan over the last 60 years.
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  • tensai-riottensai-riot Registered Users Posts: 279 Major grins
    edited December 7, 2011
    MarkR wrote: »
    Powerful stuff.

    Thank you.
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  • rainbowrainbow Registered Users Posts: 2,765 Major grins
    edited December 7, 2011
    Your photos depict the devastation well. They also serve to remind us that the disaster is not yet over for those who were affected. Normalcy looks to be a long ways away. This is really brought forth by your gallery when it transitions to "normal" areas of Japan and the places and people going about their everyday lives.

    Thanks for sharing!
  • NmahoochNmahooch Registered Users Posts: 220 Major grins
    edited December 7, 2011
    Great job documenting the devastation.
    http://phlotography.smugmug.com/Nelson-Malave
  • tensai-riottensai-riot Registered Users Posts: 279 Major grins
    edited December 8, 2011
    rainbow wrote: »
    Your photos depict the devastation well. They also serve to remind us that the disaster is not yet over for those who were affected. Normalcy looks to be a long ways away. This is really brought forth by your gallery when it transitions to "normal" areas of Japan and the places and people going about their everyday lives.

    Thanks for sharing!

    Thank you very much for catching exactly what I was hoping put across to those who view these pictures. One day the area will look like the "normal areas" you see in the rest of the album, but as you say " normalcy looks to be a long ways away."
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  • tensai-riottensai-riot Registered Users Posts: 279 Major grins
    edited December 8, 2011
    Nmahooch wrote: »
    Great job documenting the devastation.

    Thank you. Much harder (emotionally) than I thought it would be, but glad I had the opportunity to do it.
    Stop by if you can tensai-riot photography
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  • M38A1M38A1 Registered Users Posts: 1,317 Major grins
    edited December 8, 2011
    Having just gone back through the album, one thing I noticed was the complete lack of barriers to egress the sites. Either you were very clever and in stealth mode to grab these shots, or there truly are no barriers, tape etc to keep people out. Then again, there just may be very few people there to begin with or nothing of value which needs that.

    Care to share the human aspect some?
  • tensai-riottensai-riot Registered Users Posts: 279 Major grins
    edited December 8, 2011
    M38A1 wrote: »
    Having just gone back through the album, one thing I noticed was the complete lack of barriers to egress the sites. Either you were very clever and in stealth mode to grab these shots, or there truly are no barriers, tape etc to keep people out. Then again, there just may be very few people there to begin with or nothing of value which needs that.

    Care to share the human aspect some?

    Hey Scott,

    I was actually very surprised to find that there were zero barriers in the entire area. None of the buildings were taped, fenced, or otherwise blocked to entrance in any way. Even the multi-story buildings were open, and you could go up as far as you wanted. I tended to stay on the ground floor as a couple buildings had holes in the floor of the second floor. I was being careful of not being too obvious or rude, but no one said anything to me the entire time, and there were people going by from time to time. Of course when the disaster happened the Japanese self defense force pretty much shut the area down to outside traffic, but they can't stay there for ever, there is nothing of any financial value left, and the area is WAY to large for the police to try and keep everyone out, so it is just there, as it is.
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  • NyarthlopicNyarthlopic Registered Users Posts: 274 Major grins
    edited December 10, 2011
    I love this kind of work. The imagery is straight out of a post-apocalyptic movie (which I'm a fan of). Your captures show that there is still a lot of work to be done, not just at the plant, but in the entire area. On a personal level, it also scares me. Knowing that this kind of destruction can happen at any time is one thing. Seeing photographs of the destruction brings it home to me.

    As MarkR said, very powerful stuff. You definitely got me with it!
  • tensai-riottensai-riot Registered Users Posts: 279 Major grins
    edited December 12, 2011
    Nyarthlopic wrote: »
    I love this kind of work. The imagery is straight out of a post-apocalyptic movie (which I'm a fan of). Your captures show that there is still a lot of work to be done, not just at the plant, but in the entire area. On a personal level, it also scares me. Knowing that this kind of destruction can happen at any time is one thing. Seeing photographs of the destruction brings it home to me.

    As MarkR said, very powerful stuff. You definitely got me with it!

    Thank you so much. Very happy to hear the photos are producing the effect and emotion I wanted to convey.
    Stop by if you can tensai-riot photography
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  • Quincy TQuincy T Registered Users Posts: 1,090 Major grins
    edited December 13, 2011
    I agree with Nyarthlopic as well, tensai. #6 is just pure grit, and I really like it.
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