A dreamer's muse: Going Places : Sanriku Area Part 1

Monday, January 31, 2011

Going Places : Sanriku Area Part 1

Date of travel : 25th - 29th May 2009

Organized by : JICA/IISEE. Accompanied by Dr. Fujii and Mr. Okada.

First of all, let me tell you that this trip is one of the official study trip that we had as part of the requirement to complete our study in Japan. This is the last official trip before we started our almost 3-months 'incubation' at our respective 'dungeons' to complete our 'curse'. Yikes! I'm making it sounds so bad. Well, don't worry...We were all rescued in the end by the 'scroll of freedom'...:)

The area of Sanriku coasts via Google Earth

Well, let's start with us getting to know where is this area, Sanriku. The Sanriku area is the coastal area in west Japan that stretches along 3 prefectures; Aomori, Iwate and Miyagi. Why is it significant to our trip? It is because this coastal area has that jagged, saw-toothed features with numerous bays, peninsulas and inlets which will enhance, and therefore intensifies the effect of a tsunami wave should a tsunami occur in that area. The area had suffered from tsunami disasters in the past centuries and since then, there have been numerous countermeasures and mitigation systems implemented in the area. So, that's why we were there...to see the remnants of the past disasters, the history, and the lessons learned by the local people. My post here is not meant to discuss all the scientific and technical details. Done that already...huh! This is just a brief trip down the memory lane...with some notes and photos...so please bear with me.

25th May 2009: Tsukuba - Sendai

Morning ~ Travelling.

The shinkansen

I enjoy the view wherever I go...

The outside view from inside the shinkansen

Interesting inventions...

Shopping catalogue in the shinkansen..

Yeah, they have stewardesses with food trolleys for all you need and shopping catalogues in there..and more..comfortable enough..

Afternoon ~ Arrived at Tohoku University. Mission: Disaster Control Research Center to meet Prof. Imamura, one of the many tsunami experts in Japan.

The towel of knowledge; everything about what to do in an emergency

Later on, moving on to Sendai Regional Meteorological Observatory...sort of like our Regional Met. Office.., where we observe the operational office for weather, earthquake, volcano and tsunami activities.