Get up here!! Hurry!

THE TSUNAMI IS HERE

HURRY! RUN!

RUN RUN!

HURRY

HURRY

HURRY HURRY

AHHHH NOO....

On March 11th at 2:46 pm

Boom! the earthquake hit

I had a small house along with those buildings

my mother was on the 2nd floor

and she couldn't come down (because of her age)

I told her "We're coming to get you"

"take it slow, stay calm"

my daughter was there too

so I made sure until they both came down

and then while I'm moving to this way...

I told my kitchen staff

"turn off the gas and lights"

"everyone let's get out of here"

then we heard a rattling sound

we ran this way

at the front desk

I said "bring the guest list and a radio"

"Is everyone okay?"

"first things first, get outside!"

"hurry hurry!"

that's what I said to everyone

and then...

I asked another staff

"there might be a guest in the bath area"

"can you check that out?"

"all guests, please follow me!"

"let's go outside"

everyone started to gather here

disaster prevention announcement was warning...3 meter tall tsunami

we set a radio in the center of the parking lot

and when we turned it on,

the earthquake had stopped for a moment

people who gathered here such as neighbors,

and people walking down the road,

all gathered around here

we checked if anyone missing

actually, I found out

my daughter and 5 year-old granddaughter were missing

so I asked

"where are they?"

at that time I saw my grandchild

they were practicing riding a bicycle

in the parking lot over there

I saw them running up the hill and trying to come here

I said "hurry up"

then I announced everyone "this is the day to evacuate to the mountain"

"for sure tsunami will come soon"

that time, I think the earthquake started again

I said "let's go up the mountain now"

and we started evacuating to the mountain

before the tsunami, I had actually made this evacuation route just in case

when I said to everyone, "let's go there"

some of my staff said

they wanna go back to their home

we were holding a small wedding party on that day

the bridegroom was the son of our head chef

they did not want their guests to be stuck here

I think I asked "using the road by the ocean and river...is there enough time?"

"do not leave here now!" I think I said that too

at the same time I was thinking

tsunami will come here soon any moment

so I couldn't really make them stay here

when they wanted to go home

anyway I made everyone evacuate to the mountain

so I went up the mountain (for the first time)

that time, we had plenty of time

the ground was still shaking, but

we did our best to climb up

I made this evacuation route up to 30m high

so, everyone went up to that point

but when everyone climbed up,

I came back here

then....

I saw the sea level getting higher

people from the town were still gathering in the parking lot

the warning bell was struck by someone

our staff were in the pine grove by the beach

even I shouted, "come up the mountain!"

they did not come up

so my staff who just came up with me said

"Okamisan, I am going to get them now"

but in my head,

I remembered the words from my grandmother

that we should never go back

they used to tell us "people who went back...never came back."

so I knew no one should go back down

but

I also thought that we still have time

since the staff is going to get them

I went down together

when I came down

this was the door to the kitchen at that time

I went in and changed my footwear to boots

because I was thinking that water will come here soon

I wanted to be ready for that, so I changed into boots,

and start running again

the staff was saying "let's run up the mountain, a tsunami is coming soon"

the reason I came here was...

the warning bell was on the hill over there

fishermen, my staff, and another person were striking the bell

so I shouted, "a tsunami is coming hurry! hurry!"

from here, the tunnel over there...

can you see that hole?

at that point, I couldn't see it anymore

so I thought "Oh no, tsunami?!"

I tried to run away very fast

there were still some cars driving down the road

I wondered where they were heading

some people were standing there too

I said "Hurry up! Let's go!"

my staff and the last woman were here

again the staff said "hurry now"

we we all ran this way

then I looked over there

we had a bus in the parking lot over there

the bus was lifted up by the wave

the wave had already reached here

as I ran, I honestly wondered if I would make it

I was praying I would make it in time

here we had a shed

and the evacuation route started here

when I turned, there were 2 women coming

a few men also joined us from the beach

and we all ran up real fast

but the people climbing, suddenly stopped going up

still, women coming from this way

"hurry hurry, the tsunami already came!"

then 2 women came running up

"let's head up!"

"I think we made it!"

probably here,

I was taken by the tsunami

that time...

I was looking to the side

but never looked back

so I didn't think that the tsunami was already there

I thought "I am safe now on the mountain"

but actually, I was in the water

the sky was blue,

well...

there were bubbles coming out in the clear water,

the sky was blue and beautiful

I was wondering... "why am I in the water?"

"maybe I am going to die here..."

"so, this is how I die"

"I was destined to die at 54..."

I was floating and starting up at the sky

the next moment,

I was in the dark

I thought something is covering me

and I remembered that I kept a boat beside the mountain

so I thought it was the boat covering me

can you see that L-shape space?

the next morning, 5 cars were lying on the ground

my house was completely destroyed

above the house, the cars and our bus were piling up...

again on the day, when I was taken

I was covered with something

but I couldn't move it at all

but I needed to get whatever it was, off of me

so really struggled...then the next moment

It popped right off!

the people on the mountain said there was a whirlpool

because of that stream, I think it was taken off

then I saw the grey sky like today

beyond the black water,

I could see through to the sky

I thought, "oh, that's the surface...!"

"I'm gonna go up there and survive!"

"I wanna survive, I wanna survive"

so I came up to the surface

I reached out to grab the debris

the debris I grabbed turned out to be someone's hand

it was soft and warm

I asked, "who is this?"

"I'm Yoshida, Okami-san keep holding my hand"

she was my staff who went down the mountain with me

and was caught between the debris and floating over there

she saw my hand came up from the water

so she caught it

but her arm was too skinny and I thought it would break

so I let go of her arm

as I struggled in the water...

I ended up on the tire of our bus

and suddenly the water stopped

so the staff got out from the debris and came on the tire

at that moment, I heard another person choking

and saying "I'm not going to make it..."

but I shouted, "the wave is coming, go up hurry!"

she was the last woman running from the town

using her last energy, she came up to the tire

three of us, together we helped each other up

and got up to the roof of the bus

jumped up to the cliff

that was the evacuation route I had built before the tsunami

"We're gonna make it!"

"We are still alive! help us~"

that's how we climbed up the cliff

so,

we set up a fire about 60 meters up the mountain

but...

right before it was getting dark,

there was a fisherman who evacuated in the hotel

and he came up to the mountain to get us

he said "if you stay there, you all freeze to death"

so, we could go back to the hotel that night

that's Torao-san, the fisherman I'm gonna introduce to you later

he saved our lives

after we came back,

there were still big earthquakes and tsunami warnings for 3 or so days

so we grabbed blankets

placed water here and there in the mountain

again grabbed blankets

we would climb up 30 meters on the mountain every day

elder people were looking up at the sky on the mountain

we would repeat it every day

around the 3rd day, some people said they couldn't climb the mountain anymore

so we decided to wait on the roof of the hotel

there were still tsunami warnings,

I thought the tsunami could come again anytime

we went back and forth

between the mountain and roof for 3 days

I was scared...yeah

I felt like Horaikan(hotel) was like a ship

I felt like we were floating in the ocean at night

that time, I thought

if Horaikan was taken by the tsunami or collapse,

that is our destiny

because it was snowing even if we went up the mountain,

and it was really freezing cold

we could die if we stayed up there

but there were blankets in Horaikan (so we chose to stay there)

knowing there was still a risk of the tsunami coming back

but we didn't really have a choice

it was either freeze in the mountains, or stay in Horaikan,

we struggled with that choice daily

but chose to stay in Horaikan

for 10 years,

I've been just reliving 3.11 over and over

as I shared this story

I've just been living 1 day for 10 years

and now, 10 years later...

I want to start from 3.12

I want my life to start again from 3.12

everyone!

I hope we can meet somewher on this earth someday

Come to visit Sanriku~!