Acts of Kindness This might sound a little over the top, but the encounters I had during my journey strengthened one of my long-held beliefs, that the majority of people are inherently good. They filled me with a sense of hope and optimism for the future. Despite being a solo, male, non-Japaneselooking traveler (who probably looked rather rough, after several weeks of minimal hygienic upkeep), I was on the receiving end of countless random acts of kindness. For example, there was the man who saw me walking into a shop in a small fishing village. He ran up to me, screaming “Hello!” (in English), bought me a meal and walked off without saying another word. Then there was the woman who saw me walking up the trail towards her and told me to stop. She ran into her house, and brought out a chair, along with an ice cream and three cans of juice. We sat in the shade and talked until it was all gone. Then there was the time I had an early morning chat with an elderly woman. We parted ways, and I continued walking. A few hours later, I heard a car screech to a halt next to me. There she was, with a bag of freshly picked berries and sweets to give to me as omiyage (customary souvenir). And, of course, there were the more profound encounters. Like the time that two elderly sisters offered me a place to stay at night, out of the blue, after seeing me about to pitch my tent at a michi-no-eki (roadside rest stop). When I asked them why they decided to help me, one of the women responded: "The tsunami took away so much from us. We lost family and our house was washed away…it was a time of extreme hardship, grief and sadness. In the weeks, months and years that followed, so many people from the outside came to help us. People who had never been to our town were working alongside us to rebuild it. Complete strangers...my family has been on the receiving end of so much kindness and generosity, many times from people we don't know. So I think it's important to pay it forward.” And the time I met 80-year old Owada-san from Rikuzen-Takada, who told me about losing his home to tsunami twice in his lifetime. "I've been a fisherman since the age of 16. In 1960, my house was washed away by a big tsunami. Back then, we didn't have any early warning systems or anything...it just came, and took everything away. So my wife and I built a new house from scratch and slowly put our lives back together. Then, 50 years later, my house was washed away again by the 2011 tsunami. Twice in a lifetime... When I stop to think about it, it's really quite hard to believe. But we are people of the ocean. My whole life, I've had a profound connection with the sea. It has provided for my family for generations and I have a deep respect for it. So am I angry? No. We just have to get on with it. We will rebuild again and carry on.”
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TRAVELER
There were countless encounters such a s t h e s e t h a t m a d e my j o u r n ey i n Toh ok u truly memorable. The tsunami claimed almost 20,000 lives and wiped many communities completely off the map, devastating hundreds of kilometers of coast. Now, six years on, the people of Tohoku are still busy rebuilding their lives. And, importantly, they are eagerly welcoming tourists from all over the world. Offering stunning natural scenery, fresh seafood and other delicacies, and off-the-beatentrack adventures for travelers and outdoors enthusiasts, Tohoku has plenty of potential to grow as a tourist destination. An influx of travelers is seen as one of the most effective ways to boost the local economy and ensure a sustained recovery. And visitors can have the added satisfaction of knowing their hardearned cash will most likely, in one way or another, support the region’s recovery. So next time you’re looking for a worthwhile travel experience in Japan, consider embarking on a Tohoku adventure, such as walking along the MCT. If it’s anything like what I experienced, you will not be disappointed.