^{A friend joked that our May 2025 visit should be titled – the successful Plan B trip! We certainly fell back on a few quickly devised ones when things didn’t go quite to our plan A! Like our unintended visit to the rainforest in Aomori’s beautiful Oirase Gorge that I wrote about in my last post.}

https://travellingtherese.com/2025/06/16/japan-magical-aomori-alpine-bus-ride/

^{Another Plan B was quickly devised when, heading from Sendai for a three day stay at Japan’s famous Matsushima Bay, we got on the wrong train. It was a Rapid Express and it was stopping at various stations en route. Just not the one we wanted! “I think we just bypassed Matsushima,” MJ said slowly, rechecking the little blue dot progressing on his google phone map. And indeed we had – right past it and heading further up the coast towards a city called Ishinomaki in the northeastern part of Miyagi prefecture. Ishinomaki didn’t immediately ring any bells – we were heading to a place we had never heard of. Or had we?}

^{Ishinomaki is almost apologetic on its website. “To be honest, Ishinomaki is not one of the most famous places in Japan,” it advises. It took a little delving down into the website as we sat on the train before we realised that we had seen an abundance of news video footage and documentaries about the city. We knew Ishinomaki pretty well, despite having never been there.}

^{Ishinomaki was the Japanese municipality with the highest confirmed death count in the devastating 2011 earthquake and Tsunami. Around six thousand people died, and close to 30,000 residents lost their homes. The city was crushed by the tsunami -splintered into pieces. You can find photographs of the devastation on the Internet. The damage was beyond shocking. Recovery seemed almost impossible. Take a look at this programme on the tsunami from NHK World.}

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/3016087/

^{Many of the people who survived the disaster left the city, moving to Sendai and other areas of Japan. Rebuilding Ishinomaki and attracting people and business back has been a mammoth task.}

^{I took the photos below near the railway station – heading to hills was the only route to safety for many when the tsunami waves as high as six to eight metres (20 to 26 feet) swept through the city.}

^{Stories of tragedy from the area were overwhelming. Oner of the saddest was how the Ishinomaki Okawa Elementary School lost 70 of its 108 students and nine of its 13 teachers and staff, after failing to take refuge up a nearby hill. The ruins of the school are open to the public today in an effort to educate about tsunamis and the need to react quickly to warnings.}

^{There have been many news stories and documentaries about Ishinomaki since then, including reports of the city’s rebuilding efforts and stories about strange sightings of ghosts. These alleged sightings came from taxi drivers picking up phantom passengers, while individuals have reported encountering spirits. The stories, genuinely told, have been put down to trauma amongst survivors.}

^{On a brighter note, Ishinomaki is famous for one of Japan’s most famous manga creators – Shotaro Ishinomori, who lived in the city when he created some of his most well known works including Kamen Rider and Cyborg 009.}

^{Following the tsunami, a Kamen Rider manga statue was found completely intact despite damage to the surrounding area. A Journalist wrote of his wish that it would symbolically give hope to the survivors of the disaster. And it seems to have done just that.}

^{There have been ups and downs with the city’s recovery effort, but it is manga heroes and other delightful cartoon like characters that have helped heal Ishinomori, ensuring its reputation as a manga centre and bringing a whimsical, almost magical air to the city.}

^{A manga museum dedicated to Shotaro Ishinomori already existed in Ishinomori before the tsunami. Most of its exhibits were destroyed, but miraculously the space ship like building survived despite its vulnerable river side location. It also was a life saving refuge for locals when the tsunami waves swept through.}

^{The Ishinomaki railway station was destroyed by the tsunami. A new one was built a year later, and today when you walk out of its front doors you can immediately see that manga dominates the city. Statues and paintings of Manga super heroes and other characters are everywhere from the roof of the railway station to streets lined with giant manga characters. It reminded me of the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy and her dog escaped the fury of tornado, whizzed off to the colourful Land of Oz. Are manga heroes escapism for Ishinomaki or are they the city’s saviours, lifting spirits and strengthening optimism for a good future?}

^{The police station near the railway station has a painting of a man by its door. I’m not up on Manga, so I don’t know who he is – but he looked very much like Kit Walker – the Phantom in disguise from the American Phantom comic series!}

^{We had about an hour and a half in Ishinomaki before we could catch a train back to our original destination. We didn’t want to stray far from the railway station, so we unfortunately didn’t get to see the Manga museum or the Ishinomaki Minamihama Tsunami Memorial Park and Museum.}

^{We wandered with our cases out to a spacious forecourt in front of the station – immediately embraced by manga super heroes.}

^{We headed over to the nearby City Hall building that includes a tourist information centre and a very tiny Aeon mall. A group of people standing by tables full of baked goods in the mall began to wave excitedly when they saw us. So, of course, we stopped to chat – via phone translators. I wasn’t sure if they represented a shop or if they were fundraising for a local cause. No one spoke english, but one lady indicated she had been to Cairns on a group tour years ago.}

^{They seemed thrilled to meet a couple of Aussies, though no one seemed to know much about Australia. We had to draw a map to show we weren’t from Sydney or Melbourne, but from Western Australia. I don’t think they’d heard of the West. They were, however, very welcoming to us and there was a flurry of photo taking with phones.}

^{I did a little shopping in the mall – half a dozen parfait spoons made in Japan and a couple of children’s spoons, also made in Japan, for our grandchildren. The lot under $10 Australian! I find my souvenirs in the most unusual places! I also bought a little Shotaro Ishinomori super hero for our little grandson at the railway gift shop. When he is older I’ll tell him what that super hero has meant to a community far far away!}

^{Leaving the mall by a side door, we came onto a small street with an Italian restaurant – Otto’s! It turned out that the cafe is a new business for Ishinomaki, opening in January this year (2025) – very encouraging for the city still in recovery mode. It was lunchtime, so in we went. Another lovely welcome as staff took our cases and put them safely behind the counter before showing us to a table.}

^{As we perused the menu, one of the chefs – I think he was the owner – approached us to explain what was on offer. He spoke good english, and again, we felt very welcome. The food was delicious – we couldn’t have found a better restaurant for lunch if we’d tried. He and one of the waitresses – perhaps his wife – came outside with us when we left, taking photos, and farewelling us.}

^{Then it was time to head back to the station for our journey to Matsushima Bay, timing our arrival perfectly as our hotel opened for check-in. You’d think we’d planned our day!}

^{I felt reluctant leaving Ishinomaki, knowing there was so much more to explore and appreciate there. I don’t just want to be simply a tourist visiting places that have seen hard times. I want to pay my respects as a fellow human and contribute as much as I can. Ishinomaki is welcoming visitors and it is on my list to return one day to spend more time there. A city that has been through so much deserves plenty of love and support.}

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