On Monday, May 20th, we woke up early to visit the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. After getting a quick breakfast from 711 we boarded a bus bound for Fukushima Prefecture. Once we arrived we stopped for a quick lunch and then participated in a lecture at the TEPCO archive center and had a brief tour of their exhibits on the disaster. Some of the displays contained the gear that workers used to protect themselves from the radiation that was being released along with videos explaining the disaster and dioramas of the site. Shortly after we left for the actual site of the power plant. Once there we received our radiation detection gear and brief explanation of the route we would be taking through the power plant. First, they were going to take us to a platform that overlooked the first, second, third, and fourth reactors. After that they were going to take us to a second area that overlooked the fifth and sixth reactor, along with the pump that carried the treated water out into the ocean for dilution. Once we arrived at the first platform I was immediately surprised by the size of all four reactors. They were absolutely massive compared to all other buildings around. The second thing that surprised me was the level of destruction still visible thirteen years after the disaster. The ground around the reactors was overgrown and strewn with rubble and twisted metal, and the reactors themselves were burnt and blown out. However, what was most interesting was the work being done to retire the reactors entirely. Around some of the reactors you could see large covers being built to protect the environment and nearby residents from the radioactivity that could be released with the removal of the radioactive material. On the drive to the second lookout we drove past an incredible number of tanks filled with radioactively contaminated water and a water treatment plant. It was at the second lookout that we were able to see the pump that moved this treated water back out into the ocean along with a cross section of the massive pipe that they used. Reactors 5 and 6 were also visible from this location, however they were shut down when the Tsunami struck the location. Due to this they did not experience any meltdown. I think the most surprising part of our visit was still how prevalent the damage from the Tsunami was. It is very hard to gauge how bad a disaster truly is without viewing the aftermath yourself, and I recommend anyone who has the opportunity visits.

On Sunday, May 26th, we first went back to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum to receive a tour of the Peace Memorial Park the Atomic Bomb Dome from a group of local highschool students. We broke up into groups of about four and began walking around the park. One thing in particular that I found incredibly cool was the cases of paper cranes that people made and brought in. In Japan it is said that if you fold one thousand paper cranes it will bring you good luck and many people string up their paper cranes onto a chain and then hang them all up. After we saw that we walked across the Aioi Bridge around the Atomic Bomb Dome and the students talked to us about the history of the building and how orphaned children lived in it in the aftermath of the disaster. It was truly indescribable to be standing in the exact spot where the bomb went off. After visiting the Peace Memorial Park and Atomic Bomb Dome we boarded the train towards Miyajima where we spent the rest of the day. After we took the ferry to the island we began walking towards the shrine along the shore. There were a bunch of deer that had been effectively domesticated wandering around town and messing with the tourists. We then made our way through the shrine and into a small area of shops where myself along with a handful of other participants picked out souvenirs. After walking back to the main tourist area we got soft serve coffee ice cream and ate it on the beach. We also walked up to the part of the shrine that was further out towards the water, but was exposed due to low tide. Once we finished exploring we made our way back to the ferry dock to meet up with the rest of the group and made our way back to the mainland and soon after made our way back to our hotel in Hiroshima. That night we also got Okonomiyaki for dinner, which was fantastic. This was my favorite day of the whole program. We had so much free time to explore not only the shrine but the other interesting architecture around the island. It was by far some of the most beautiful buildings and views that we experienced on the trip. It was also a fantastic dinner with the professors that I highly recommend all participants take advantage of.

On the last day of the program Thursday, May 30th, we first visited the Nisseki Ishinomaki Hospital after traveling from Sendai to Ishinomaki. When we got to the hospital we first received a lecture on the Tohoku Earthquake and the hospital’s response to the disaster. They walked through every decision that was made with timestamps. It was incredible to see how prepared the hospital was for the disaster and how fast they were able to begin treating patients after the emergency triage. There was also a resident surgeon who went over a number of common health issues that they saw during and after the disaster. Once we finished the lecture section they had a number of exhibits set up to show how they stocked the emergency shelters. For example, they had a sleeping tent with cardboard beds which could hold a whole family. There were also bathroom tents on display with special toilets that bagged the excrements for easy disposal without running water. After we finished rotating through the exhibits we boarded the bus and stopped for lunch at a mall nearby. Once we ate we started our drive towards the site of the Okawa Elementary School. When we arrived the first thing that we saw was the shell of the former building. Concrete walls had been knocked down and reduced to rubble and there was twisted rebar hanging all over. When the wave came it destroyed almost everything in its path. It struck the building with incredible force, there was nothing left unscathed. As we continued our tour our guide continued to share the story of the disaster and the actions that the children were taking to try and save themselves before being called back by their teachers. We were shown the spot where the tsunami caught up with the evacuating students and teachers and our guide told us about how after the tsunami parents went to the school and had to pull their kids’ bodies out of the ground. He then showed us a path that was used by the school to get to an outdoor learning area up on the mountain that a handful of students attempted to use. It was here that he showed us how high the water rose and how far students would’ve needed to go to reach safety. The distance to safety was much closer to the school than the route that the students and teachers finally took and if they had decided to go up chances are every one of them would’ve survived. It was a horrifying disaster and the whole situation left a sick feeling in our stomachs. For the entire drive to the train station I don’t think any of us said a word. This was truly something that I will never forget.