What Happened After Japan’s $200 BILLION Disaster: Stories from the Tsunami (Documentary)

I met with Fumio Ito, a 'kataribe' or storyteller, who guided me through the skeletal remains of the building. He painted a bleak picture of how 327 people took refuge inside, with over 40 on the fifth floor elevator shaft due to the freezing March weather. He explained how the tsunami struck at 2:46pm, submerging two-thirds of the structure. Even though the water didn't reach the highest levels, waves spilled over, covering the roof. It's unthinkable how high up we were, yet the water still reached. On the second level, the water came higher than the floor, yet a shrine remained completely intact despite the magnitude 9.1 earthquake and tsunami. It's a powerful experience to see this place, which is unrecognizable from its pre-tsunami photos, conveying destruction in a way photos simply can't.

I joined the very fishermen who launched the 'Fisherman Call' campaign on one of their morning journeys out into the Pacific to harvest seaweed. We sailed out for only 10 minutes from Ishinomaki, and the whole area was marked with buoys. They pulled one up, and a staggering amount of seaweed appeared. The four of them harvested the seaweed, which would then be shipped off to restaurants in Tokyo. It was just gone 5am, the sun was coming up, and the conditions were beautiful. Seriously, on a day like this, you can really see the appeal of being a fisherman. I have a lot of respect for them; while we're tucked up in bed, they're out here, often in brutal conditions, getting the food we eat and take for granted. By the time I get up at 8 or 9, these guys have already been up for 5 or 6 hours.

I headed to Tokyo to try the freshly-caught seafood at the Fisherman Japan restaurant in Nakano and meet Yuki Tsuda, one of the team members. The wakame seaweed served was the very seaweed we caught just this morning up in Miyagi – it felt like a world away now. It was juicy and fatty, so good! I also tried real wasabi root, which the chef harvested and grated right in front of us. It's not the fake horseradish you normally get at sushi restaurants. It was a challenge, but very good!

I returned to Tsunakan Inn, about two years after my last visit, to catch up with Ichiyo Kanno. It was quite strange seeing her again for the first time, but her warm welcome was immediate. One of the most noticeable differences since my last visit was the gigantic concrete sea wall, 8 meters thick and two years in the making, built just a few yards in front of Ichiyo's home to protect the community from frequent tsunamis. Ichiyo is well-acquainted with the dangers of living on Japan's Pacific coast, having lost her home and entire village in 2011. After her husband, eldest daughter, and son-in-law tragically lost their lives fishing in 2017, she made the difficult decision to re-open her business to continue doing what she loved. It's incredibly moving and inspirational to witness her resilient and optimistic spirit, despite all the pain the ocean has inflicted upon her life.