surfing kitaizumi a while back was a great memory. clean water, beautiful town, and wonderful people.
when i went back there after the tsunami, i didn’t even know we were there. everything looked so different. there was a lady there searching in the debris for memories. i asked her “where you here during the tsunami?” she told me that her house was on the back road and she ran towards the mountain. she was safe but her house and all of her neighbors were gone. and she hasn’t seen anybody ever since march 11th. she told me her story with such a sad face, which i will never forget. she walked away head down, and left.
shortly after, a tsunami siren rang. we got back in the car and got the heck out of there. earthquakes hit tohoku almost daily and after going up there, you seem to get use to it. that’s a scary thought.
as for kitaizumi, nobody knows when or if ever we can surf there again. heartbreaking. i’m sure other surfers from around the world who’s been there before would be shocked too. the only reason i posted this video is because i know many surfers who want to see what really happened.
last, kitaizumi is in the 30 kilo evacuation zone.
