omg, this world is so big, but yet so small. remember the japanese fisherman boat i came across on a secluded beach in hawaii? well, i posted it on my blog and the word spread pretty fast. first i get an email from my friend Abe-san in ishinomaki telling me he will help me find the owner. then he finds out the next day that boat belongs to a relative of one his employees. then the same day, a japanese surfer girl in hawaii sends it to her brother in japan. Ishikawa-san who is a director of a disaster relief organization called “It’s Not Just Mud” contacts me telling me he will find the owners. then one day later, he finds them! and come to find out, one of Ishikawa-san’s friends teaches english at the We Are One Kitakami shop. that’s where he met Naomi-san. what an amazing world we live in.
i remember getting the chills when i first approached this boat. i’m in the ocean every single day and haven’t seen any debris that came from japan. yeah, i heard about things washing shore, but to find a boat intact on a beautiful white sandy beach over 4 years later? OMG! one part of my was telling myself “let it go.” one reason was i didn’t want to find out a sad story behind it. but another part of me was telling myself “we have to find the owner.” if it were me, i would want to know what happened to my boat.
Ishikawa-san drove to Ogatsu, Ishinomaki yesterday and explained to me where the boat came from. a little fishing port right on the ocean front. it’s unbelievable that this port is right in-between We Are One Kitakami and Kobuchihama. both places i frequently visit so i probably even passed by here at some point in time.
Ishikawa-san even went to visit the owner of the boat yesterday. his name is Abe-san. they used the boat for uni and nori fishing. the day before the tsunami hit, they launched the boat from land to prepare for the next day of fishing. then the tsunami hit and luckily the were out of the village at the time.
Abe-san’s lovely wife. they are both retired from fishing and said that they were really happy to find out where their boat is.
so there it is, a very happy ending. i want to thank everybody that put so much effort into helping me out. as much as it is closure for the Abe-san couple, it is for me. now when i see the boat sitting on that beautiful peaceful beach in hawaii, i can put two happy faces on it. i know the owners are alive and happy. so am i!
We Are One!
