Closing-down the Flea Market

At 6:30 pm Chie and I went to the flea market to help out closing it and cleaning up afterwards. We were about 10 people so within 1.5 hours all remaining clothes and things were packed into boxes and stored for the next flea market. This time we sold new and old donated clothes and things for 660,000 JPY!!! 😀 This Ishihara-san’s group will use to support our network of fisher(we)men in Kobuchihama and FUkukiura.



Afterwards all that helped with the flea market went to KotoKoto (the owner is part of Ishihara-san’s group) to have an after-flea-market party. Though we did not party so much as eating, drinking and talking. We prepared some snacks in the kitchen of KotoKoto and someone went to buy pizzas. I brought a mineral water from 7-Eleven.



We all took turns in playing, very gently, with a 15 years old dog (~105 human years), as well. She was stiff in the hips and almost blind, but with energy enough to continuously looking for something to eat.



Preparing Flea Market for Tohoku

After work I rode my bike directly home where I met Chie, and we drove to Ishihara-san’s home. There we filled our car with donated clothes for this weekend’s flea market. We also filled up Ishihara-san’s car. When that was done I drove our car and Chie drove Ishihara-san’s car to the flea market.



Ishihara-san and some other have already started preparing when we arrived. After we had unloaded the cars Chie and I also helped hanging all the clothes. Though I am not improving much in terms of making decorations, Chie is. She folder sweaters, t-shirts and shirts, which she put on a table in piles. Everyone commented on how nice it looked 🙂

Preparation for Flea Market

Next weekend (October 15-16) we have another flea market coming up. Chie and I a preparing by going through our wardrobe and collecting the things we no longer use. Last time Chie did the same thing but we forgot to document it 🙂



Shipped Heaters to Fukukiura

Today we used almost 30.000 JPY of donated money to buy and ship 4 heaters to Fukukiura.

Winter is coming.

BTW, did anyone recognize the quote? Anyway, you can find detailed information about the donation and shipping here.

A Trip to Tohoku

We are back from a trip to the Tohoku area. Or more precisely to Ishinomaki (1, 4 and 5 in the picture below). We left on Saturday around midnight and drove throughout the night to arrive in Ishinomaki early in the morning. During the two days we stayed in the area we stopped at different places to drop off supplies that they needed to get started in their new temporary homes or to continue their lives in whatever was left of their own homes.



Our stops where the following:

  1. Ishinomaki (1) to drop of supplies at a temporary home and have breakfast.
  2. Fukukiura (2) to drop off supplies.
  3. Kobuchihama (3) to drop off supplies at a temporary home.
  4. Kobuchihama (3) to drop off supplies at a fisherman and his wife’s home.
  5. Kobuchihama (3) to drop off supplies at another temporary home.
  6. Kobuchihama (3) to watch the saving of a fishing boat.
  7. Kobuchihama (3) to check the new freezer.
  8. Kobuchihama (3) to drop off some furnitures at a beauty salon.
  9. Ishinomaki (4) to drop of supplies at various temporary homes.
  10. Ishinomaki harbor (5) to check one of the worst hit harbors in the Tohoku big earthquake.

Common denominator between all our stops was the friendly people that we met. They all welcomed us with big smiles and something to drink and/or eat. And always having a friendly word to us. It made it all so much easier 🙂