#stunnah

24-25 Sep 2019

Wow wow wow wow wow. Wow! I’m calling it now - this is the best place I will go to during the entire World Cup! Feast your eyes on Kamaishi, a ‘city’ of 34,000 people and the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen with my own two eyes. A little background info - it is the site of the Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium, which was built on the spot where the local school once stood until it was wiped out by the 2011 tsunami. Around 1,000 people lost their lives and naturally, the whole area was devastated. 8 years on, and this arena is at the epicentre of the rebuild project, one that is “not just rebuilding something physically - it’s about rebuilding hearts“. The newly constructed tsunami breaker just down the road is visible from inside the stadium, a gentle reminder of why this stadium is here.

The coach ride to the stadium is about a hour and a half but more than makes up for it with postcard-worthy views every few minutes. The road goes in and out of the high tree-smothered hills, and almost without fail every time we emerged we were greeted by another breathtaking sight. I have complained at previous events about having nothing to do but I took full advantage of my free time, circling the ground more than once and struggling to comprehend how stunning the surrounding area is. I wouldn’t say the stadium itself is a looker other than the main stand; it normally holds 6,000 people but the additional stands increase it to 16,000 - roughly 50% of Kamaishi’s population! But to be honest, I was only half-looking at what was inside the stadium.

I also went for a lengthier walk with Ryan the day before the game, as between us we were basically spare parts; I have zero responsibilities until kick-off and Ryan is the AR Op, but this venue does not have the equipment to facilitate. We walked up to the breaker and turned the corner, only to find ourselves gazing at yet another outrageously spectacular scene - a huge bay with others visible across the water, and even a sight of the open ocean in the distance. We walked along the shore, passing a campsite with some swish-looking tents and then out to the end of the jetty, where we may as well have been standing on the water itself. It reminded me of those images you might see when you fire up your Windows computer and it shows you a random snap of some incredible place in the world - up until now I had only half-believed that such places existed.