#sumita

Sumita "Hang the T-shirt and cat out to dry."

Oh greeeaaat.

That’s just peachy.

*sigh*

Thanks for the warning. Whoever you are.

*muttering*

“O heart, sing in tune”

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year to you all. PEOPLE OF IWATE will be taking off for the holidays, but we'll be back on January 10th, bringing you more stories from the people of Iwate.

In the meantime, have you read about the dried persimmons that Ms. Saeko Fujii is developing in Kamaishi? Or the fantastic starry skies in Ofunato, guided by Mr. Shingo Yanagiya? Check out some of the interviews you might have missed over the past year: 

Kamaishi

・Ms. Yurie Endo and her rugby cafe (& part 2)

・Mr. Kazunori Ishii, working to revitalize and open up the city of Kamaishi (& part 2)

・Mr. Takuma Sasaki, member of the local rugby team and elementary school teacher

・Mr. Ryuta Kubo, developing tourism through airbnb (& part 2)

・Ms. Rie Sano and her work promoting Kamaishi and its people (& part 2)

・Mr. Satoru Fujii and his playground for local children

・Ms. Saeko Fujii and her restaurant serving farm-fresh food (& part 2)

・Ms. Kanako Ishikura, working to develop her adopted home of Kamaishi

・Ms. Ayumi Fukasawa and her work with the Cosmos playground

・Mr. Shusei Yamada and his journey around the globe in a biodiesel car (& part 2)

・Ms. Akiko Iwasaki, proprieter of the Horaikan inn by the coast (& part 2)

・Ms. Emily Hallams, helping to prepare Kamaishi for Rugby World Cup 2019

Kuji

・Mr. Susumu Ishiwatari, keeping alive the tradition of Kuji's sweet/savory mamebu soup (& part 2)

Ofunato

・Mr. Shingo Yanagiya, sommelier of the stars

・Ms. Midori Furukawa, a lover of both the stars and particle physics

Iwaizumi

・Ms. Aki Sugiyama, the “Cave Girl” of Ryusendo

・Mr. Daizo Kudo, rebuilding Iwaizumi after the 2016 typhoon

・Mr. Kazuto Motegi and his journey deep into Iwaizumi's agricultural heartland (& part 2)

・Ms. Sono Hashimoto, running her family's sweets shop

・Mr. Atsushi Hashimoto, a transplant to the area who's helping out his wife's shop

・Ms. Atsuko Kudo and the gorgeous natural-dyed yarns of Iwaizumi

Ninohe

・Mr. Takuma Nakamura and the NEW SPORTS of Ninohe City

Rikuzentakata

・Mr. Kotaro Kumagai and his work building up a new community in tsunami-torn Rikuzentakata

Sumita

・Mr. Mark Mino-Thompson and his journey to Japan and Sumita

Mark Mino-Thompson of Sumita Town (originally from Canada) -part 1- Mr. Mino-Thompson had originally intended to become a geography teacher in his hometown of Toronto, but took a detour to teach English in Sumita Town and fell in love with the mountains, the people, and his future wife. An upstanding member of the community, Mr. Mino-Thompson is part of an a capella group, a corps of samurai re-enactors, and a founding member of the ILC Support Committee (which aims to help local governments prepare for the International Linear Collider).

“I finished school and had every intention to go to teacher’s college, but I knew if I got in, I’d never get a chance to leave the country. So I thought, I’d find a job abroad, teaching English somewhere. Someone suggested the JET Programme (a Japan program for placing English teachers – the world’s largest). I specifically requested a placement somewhere cold – I knew enough about Japan to know that Tokyo and Kyoto are too hot for me. So I said Tohoku (northeastern region of Japan), which probably put me at an advantage (laughs). They put me in Sumita, but I had never heard of Sumita before. I had to go downtown to a bookstore to find a good map of Japan, where I finally found a map where there was a small little dot, Sumita. It really exists! So I was on a plane, and on my way. My intention was to do it for a year or two, and then go back to Canada, but then I started dating my future wife.”

Kaminari-iwa (lit. “Thunder Rock”), where Mr. Mino-Thompson used to spend time outside relaxing

“I love living in Sumita. I come from Ontario - very flat. Not a lot of mountains or hills. So that’s a neat experience for me. And I liked the town from the beginning. There was beautiful green mountains where my apartment was, and the only sound at night was the sound of the Kesen River. It reminded me of home in Canada where you can see all the stars. There’s so much natural beauty in Tohoku that you can’t get elsewhere. And in Sumita, you can experience some real culture. Local foods. Local events. Seeing local cultural things. I’ve traveled all over Japan, drove all over in my little beat-up car. I’ve been all around the Sea of Japan side, but the coast of Iwate and Miyagi is so much more strikingly beautiful. Ofunato is a great place, too. I’d go all the time, bring a lawn chair and read my book by Kaminari-iwa.”

Kakushigoto