Volunteering in Tohoku
 

I'm just starting to make plans for my Japan trip in December.

I'll spend one week in Kanto with friends and family, spend a week in Kansai with friends but the main purpose of my trip is to volunteer in Tohoku.

I'll arrive on Dec.11 and my plan is to spend ~Dec.12 to ~Dec.27 (2 weeks) volunteering.

Does anyone here have any volunteer experience?

I started reading several info sites via Yahoo Japan but I'd like to get some first hand experience (as a foreign helper) if possible.

I was as volunteer in Sendai in early September, but with my japanese friends... Do you speak Japanese?
In any case, you can help Tohoku even though you go there as tourists.

Yes, I'm fluent in Japanese.

I got a hold of an old friend who works for a Japanese NGO who gave me some leads. I'll see how they work out.

was not able to go last summer but here is the website that my friend used to volunteer

緊急支援: 7月～9月のボランティア募集について

Just following up on my own email in case anyone's interested in volunteering as well.

I ended up agreeing to join 2 separate groups. One in Kitakami, Iwate called HANDS (not to be confused with All Hands) which does work in Kamaishi and one in Ishinomaki, Miyagi called "It's not just mud".

HANDS Kitakami
It's not just mud – Volunteer in Tohoku

I wanted to spread my 2 weeks of volunteer time across different groups to check out different affected areas and to experience working with both a Japanese group and foreign group. In the end, these groups worked out since they were operating in December and because they didn't require any orientation and training.

They'll even accept people who are there for only a day so give them a shout if you'll be in the area!

Of course I'll report back with a full write up when I return.

That's quite noble and awesome!

Unfortunately, I only dedicated one day of my next trip to the area. I'll be in Ishinomaki on March 11th after checking out Matsushima and Fukushima.... My health isn't all that great, so volunteer work isn't something I think I can do too well....

Keep us posted and good luck!

Thanks John!

Just visiting the area and showing the locals that we're thinking of them is a great thing to do as well.

I'll post a full report when I return.

Looking forward to it!

Let me know how things are there, what I can expect to see, if there are any eateries you'd recommend me visit. I'd like to spread my yen around as much as I can.

in souma 相馬市 (fukushima) where i went, they had a special volunteer centre, so the only thing you had to do was to show up in the morning and then they sent you to wherever you were needed.

now, this was in april so things might have changed a little bit.
http://www.city.soma.fukushima.jp/03...aigaibora.html

Thanks Blimp but I'm pretty much set on my schedule.

To be honest, I was a little concerned about volunteering in Fukushima due to the potential radiation hazard. It's probably ok but as the son of a nuclear engineer, I suppose I'm a little cautious.

http://gunma.zamurai.jp/pub/2011/0911gmap06.jpg

You're fluent in Japanese? If you don't mind me asking, how did you learn? Through textbooks? Sorry for the irrelevance... I'm just curious. Oh, and how long did it take you to become fluent?

My parents are Japanese.

Oh, that's actually really cool. Did you grow-up speaking Japanese with them?

Yes. I guess I picked it up naturally, although I did attend Japanese school every week.

Being surrounded by Japanese friends also helps. It's the next best thing to actually living in Japan.