Okawa School Memorial

Okawa Elementary School - The ruins of a school that was especially badly, and exceptionally tragically, hit by the 2011 tsunami disaster in Japan . 74 of its pupils (out of 75 for all of Japan) perished here. The entire village around it was washed away, only the ruins of the school remain. It has been preserved as memorial and is one of the most touching relics of this enormous tragedy in all of Japan. > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: The full story is covered in what is easily the most in-depth and emotionally gripping accounts of the 3/11 tsunami disaster in a book by the Japanese-based British journalist Richard Lloyd Parry entitled “Ghosts of the Tsunami”. I couldn't possibly, and won't attempt to, compete with this 250+ page account of this tragedy. Instead I refer you to that book. A shorter version of the story by the same author, but still classed as a “long read” can also be found online here (external link, opens in a new window) – but note that if you intend to read the book, this online article will be full of spoilers, so better make the decision for one or the other before reading the online article! Here only the very briefest of summaries has to suffice: Normally schools in Japan are very safe places, and the sturdy buildings often serve as evacuation centres. The safety of schoolchildren is highly regulated and generally of exceptional standards. Normally. Okawa proved to be one massive exception. Out of the nearly 20,000 people who died in the 2011 disaster, only 75 were schoolchildren who had been in the care of their teachers at the time. 74 of those died here at Okawa. Something must have gone horribly wrong.