Once-deluged beachfront inn reopens in Kamaishi

KAMAISHI, Iwate Prefecture--On March 11, Akiko Iwasaki got swallowed up by the dark waters of the deadly tsunami in this seaside town.

The 55-year-old innkeeper escaped unharmed, but her four-story place of business near Nebama Beach was swamped to the second floor.

On Jan. 5, Iwasaki and her staff celebrated the reopening of the Horaikan inn after being closed for about 10 months.

"We are going to live here no matter what," said Iwasaki of her resolve to make a fresh start.

The inn served as an evacuation center for people who lost their homes in the weeks and months after the Great East Japan Earthquake.