While many Japanese return annually to their family homes for the New Year's holidays, this year was a much more somber affair for those heading to prefectures devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in March.
While many Japanese return annually to their family homes for the New Year's holidays, this year was a much more somber affair for those heading to prefectures devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in March.
The rush to return to family homes began Dec. 29, and JR Sendai Station for the Tohoku Shinkansen Line was no exception.
Passengers dragging suitcases got off the bullet trains at the Sendai hub and headed for other train lines that would take them to their final destinations in the Tohoku region.
A 55-year-old woman from Tokyo will spend the holidays with her older sister who lives in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture. The sister's home was flooded by the tsunami so she now lives in an apartment rented by the local government.
The woman from Tokyo said: "I never imagined that I would one day be returning to a rented home. But I am thankful that their lives were spared. Now, I just want to relax with my sister's family.
Iwao Terai, 61, is a company employee in Sendai's Izumi Ward. On Dec. 29, he was at Sendai Station to welcome his son, daughter-in-law and 2-year-old granddaughter.
Residential neighborhoods in Izumi Ward were heavily damaged by the March quake, but Terai's home was not affected.
"I plan to spend a quiet New Year's. I am grateful to be able to meet with family members who are in good health," he said.