The Minamisanriku Very Good Day Tour ‘19 for Tohoku University international students was held on February 6th and 7th in Minamisanriku, a town in Miyagi Prefecture that was heavily damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake. The tour was organized by the SCRUM International Department. It was attended by 9 international students from America, Italy, Morocco, China, Taiwan, and Indonesia, and 6 Japanese students. The students learned and thought about natural disasters, and interacted with Minamisanriku residents.

Yūki Sanjō, 1st year student, Faculty of Arts and Letters (head tour planner)
At this event we were able to learn how people think about the Great East Japan Earthquake and other disasters through many discussions. It was an extremely valuable opportunity. By studying natural disasters together with international students, I feel we made a small but real contribution to informing the international community and solving the "erosion problem" facing Japan in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake. For both the international and Japanese students, the interactions with the local residents were filled with joy, making this an extremely happy and precious experience. I think just having the international students there had an energizing effect on us (Japanese students), the area, and the disaster victims.

This tour was carried out with support from the Nippon Foundation Gakuvo Student Volunteer Center and Yahoo Japan. We also extend our deepest thanks to Mr. Seietsu Satō who provided extensive help with on-site coordination.