Keep Tsunami-Stricken Isatomae Community Alive

Isatomae tent shops are a little bit busier than Winter season. A barber shop is the busiest one in the tent. The owner installed the second haircut chair and also a modern massage equipment which provides massage while a customer is sitting in a haircut chair. Sometimes, customers have to wait for their turn. The owner decorated the shop in such a nice way that customers do not feel that they are inside a tent. Other than the barber shop, a liquor shop has a display of a large number of alcohol beverages. And also small food shop and a mountain school are in operation. Sometimes NGOs come and conduct their activities. The tent is in a good use, though the number of customers is not as large as shop owners wish, except the barber shop owner. However, since the tent is operated free of charge, shop owners are not losing money.

Temporary shops are operating in the government-provided temporary housing. They are attracting customers, because they are situated in the foot of a small mountain, whose top the tent shops are located. Since the temporary
shops are much nicer and warmer, and are holding diverse events to attract customers, it is becoming quite difficult to attract a large number of customers to the tent shops. But now, a reconstruction talk is taking place. The Isatomae community requested the government to elevate the land and roads where the present temporary shops are located. As soon as redevelopment starts, may be within a year, they have to evacuate the present place. As a solution to this problem, they are discussing to move all shops back to the place where the tent shops are. This means that when the construction starts, the tent shops will be the center of shopping in Isatomae until construction will be completed. Since temporary shop owners have to pay a fairly big sum to prepare themselves to dismantle the temporary housing, in the end shops might not gain much more in the operation of a fairly short period than those owners operating in the tent shops. It is, however, much nicer to feel in the temporary shop that their business is in demand by a fairly good number of customers. But the Isatomae shop tent may become the center of community activities again in a near future.