Sanriku Railway Train Guide Discusses Importance of Disaster Preparedness; 25-year-old Shares Experience of Great East Japan Earthquake

By Shuntaro Sakamoto / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

17:10 JST, March 11, 2025

MIYAKO, Iwate Pref. — A woman who experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake as a child is now working for a local railway company, serving as a guide for train tours where passengers can learn about disaster preparation.

Ran Chiyokawa, 25, is employed by Sanriku Railway Co., which operates a railway line running north and south along the coast of Iwate Prefecture.

Chiyokawa experienced the disaster when she was a sixth grader in elementary school. Tuesday marked the 14th anniversary of the disaster and she is committed to communicating to passengers the importance of disaster preparedness.

“The tsunami flooded over the seawall and struck the community, damaging 317 locations, including stations and railway tracks,” Chiyokawa said from the one-car train in one of the guided tours. She explained the situation at the time of the earthquake as the train left Kuji Station in late February.

Chiyokawa displayed photos to passengers showing a station devastated by the tsunami and a heap of debris. When the new seawall was visible through the train windows, she explained how it protects the town from tsunami.

“This empty place used to be a community and people lived there. I would like you to remember that,” she said. Twelve passengers from the prefecture and elsewhere enthusiastically listened to her explanations. Chiyokawa spoke about the disaster and other topics, such as the lessons residents learned from typhoons and heavy rainfall that hit the region. The passengers listened to her during the one-hour ride to Fudai Station, although it usually takes about 40 minutes.

Chiyokawa experienced the earthquake in the town of Yamada in the prefecture. Although all five of her family members were safe, the tsunami severely damaged her home. Debris littered the surrounding areas and she was astonished to find that there was a clear view of the sea from the central part of town.

Chiyokawa and her family lived in a temporary housing unit for about eight years and she studied at a two-year college in Miyako. As she reflected on herself as she searched for jobs, she realized that she liked her hometown.

She has friends with whom she has shared tears and laughter at the evacuation shelter and temporary housing units. She has seen her hometown be reconstructed.

“The earthquake made me think more about my hometown than before and I came to understand that I always want to be involved in the community,” Chiyokawa said.

Since she was interested in tourism and travel, she joined Sanriku Railway in 2019. After roughly two years working at the ticket counter, she was asked if she would like to talk about her experience during the earthquake. She had been interested in that, so she started work as a train guide in September 2021.

“Passengers appreciate guides who speak from their own experience,” said Yoshiaki Ishikawa, 63, the president of Sanriku Railway. “Since the guided train tour on disaster preparation is part of the mission of Sanriku Railway, I hope she aims to become a guide that inspires passengers,” Ishikawa added.

In July, officials from Noto Railway Co. in Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, which was severely affected by the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake, visited Sanriku Railway. They came ahead of starting their version of guided tours.

“You understand how people in disaster-hit areas feel because you live there, too,” Chiyokawa said. “I would like you to share those feelings with passengers,” she advised them. The guided train tours began in September. Chiyokawa hopes that Noto Railway will become a symbol of reconstruction, just like Sanriku Railway did in the past.

Sanriku Railway suspended train services on some sections due to the wildfire in Ofunato in the prefecture at the end of February. Chiyokawa believes there are things the railway company can share because it has overcome several disasters such as the 2011 earthquake and typhoons.

She asks passengers if they know where their evacuation sites are in peacetime and tells them to use hazard maps to understand how their towns prepare for a disaster. She will continue to share her experiences and thoughts with passengers in the future.

Services Held in Coastal Areas for Disaster Victims; Number of Yearly Events Declining As Relatives Age 

Photographs: Prayers for 2011 Quake Victims