Masataka Kawamura, Director of Geotrail in Yamada

"Young people are learning more about community-building"

When Kawamura was in high school, he made a model representing the actual height above sea level of the town and the actual depth of the ocean, which could demonstrate how far a tsunami would reach inland when it struck. This “Tsunami Model” won the All-Japan Disaster Risk Reduction Prize.

The area in which he lived was only one or two meters above sea level, and only a few dozen meters from the coast. His family were all able to save themselves thanks to their awareness of tsunami and disaster preparedness.

“It feels like things are getting back to normal now,” says Kawamura. “Young people who lost their hometown in the tsunami are using it as an opportunity to learn more about community-building, which I think is a good thing.”

“Take some of the resources we have in the region and use them to create new opportunities for people to visit”

Kawamura is also a basic instructor recognized by the Japan Safe Canoeing Association. Since setting up Geotrail, he has been pouring his energy into promoting “eco-tours” in the Yamada area. “I think that the idea behind eco-tours is to take some of the resources we have in our local region and use them to create something new. Yamada doesn’t have a whole lot of amenities or famous sightseeing locations, and it kind of has the reputation for just being somewhere you pass through. But one thing we do have is a beautiful ocean, and so I think we can use this to create new opportunities for people to enjoy themselves with sea-kayaking. We’ll make sure you have a good time on your trip to Yamada, so please come and visit us!”

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Originally from Yamada.

After graduating high school he started working at a company, but since 2013 Kawamura has been helping out at his family’s udon shop, Kama’age-ya.

In January 2014 he started up “Geotrail”, a sea kayak-centered sports leisure company, and has been working to promote kayaking and Yamada’s gorgeous seascapes.