Street market unites tsunami-hit community in Japan

[AsahinaKimi]

Shoppers walk around a morning market in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture.
AP

OFUNATO —

The irreverent back-and-forth starts almost immediately when sellers arrive at the morning market around 6 a.m.

“You’re not supposed to gain weight, we’re in a disaster!”

“At least that tsunami finally gave me a bath!”

Sakariki-machi market has survived for more than two centuries in this coastal Japanese town, through natural disaster and war, not to mention the advent of 7-11s and discount chains. Now, in its small but time-tested way, it is helping to keep up morale in an area devastated by a March 11 earthquake and tsunami that flattened a vast swath of Japan’s northeast coast.

“This is so important to us,” says 71-year-old Chioko Shomoto, sitting behind a small pile of mountain vegetables she and three elderly friends gathered by hand. “It’s not really about how much we sell. This is where we relax and talk and trade information.”

The market only opens once every five days along a single narrow street, regardless of the weather or what day of the week it is. It is soon filled with a colorful motley of bright flowers in pots, hand-sewn clothing, fresh fish and vegetables, the prices scrawled on small scraps of paper.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/lifestyle/view/street-market-unites-tsunami-hit-community-in-japan