Bob James will perform with Seiko Matsuda on October 29, 2012 in Ofunato, Japan to benefit “Jazz for Japan”. This project has been a personal journey for Bob with his close ties to the country of Japan.
Ōfunato is situated fairly close to an undersea volcano, and suffers from frequent earthquakes of various scales.
Downtown area of Ofunato following the 2011 tsunami
Ōfunato hit the headlines when it was heavily damaged in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The wave is estimated to have reached 23.6 meters in height. Funnelled in by the narrow bay, the tsunami continued inland for 3 kilometres. The town’s theatre was one of very few buildings left standing (and remarkably, was undamaged) and gave shelter to about 250 survivors. Provisional counts listed 3,498 houses out of 15,138 houses in the town destroyed by the tsunami and 305 lives were confirmed lost. At least six of the town’s 58 designated evacuation sites were inundated by the tsunami.