Wearing red and waving flags, Del Norte Teachers Association members and students welcomed a Japanese delegation from their sister city, celebrating friendships that were forged in the tragedy of a tsunami.

“Relationships are so important”, said Marshall Jones, DNTA president, while acknowledging the relationships are making negotiations with district management stressful. The two sides are at impasse over issues that will help attract and retain teachers to Del Norte Unified School District. But Jones says he has hope there will be a settlement.  Just as the story of the Kamome brought hope to students and staff.

Following the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (the event that hit the Fukushima nuclear power plant), a small boat belonging to Takata High School was swept out to sea and arrived two years later on the shores of Crescent City, located in  Del Norte County (20 miles south of the Oregon border). Takata High School is located in the small fishing town of Rikuzentakata, which was nearly flattened, with 80 percent of it destroyed and more than 1,600 people dead.

Students of Del Norte High School banded together to fix up the boat and sent it back to Takata High School as a goodwill gesture. That gesture provided hope to the town and blossomed into a life-changing experience for students and educators.

John Steven, who with six other classmates spent a day cleaning the boat back in April of 2013, never thought anything more could come out of it. “We just thought it was something fun to do. You know, like send the boat back and it would be cool. We never had any idea how big this would get,” he said.

Ultimately, DNHS students visited Rikuzentakata and THS students came to Crescent City. The two high schools launched a student exchange program and established a sister school relationship in 2017. In 2018, the two cities formally established a sister city relationship as well.   Steven says he realized how much this boat had affected them when he visited Rikuzentakata in 2014.

“You didn’t realize how much they actually appreciate it till you were there and talking to them face to face. It was really amazing and I was really honored to be a part of that,” he said. And, he never thought they’d have so much in common. “You know, well, we’re a small fishing community and so are they. They’re right on the ocean like we are.”

Crescent City has a long history with tsunamis. One nearly destroyed the town in 1964, and in 2011 part of its harbor was damaged from the same Japanese tsunami when it moved across the Pacific.

The Del Norte students’ story can be seen here

Discover the book “The Extraordinary Journey of Kamone: A Tsunami Boat Comes Home“

Humboldt State University emeritus Professor of Geology  Lori Dengler heard about the boat and recognized its origins because she studied recovery efforts after the 2011 tsunami and earthquake. The boat’s name, Kamome, means “seagull” in Japanese.

Dengler submitted paperwork to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Japanese Consulate. She used social media to find out if anyone wanted Kamome back. Amya Miller, the global public relations director for Rikuzentakata, responded and the incredible journey began.

Lori Dengler and Amy Miller published a bilingual children’s book about the experience:  “The Extraordinary Journey of Kamome: A Tsunami Boat Comes Home.”  They held their first reading in Crescent City.

Kamome eventually returned to Japanese shores, thanks to the NOAA and the Japanese Consulate. It was transported on a freighter via the Port of San Francisco in October of 2013.  The boat was on display at the Tokyo National Museum for several months. It is now in storage back in Rikuzentakata, where it will be exhibited in a new museum that’s still being built.