#big sky 3.11 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sourcreammachine · 5 months

Text

Doctor Who episodes ranked let’s go

(o’th’ revived era. and eight’s movie because i’ve seen it)

and two-parters are counted as one, but i get to define what a ‘two-parter’ is. this is because i’m in charge not you

9.11 Heaven Sent aka the stars align and somehow Moffat manages to pull an incredible script out of his arse after being stuck up there for so long aka Capaldi is the new Atlas from carrying his entire era aka now you understand why i’m splitting up some two-parters and not others aka ahaha 9.11 lol

3.8/9 Human Nature / The Family of Blood

1.9/10 The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances

3.10 Blink

2.4 The Girl in the Fireplace

4.12/13 The Stolen Earth / Journey’s End

1.6 Dalek

6.i A Christmas Carol

3.11 Utopia

4.8/9 Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead

7.v The Time of the Doctor okay hear me out first thing is i’m an absolute sucker second thing is why couldn’t season 7 have actually seeded any of this with actual thought and subtly rather than mystery-box hackery it literally makes me think of how much better his era could’ve been if Moffat wasn’t so up his own arse

2.8/9 The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit

7.iv The Day of the Doctor

4.11 Turn Left

3.4 Girldick

1.12/13 Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways

7.iii The Night of The Doctor aka my boi Eight finally gets done justice

4.10 Midnight

4.6 The Doctor’s Daughter

3.2 The Shakespeare Code

3.i The Runaway Bride

2.12/13 Army of Ghosts / Doomsday

2.3 School Reunion

6.11 The God Complex

4.1 Partners in Crime

10.11/12 World Enough, and Time / The Doctor Falls (look, i’m a sucker i know, and i couldn’t give a shit about Gomez and Simm, but fuck you Moffat actually figured out how to write human emotions. Talalay’s finest hour. Lucas’ finest hour. Moffat did not deserve a swan song but he got himself one somehow)

5.2 The Beast Below

8.8 Mummy on the Orient Express (despite the awful, horrible ending, see below (very far below))

4.7 The Unicorn and the Wasp

4.2 The Fires of Pompeii

7.12 Neil Gaiman’s Good Episode

1.1 Rose

5.1 The Eleventh Hour

2.7 The Idiot’s Lantern

10.1 The Pilot

5.10 Vincent and the Doctor

4.i Voyage of the Damned

6.4 The Neil Gaiman Fanfic Hour

3.1 Smith and Jones

4.4 The Sontaran Stratagem / The Poison Sky

6.10 The Girl Who Waited

1.2 The End of The World

5.12/13 The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang

2.i The Christmas Invasion

6.7 A Good Man Jumps The Shark

5.6 The Vampires of Venice

4.3 Planet of the Ood

7.ii The Snowmen

1.11 Boom Town

3.12 The Sound of Drums / Last of the Time Lords

1.7 The Long Game

7.7 The Rings of Akhaten

8.6 The Caretaker

5.7 Amy’s Choice

9.7/8 Zygons. you can basically hear Capaldi’s back cracking from him carrying it

4.v/vi The End of Time, Parts 1 & 2

10.6 Extremis, the most underrated episode fuck you

4.ii The Next Doctor

8.5 Time Heist

6.1/2 The Impossible Astronaut / Day of the Moon

2.1 New Earth

10.3 Twelve Decks a Racist

9.ii The Husbands of River Song (yeah i’m a sucker, the ending gets me)

6.3 Curse of the Black Pearl spot, fuck

11.1 The Woman Who Fell To Earth (based on how it made me feel in 2018, looking back yeah the warning signs were all there)

5.4/5 The Time of Angels / Flesh and Stone

5.11 The Lodger

1.3 The Unquiet Dead

7.4 The Power of Three aka Chris Chibnall Shits Himself on Live Television

2.5/6 Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel

7.9 Hide

10.5 Oxygen aka La Problema Es Capitalismo

8.1 Deep Breath

2.2 Tooth and Nail claw, fuck

1.8 Father’s Day

11.3 Rosa (bring back Blackman as an episode writer, she wrote Noughts & Crosses, she can do it)

7.11 The Crimson ‘Orror

6.8 Let’s Kill Hitler

6.5/6 The Rebel Flesh / The Almost People

4.iv The Waters of Mars

7.6 oh no it’s clara

9.10 yaay clara’s dead

5.8/9 The Hungry Earth / Cold Blood

12.5 Fugitive of the Judoon (again, based on how i felt watching it for the first time. it was a good episode and an interesting mystery box, just one filled with shit)

1.4/5 Aliens of London / World War Three

7.5 The Angels Take amy lol

2.11 Fear Her

8.4 Listen, aka the first episode that Capaldi carries, despite Moffat being himself again

10.ii Twice Upon a Time (ugh we could’ve had a brilliant trilogy to see out Capaldi, but instead we get Moffat masturbating on live television for an hour. look, The Doctor could have had an actual character arc - they feel like they’re on borrowed time after their resurrection on Trenzalore, after the events on Gallifrey they feel like any sort of feelings of ‘duty’ as last of the time lords (as errant and fleeting as such feelings might’ve been) are resolved, and after failing their BIG MASSIVE SEASON 10 ARC with Missy and getting stabbed in the back, and BILL [redacted for spoilers], they’re happy to accept their death - and that’s where the season ends. yuletide 2017 could’ve ended this arc, they’re taught the love of the universe again, they see the goodness they bring to all life - Clara, i am a good man. and when they sit down to die, those words ‘maybe just one more go’ could’ve had the weight of the universe behind them, it could’ve been the greatest who line ever written, had that line actually had weight on its shoulders. Moffat is a hack. mystery-boxing is hacking, end of story. Capaldi, the finest actor ever in the role, was done dirty by scripts with no weight and planning. Grand Moff lives up his own arse - that power gives him the ability to write incredible episodes such as Heaven Sent and everything he ever touched under Davies - but it makes all series, arcs and continuity fall apart into a pile of shit. this episode is the finest example - a universe of potential, reduced to one hour of self-congratulatory masturbation)

6.9 Night Terrors

11.9 It Takes You Away (the one with the frog god)

7.10 Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

9.12 Heaven Sent Part II: Whoops

8.9 Flatline

7.3 A Town Called Widowmaker

4.iii Planet of the Dead

9.1/2 The Magician’s Apprentice / The Witch’s Familiar

6.12 Closing Time

3.7 42

13.i Eve of the Daleks (the aisling bea one)

8.3 Robot of Sherwood

9.5/6 Maisie Williams

6.13 The Wedding of River Song

5.3 Victory of the Daleks

8.11/12 Dark Water / Death in Heaven aka i’m sorry Gomez but not even you can carry this

3.6 The Lazarus Experiment

11.i Resolution (…of the Daleks)

10.2 Emoji Robots

8.2 Into the Dalek

10.5 Knock Knock. Who’s There? Yer mum

7.13 The Name of the Doctor aka the Biggest Waste of Richard E. Grant until Rise of Skywalker

7.2 Dinosaurs on a Plane

10.8/9 The Pyramid at the End of the World / The Lie of the Land

Doctor Who: The Movie!

11.6 Demons of the Punjab

7.1 Asylum of the Daleks

7.8 Cold War aka i’m starting to think Mark Gatiss might be a bad writer actually

3.4/5 Daleks in Manhattan / Evolution of the Daleks

11.5 P’ting

9.3/4 Under the Lake / Before the Flood aka the Biggest Waste of Peter Serafinowicz since the Clone Wars didn’t bring him back. also a deaf person falling in love with their interpreter is the most toxic thing ever. and it’s 90 more minutes of season 9 tedium ugh

2.10 Love and Monsters. yeah this high up

8.7 The anti-abortion episode. and it’s not just for that fact alone nonono, The Doctor is such an unbelievable unforgivable cunt this time. at least Clara calls them out in that brilliant final-ish scene BUT they’re still unforgivable AND they get forgiven anyway next week?? literally they take the way Clara’s character arc was going and throw it all in the bin

8.10 In The Forest of the Shite

11.7 Kerblam!

10.9 Empress of Mars aka i’m starting to think Mark Gatiss might be a bad writer actually

9.i Last Christmas aka remember how they reset Clara’s character arc after Mummy for literally no reason???? THEY FUCKING DID IT AGAIN!! she’s literally put in limbo for an ENTIRE SEASON, after they gave her TWO good offramps and apparently chickened the fuck out from using them?? and expected me to care when she (spoiler)? also the episode’s like really boring. bonus points for the absolutely perfect casting of Nick Frost tho, very nominative determinism

10.i is my hatred of Doctor Mysterio unwarranted? probably. but i still hate it

12.8 The Haunting of Villa Diodati, the most overrated episode fuck you. no it is not ‘the only good episode of season 12’ - it’s just as bad as the rest. The Doctor is unnecessarily unlikeable. the villain boy is nonsense, uninteresting and unlikeable. and worst of all - i don’t want to have violent sex with any of the people in this villa

12.4 Nikola Tesla’s Tower of Terror

11.8 The Witchfinders

9.9 Sleep No More aka i’m starting to think Mark Gatiss might be a bad writer actually

13.2 Flux Part 2: War of the Sontarans (oh yeah like they don’t do war normally, that’s like saying the fucking ,, toasting of the toaster or something)

7.i The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe (it’s only Chibnall from here on out let’s goo)

12.1/2 Spyfall. literally how the FUCK do you waste both Stephen Fry AND Lenny fucking Henry how the fuck. also The Doctor basically committed a nazism right

12.3 Orphan 55, the second most underrated episode - a lot of people say it’s Chibnall’s worst but i think there’s worse

12.i Revolution of the Daleks (the priti patel one)

11.2 The Ghost Monument

13.4 Flux Part 4: Village of the Angels

11.10 The Battle of Rashhcjxjshog s Kjalapados

12.7 Can You Hear Me? (that was the one with the finger guy. no i don’t mean jonathan banks)

11.4 Spiders in Sheffield

12.6 Praxeus

12.9/10 how did they let chibnall get away with it. isn’t there supposed to be oversight. aren’t there supposed to be safeguards. how did they let him get away with it

13.1 Flux Part 1: The Halloween Apocalypse

13.ii Legend of the Sea Devils

13.3 Flux Part 3: Once, Upon Time

13.iii The Power of the Doctor aka thank fuck, it’s finally over

10.5 Flux Part 5: Survivors of the Flux

10.6 Flux Part 6: Fuck You Chibnall

#196 #doctor who

8 notes · View notes

jensenackles-daily · 1 year

Video

youtube

Big Sky 3.11, Super Foxes, promo

#big sky #vids

33 notes · View notes

notasapleasure · 1 year

Text

Look i’m stressed out of my tiny mind because of house move, the dog won’t stop licking his leg and being an arsehole when you try to stop him from doing so, i’m mired in writing Doubt, my work inbox is full of passive aggression, please just let me be proud of this one thing

WATCHED 2023 Death in Paradise (Charlie Banks), 1 episode, BBC iPlayer 2022 Andor (Brasso), 6 episodes, Disney+ I Used to Be Famous (Big Dave), feature film, Netflix The Witchfinder (John Stearne), 2 episodes credited, but really just 1, BBC iPlayer 2021 Invasion (US General), 2 episodes (1.8, 1.9), Apple TV+ 2020 Avenue 5 (Joe Gibbs), 2 episodes (1.1, 1.2), HBO+/Sky 2019 Memory Man (Memory Man), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkjWko7sJLk&feature=youtu.be White Gold (Roland Setra), 2 episodes (2.5, 2.6), Netflix 2018 Nightflyers (Lommie's Father), 3 episodes (1.2, 1.5, 1.7), Netflix Head Full of Honey (Mickey), feature film, Apple TV+ Safe (Neil Chahal), 8 episodes credited, but it’s more like 6, he’s barely in the last two, Netflix Marcella (Nick), 1 episode (2.1), Netflix Vera (Naz Ahmed), 1 episode (8.1), ITVplayer 2017 Maigret (Oscar (as Chook Sibtain)) 1 episode (2.1) No Offence (Sgt Keith Pankani (as Chook Sibtain)), 3 (2?) episodes (2.2, 2.3), 4+ player Emerald City (Jeremiah (as Chook Sibtain)), 1 episode (1.4) 2016 New Blood (Ayjay Kapour (as Chook Sibtain)), 1 episode (1.6), Britbox (free trial) Houdini and Doyle (Dr. Chandra (as Chook Sibtain)), 1 episode (1.7), ITVplayer 2012 Ghost Recon: Alpha (Pepper (as Chook Sibtain)), Short/video game promo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-wAzlqzXH0 2012 Casualty (Stephen Leese (as Chook Sibtain)), 1 episode (26.17), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVfvj1v0lk8 (full episode) 2011 Hustle (Danush Larijani (as Chook Sibtain), 1 episode (7.4), BBC iPlayer 2009 We Make Music Short film, Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wfpGohoz_s Doctor Who (Tarak Ital (as Chook Sibtain), The Waters of Mars, BBC iPlayer Robin Hood (Isabella's Guard (as Chook Sibtain)), 1 episode (3.11), currently available on BBC iPlayer 2008 Doctors (Matt Brown (as Chook Sibtain)), 8 episodes (10.8, 10.9, 10.12, 10.14, 10.16, 10.17, 10.18, 10.19), YouTube 2007 The Sarah Jane Adventures (Mark Grantham (as Chook Sibtain)), 2 episodes (1.5, 1.6), BBC iPlayer 2006 The Bill (Chris Dalton (as Chook Sibtain)), 1 episode (22.36), UKTV player 2005 Where the Heart Is (Gary (as Chook Sibtain)), 1 episode (9.5), UKTV player Footballers' Wives (Surjit (as Chook Sibtain)), 1 episodes (4.5), ITV player 2003 Grease Monkeys (Deep (as Chook Sibtain)), 1 episode (1.10), Prime TV 2002 Bad Girls (Naj Khan Din (as Chook Sibtain)), 1 episode (4.16), UKTV player 2000/2001 EastEnders (Jack (as Chook Sibtain)), 10 episodes, August – October 2000 and a couple in February 2001, some on youtube, some on UKTV player 22 Aug, 24 Aug, 4 Sep, 21 Sep, 26 Sep, 5 Oct, 10 Oct, 16 Oct ; 2001: 19 Feb, 19 Mar

CURRENTLY WATCHING 2018 Hard Sun (DS Herbie Sarafian) 6/6 episodes, hulu/Sky – no longer available on iPlayer, paid for on Amazon

SOURCED, YET TO WATCH 2020 National Theatre Live: Dara (Itbar) Via subscription on NTL 2015 National Theatre Live: The Beaux' Stratagem (Gibbet (as Chook Sibtain)) Via subscription on NTL 2013 National Theatre Live: Othello (Montano (as Chook Sibtain)) Via subscription on NTL 2000 The Stretch (Richard Asher (as Chook Sibtain)) TV movie, Sky

I CONTACTED THE PRODUCTION COMPANY OK WHAT ELSE DO I DO? 2016 Arman (Sevan (as Chook Sibtain)) 2012 Naachle London (Galpreet (as Chook Sibtain)) trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftwUGemp6Jw 2009 The Unforgettable (as Chook Sibtain) The songs are everywhere, but the film? Three trailers here, not sure he’s actually in any of them: https://vimeo.com/channels/theunforgettable

I HAVEN’T FOUND IT YET 2006 Holby City (Eddie McGuire (as Chook Sibtain)) 2 episodes (9.5, 9.6), not available anywhere obvious – clip on Joplin’s YouTube showreel 2005 Doctors (Bryan Hennessey (as Chook Sibtain)), 1 episode (The Two of Us, 7.134) 2002 Doctors (Gary (as Chook Sibtain)), 1 episode (Into the Shadows, 4.38) 2000 EastEnders (Jack (as Chook Sibtain)), 5 episodes, August – October 2000 17 Aug, 21 Aug, 5 Sep, 2 Oct, 9 Oct 1997 In the Customer’s Shoes (new version) sometimes it’s better when you can’t find something - Melrose Learning Resources https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b813d8b41 1996 Beck (Charlie (as Chook Sibtain) 1/6 episodes (1.4), tough to track down, never released on DVD

#adventures in joplin sibtain's imdb page #staving off the existential dread with a nice little project :))#so stoked i found the stretch now as well!!

9 notes · View notes

let-me-be-your-home · 5 months

Text

#big sky #beau arlen #jensen ackles #My Gifs #beau arlen edit #beau arlen gifs #jensen ackles edit #jensen ackles gifs #big sky edit #big sky gifs #big sky 3x11 #big sky 3.11 #big sky s3e11 #big sky season 3 episode 11 #super foxes #jensen ackles as beau arlen

167 notes · View notes

beaujensen · 1 year

Photo

#Beau Arlen #beauarlenedit #Big Sky #bigskyedit #Jensen Ackles #jensenedit #big sky 3.11 #1k

1K notes · View notes

beautyofdeanwinchester · 1 year

Text

Beau Arlen | Big Sky 3.11

#beau arlen #big sky #jensen ackles

17 notes · View notes

pez-wolf · 4 years

Text

Doctor Who Watch Time for Important Episodes

1.1 Rose (45min)

1.2 The End of the World (45 min)

1.4 Aliens of London (45min)

1.5 World War Three (45min)

1.6 Dalek (45 min)

1.7 The Long Game (45 min)

1.8 Fathers Day (45 min)

1.9 The Empty Child (45 min)

1.10 The Doctor Dances (45 min)

1.11 BoomTown (45 min)

1.12 Badwolf (45 min)

1.13 Parting of Ways (45 min)

2.0 The Christmas Invasion (60 min)

2.1 New Earth (45 min)

2.2 Tooth and Claw (45 min)

2.4 Girl in the Fireplace (45 min)

2.5 Rise of the Cyberman (45 min)

2.6 The Age of Steel (45 min)

2.12 Army of Ghosts (45 min)

2.13 Doomsday (45 min)

3.0 The Runaway Bride (60 min)

3.1 Smith and Jones (45 min)

3.3 Gridlock (45 min)

3.4 Daleks in Manhattan (45 min)

3.5 Evolution of the Daleks (45 min)

3.8 Human Nature (45 min)

3.9 The Family of the Blood (45 min)

3.10 Blink (45 min)

3.11 Utopia (45 min)

3.12 The Sound of Drums (45 min)

3.13 Last of the Time Lords (50 min)

4.0 Voyage of Damned (71 min)

4.1 Partners in Crime (48 min)

4.2 The Fires of Pompeii (45 min)

4.3 Planet of the Ood (48 min)

4.4 The Sontaran Stratagem (45 min)

4.5 The Poison Sky (45 min)

4.8 Silence in the Library (43 min)

4.9 Forest of the Dead (45 min)

4.11 Turn Left (49 min)

4.12 The Stolen Earth (45 min)

4.13 Journeys End (63 min)

S.1 The Next Doctor (60 min)

S.3 The Waters of Mars (62 min)

S.4 The End of Time Part One (60 min)

S.5 The End of Time Part Two (75 min)

5.1 The Eleventh Hour (65 min)

5.2 The Beast Below (42 min)

5.3 The Victory of the Daleks (42 min)

5.4 The Time of Angels (42 min)

5.5 Flesh and Stone (43 min)

5.6 The Vampires of Venice (49 min)

5.8 The Hungry Earth (44 min)

5.9 Cold Blood (46 min)

5.10 Vincent and the Doctor (47 min)

5.11 The Lodger (43 min)

5.12 The Pandorica Opens (49 min)

5.13 The Big Bang (54 min)

6.0 A Christmas Carol (62 min)

6.1 The Impossible Astronaut (44 min)

6.2 Day of the Moon (47 min)

6.3 Curse of the Black Spot (46 min)

6.4 The Doctors Wife (47 min)

6.5 The Rebel Flesh (43 min)

6.6 The Almost People (46 min)

6.7 A Good Man Goes to War (49 min)

6.8 Let's Kill Hitler (49 min)

6.9 Night Terrors (43 min)

6.12 Closing Time (46 min)

6.13 The Wedding of River Song (46 min)

7.0A The Doctor, The Window, and Wardrobe (59 min)

7.1 Asylum of the Daleks (49 min)

7.4 The Power of Three (41 min)

7.5 Angles Take Manhattan (44 min)

7.0B The Snowmen (60 min)

7.6 The Bells of Saint John (45 min)

7.7 Rings of Akhaten (46 min)

7.10 Journey to the Center of the TARDIS (47 min)

7.11 The Crimson Horror (47 min)

7.12 Nightmare in Silver (47 min)

7.13 The Name of the Doctor (44 min)

S.6 The Day of the Doctor (77 min)

S.7 Time of the Doctor (61 min)

8.1 Deep Breath (76 min)

8.2 Into a Dalek (47 min)

8.4 Listen (47 min)

8.5 Time Heist (45 min)

8.6 The Caretaker (45 min)

8.9 Flatline (43 min)

8.11 Dark Water (47 min)

8.12 Death in Heaven (57 min)

9.0 Last Christmas (61 min)

9.1 The Magicians Apprentice (49 min)

9.2 The Witches Familiar (50 min)

9.5 The Girl Who Died (48 min)

9.6 The Woman Who Lived (45 min)

9.10 Face the Raven (46 min)

9.11 Heaven Sent (55 min)

9.12 Hell Bent (60 min)

S.8 The Husbands of River Song (56 min)

10.0 The Return of Doctor Mysterio (61 min)

10.1 The Pilot (49 min)

10.5 Oxygen (44 min)

10.6 Extremis (48 min)

10.7 The Pyramid at the End of the World (46 min)

10.8 Lie of the Land (44 min)

10.11 World Enough and Time (45 min)

10.12 The Doctor Falls (60 min)

S.9 Twice Upon a Time (60 min)

11.1 The Woman Who Fall to Earth (60 min)

11.2 The Ghost Monument (48 min)

11.10 The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos (50 min)

12.0 Resolution (60 min)

12.1 Spyfall Pt 1 (60 min)

12.2 Spyfall Pt 2 (61 min)

12.5 Fugitive of the Judoon (49 min)

12.8 The Haunting of Villa Diodati (49 min)

12.9 Ascension of the Cybermen (49 min)

12.10 The Timeless Children (66 min)

Total Watch Time:

10,199 minutes

169.983333 Hours

7.08263889 Days

75 notes · View notes

justjensenanddean · 3 months

Text

Jensen Ackles as Beau Arlen BIG SKY: Deadly Trails (2023) | 3.11 – “Super Foxes”

#Jensen Ackles #JensEnedit #JensenAcklesEdit #Beau Arlen #BeauArlenEdit #Big Sky #Big Sky: Deadly Trials #Big Sky 3x11 #Super Foxes #My Edits

422 notes · View notes

yuzusorbet · 5 years

Photo

Sendai Holiday 2019, Part 5: An Unexpected Journey

A fan told me about the special edition Yuzuru Hanyu subway card that came with 3 postcards and I quickly went to the Sendai subway station office to buy it. The beautiful subway card was a one-day pass, unlimited rides. Many fans used it to to get to International Centre Station where Yuzu’s Olympic Monuments are, and also to Izumi Chuo Station which is near Ice Rink Sendai, but I had already gone to these places before I knew about this special pass. Well, I could always just keep it without using it but, somehow, I felt I had to make good use of this pass that has Yuzu’s SEIMEI silhouette on it.

There is a 3.11 Memorial Community Centre located in Arai Station 荒井 at the end of the Tozai subway line 東西線. The name popped up when I was searching online about Sendai travel. I have never heard of this place before but since I could use my Yuzu subway pass and learn more about 3.11, I thought it was perfect. Arai Station is just 6 stops away from Sendai Station. (3.11 refers to the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami, also known as the Tohoku earthquake, of 11 March 2011.)

I arrived at Arai Station and there was a big sign pointing to the 3.11 centre. It was within the station itself, at one end.

‘This post-earthquake restoration memorial facility opened in February 2016. As a gateway to the eastern coastal area, which suffered tremendous damage from the tsunami, this memorial community center conveys the history of the region, the memory of the disaster, and wisdom and lessons derived from it to the world and to future generations.’ (credit)

On the first floor, there is a big 3D map that shows the extent of the coastal area ravaged by the tsunami.

On the 2nd floor, there are photos of the affected areas, in a timeline from the Showa period til present day, showing the devastation of March 2011 and restoration efforts.

The captions are all in Japanese but there are booklets that give the translation in English, Chinese, Korean and Thai. You can hold the booklet and read the translated caption for each picture as you move along the wall.

There was one photo that struck me in particular. People on the rooftop of Arahama Elementary School, with the black waters of the tsunami below. They were students, staff and nearby residents who had fled there. All were rescued by helicopter later. Many thoughts ran through my mind. How terrifying it must have been to watch the sea swallow up all that you live on. And what about their family members who were not with them...... how many families could be reunited? The young elementary school students, did they recover from the trauma? How are they doing now.....

One of the staff told me that this school has been preserved as a museum and memorial of the disaster. It has been open to public since April 2017. He suggested that I take the short bus ride to the school and go into the building to have a look. Oh my...... I was not prepared for that at all. Do I really want to see the actual traces of devastation and tragedy?? It is too sad..... After a bit of hesitation, I went outside the station and boarded the bus that goes to the school near the coast. It was a regular bus that has a few stops along way and the ride cost 240 yen. Part of the route was rather scenic with rice paddy fields.

The last stop was at the school. The building looked like a normal school from afar. A banner along the 3rd floor says ありがとう荒浜小学校 (Thank you, Arahama Elementary School). It was put up by students in 2016.

There is some information in English on the board at the front.

The white sign at the 2nd floor shows the height of the tsunami that day. The first level was totally submerged. (pic below)

On the 1st and 2nd floors, we can see the damage, and pictures show the aftermath, before the debris was cleared. All sorts of things were pushed into the classrooms by the force of the tsunami. A teacher’s car which was parked outside was found crushed with the debris in one of the rooms.

On the 4th floor is a room with a timeline of events on that day, from the earthquake to the tsunami and after.

The clock that was in the 1st floor gymnasium stopped at the time that the tsunami struck.

There was also a video in the room, with the principal and other staff of the school commenting on that day, with English subtitles.....

“I grabbed the key for the rooftop and told everyone in all of the rooms to leave everything and go up to the rooftop right away.”

“It turned into a mountain, something like black mountain, it was sea water, it came and..... crash, it kept coming forward.”

“There was nothing left of the Arahama area. It was a view of the bottom of the sea and all we could do was watch from the rooftop as the town was swept away.”

I cried as I watched the video. My heart that was getting heavier and heavier could not hold it back anymore.

From the 4th floor, I went up to the rooftop. So this was where the survivors were standing. I could see the sea on one side....

and all around, rebuilding is going on. New roads are being made, with bulldozers and excavators here and there. It was too painful to think that this was actually a town filled with people and homes.

I remember the wind was very strong on the rooftop and the sky was overcast, so it was very cold even though it was in the warm month of May. After taking some photos, I made my way back down.

The 3rd floor is closed but there is a very touching piece of writing by a teacher of the school, with English translation included. Please read it from my photo below (4th pic).

The teacher’s reflections were full of sadness but also very uplifting. “Kindness and gratitude in these hard times.” So touching. I hope to remember these words.

In front of the building is a ‘Closing of School’ monument, with the words of the school song on the transparent blue panel. The school has been here a long time. It was established in 1873 (Meiji year 6) and built on the current site in 1912 (Taisho year 1).

As I was leaving, groups of students came in large buses. Each group had a guide talking to them outside first, then taking them around. The school continues its purpose of educating and building up the nation.

Goodbye and thank you, Arahama Elementary School. I said a silent prayer as I left on the bus. The serenity of the rice fields comforted my heart.

For more info and photos of the school, here is a news article: The school that saved 320 people

Note: I spent about an hour here but one hour is not enough to finish looking at everything in the school. Two hours would be good. There are guide booklets in a few languages near the entrance of the school. Check also the bus schedule. It only runs once an hour.

Much thanks to the staff at 3.11 Memorial Community Centre for their help.

Back home, I searched and read up more....

In addition to physical reconstruction, emotional and social support remain an important focus for rebuilding. “Up in Tohoku, a common term widely used to describe the emotional difficulty in what recovery really means after the disaster is kokoro no byōki (illness of the heart). From continuing financial worries, divorces, depression, disconnected families to elderly survivors losing connection or meaning, there are ongoing situations of survivors falling through the cracks. [....] Volunteers provide an invaluable message of encouragement, crucial to the long-term emotional recovery of survivors. [...] Their return and interest in the community reinforces the message that others believe the rebuilding is worthwhile — and that they are worthwhile.” (credit: Japan Times, link below)

I immediately thought of Yuzu. Besides donating all his Olympic prize money for rebuilding, he goes back again and again to visit communities in the affected areas and to do ice shows for them. His visits tell the survivors that they are worthwhile, that they are not forgotten. How many lives has he saved in this way! God bless all volunteers for their kindness and generosity.

Thanks to Yuzu’s subway pass..... It led me on an unexpected journey to learn more about something very close to his heart and I am inspired again to do more. Below are some useful sites that I found:

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2019/03/10/issues/new-approach-volunteering-tohoku/#.XUVS5lCLmCR

https://www.japansociety.org/page/earthquake

https://www.tohoku.ac.jp/en/news/campus_community/news20181128scrum.html

Even though I only took 2 rides with the subway pass (going to Arai Station and back), I think I have made very good use of it.

(All photos are taken by me; please do not use or re-post my photos without asking me first. Thanks.)

#arahama elementary school #3.11 #sendai holiday #Yuzuru Hanyu #sendai

115 notes · View notes