JR Hachinohe Line partially resumes service

JR Hachinohe Line partially resumes service

The first train departs JR Kuji Station in Kuji in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Dec. 22, 2025, as the JR Hachinohe Line partially resumes service following its suspension after a powerful earthquake hit the region on Dec. 8.

JR Hachinohe Line partially resumes service

JR Hachinohe Line partially resumes service

A man boards a JR Hachinohe Line train at Kuji Station in Kuji in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Dec. 22, 2025, as the railway partially resumes service following its suspension after a powerful earthquake hit the region on Dec. 8.

Japan: Water Overflows From Fish Tank During Powerful M7.5 Earthquake

A powerful Magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the east coast of Aomori Prefecture, northeast Japan around 11:15 p.m. on Monday, December 8, injuring dozens of people and leading to immediate tsunami warnings and evacuation orders for residents. A 70 cm tsunami was observed at Kuji Port in Iwate Prefecture around 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday, and all warnings were subsequently lifted.

Japan: M7.5 Quake Hits Off Aomori Prefecture, Tsunami Warning Issued 7

A powerful Magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the east coast of Aomori Prefecture around 11:15 p.m. on Monday, December 8, injuring dozens of people and leading to immediate tsunami warnings and evacuation orders for residents. A 70 cm tsunami was observed at Kuji Port in Iwate Prefecture around 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday, and all warnings were subsequently lifted.

Japan: M7.5 Quake Hits Off Aomori Prefecture, Tsunami Warning Issued 8

A powerful Magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the east coast of Aomori Prefecture around 11:15 p.m. on Monday, December 8, injuring dozens of people and leading to immediate tsunami warnings and evacuation orders for residents. A 70 cm tsunami was observed at Kuji Port in Iwate Prefecture around 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday, and all warnings were subsequently lifted.

Japan: M7.5 Quake Hits Off Aomori Prefecture, Tsunami Warning Issued 6

A powerful Magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the east coast of Aomori Prefecture around 11:15 p.m. on Monday, December 8, injuring dozens of people and leading to immediate tsunami warnings and evacuation orders for residents. A 70 cm tsunami was observed at Kuji Port in Iwate Prefecture around 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday, and all warnings were subsequently lifted.

Japan: M7.5 Quake Hits Off Aomori Prefecture, Tsunami Warning Issued 4

A powerful Magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the east coast of Aomori Prefecture around 11:15 p.m. on Monday, December 8, injuring dozens of people and leading to immediate tsunami warnings and evacuation orders for residents. A 70 cm tsunami was observed at Kuji Port in Iwate Prefecture around 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday, and all warnings were subsequently lifted.

Japan: M7.5 Quake Hits Off Aomori Prefecture, Tsunami Warning Issued 5

A powerful Magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the east coast of Aomori Prefecture around 11:15 p.m. on Monday, December 8, injuring dozens of people and leading to immediate tsunami warnings and evacuation orders for residents. A 70 cm tsunami was observed at Kuji Port in Iwate Prefecture around 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday, and all warnings were subsequently lifted.

Japan: M7.5 Quake Hits Off Aomori Prefecture, Tsunami Warning Issued 3

A powerful Magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the east coast of Aomori Prefecture around 11:15 p.m. on Monday, December 8, injuring dozens of people and leading to immediate tsunami warnings and evacuation orders for residents. A 70 cm tsunami was observed at Kuji Port in Iwate Prefecture around 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday, and all warnings were subsequently lifted. This video shows the damage in Hachinohe city, where water pipes burst, possibly due to the earthquake, flooding the area.

Japan: M7.5 Quake Hits Off Aomori Prefecture, Tsunami Warning Issued 2

A powerful Magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the east coast of Aomori Prefecture around 11:15 p.m. on Monday, December 8, injuring more than 20 people and leading to immediate tsunami warnings and evacuation orders for residents. A 70 cm tsunami was observed at Kuji Port in Iwate Prefecture around 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday, and all warnings were subsequently lifted.

Plastic whale sculpture in London

Plastic whale sculpture in London

A basket labeled "Sudo-maru Kuji Port" in Japanese is seen on a giant whale sculpture made from marine plastic waste in London on April 17, 2025. The 11-meter-long sculpture, created to raise awareness of marine pollution, has caused a stir in Japan as it contains what appears to be debris from the massive tsunami triggered by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Kuji was one of the Japanese cities hardest hit by the tsunami.

Baseball: MLB Tokyo Series

Baseball: MLB Tokyo Series

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (front, L), Hanshin Tigers manager Kuji Fujikawa (front, R) and players from both teams pose for a photo after an exhibition game at Tokyo Dome on March 16, 2025, ahead of Major League Baseball's season-opening Tokyo Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Dodgers on March 18 and 19.

Japan: Typhoon Maria Makes Landfall, Brings Heavy Rainfall To Iwate 2

Typhoon Maria made landfall near Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Monday morning, August 12, bringing torrential rainfall. The rain collapsed roads, flooded houses, and swelled rivers. An evacuation order was issued for Kuji City and several other municipalities.

Japan: Typhoon Maria Makes Landfall, Brings Heavy Rainfall To Iwate

Typhoon Maria made landfall near Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan Monday morning, August 12 bringing torrential rainfall. The rain collapsed roads, flooded houses, and swelled rivers. An evacuation order was issued for Kuji City and several other municipalities.

Train with interior resembling old folk house

Train with interior resembling old folk house

MORIOKA, Japan - Sanriku Railway Co. shows on March 25, 2014, its new train called "Sanriku Hamakaze," which has an interior designed to resemble an old folk house, in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture. The train will be used starting April 6 when all of the railway's lines will be back in operation after services were partially suspended following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.

Interior of train resembling old folk house

Interior of train resembling old folk house

MORIOKA, Japan - Sanriku Railway Co. shows on March 25, 2014, the interior of its new train called "Sanriku Hamakaze," which is designed to resemble an old folk house, in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture. The train will enter service on April 6 when all of the railway's lines will be back in operation after services were partially suspended following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.

Model for "Amachan" grandma

Model for "Amachan" grandma

MORIOKA, Japan - Photo taken Oct. 8, 2013 shows Kunie Kudo holding a sea urchin boxed lunch at the Sanriku Rias-Tei restaurant on the premises of Sanriku Railway Kuji Station in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture. Kudo is said to be one of the models for Natsu Amano, the charismatic grandmother of the main character Aki Amano in the NHK drama titled "Amachan."

Fossil of carnivorous dinosaur found in Japan

Fossil of carnivorous dinosaur found in Japan

KUJI, Japan - Photo taken in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture on March 29, 2013, shows a fossil found in the city in May 2012 which has since been confirmed as a toe bone of a Coelurosauria, a carnivorous dinosaur living in the latter part of the Cretaceous period around 85 million years ago.

Fossil of carnivorous dinosaur found in Japan

Fossil of carnivorous dinosaur found in Japan

KUJI, Japan - Photo taken in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture on March 29, 2013, shows Takato Sasaki, a 13-year-old junior high school student from neighboring Aomori Prefecture. A fossil found in Kuji in May 2012 by Sasaki has been confirmed as a toe bone of a Coelurosauria, a carnivorous dinosaur living in the latter part of the Cretaceous period around 85 million years ago, a researcher said the same day.

Fossil of carnivorous dinosaur found in Japan

Fossil of carnivorous dinosaur found in Japan

KUJI, Japan - Takato Sasaki, a 13-year-old junior high school student from Aomori Prefecture, holds a fossil in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture on March 29, 2013. The fossil found in Kuji in May 2012 by Sasaki has been confirmed as a toe bone of a Coelurosauria, a carnivorous dinosaur living in the latter part of the Cretaceous period around 85 million years ago, a researcher said the same day.

Efforts to prevent suicides being made in northern Japan

Efforts to prevent suicides being made in northern Japan

TOKYO, Japan - A training seminar for mental nursing was held in the city of Kuji, Iwate Prefecture, in June.

Japan's Pacific coast hit by tsunami

Japan's Pacific coast hit by tsunami

Workers bring food and other supplies to those gathering at a welfare center, which became an evacuation site, in Kuji in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, after a tsunami warning was issued early on Jan. 16, 2022.

Japan's Pacific coast hit by tsunami

Japan's Pacific coast hit by tsunami

People gather at a welfare center, which became an evacuation site, in Kuji in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, after a tsunami warning was issued early on Jan. 16, 2022.

(2)File photos of Princess Sayako's fianc Kuroda

(2)File photos of Princess Sayako's fianc Kuroda

TOKYO, Japan - Yoshiki Kuroda (L) poses for photos with Gakushuin University friends in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture, in July 1984. (Kyodo)

Iwate aquarium destroyed in 2011 tsunami reopens after 5 years

Iwate aquarium destroyed in 2011 tsunami reopens after 5 years

An aquarium destroyed by the earthquake-triggered tsunami of March 2011 reopens for the first time since the disaster in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture on April 23, 2016. The city government hopes the Moguranpia aquarium will serve as a symbol of the coastal city's reconstruction and draw tourists from around the country. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Kosode coast in northeastern Japan

Kosode coast in northeastern Japan

File photo taken Oct. 4, 1970, shows the Kosode coast in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japanese brewery tries AI-assisted sake making

Japanese brewery tries AI-assisted sake making

Photo taken April 6, 2018, shows Kosuke Kuji, president of Nanbu Bijin Co., an award-winning sake brewery in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Iwate. He is hoping to use artificial intelligence to assist skilled workers in sake production. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japanese brewery tries AI-assisted sake making

Japanese brewery tries AI-assisted sake making

Photo taken April 6, 2018, shows Kosuke Kuji, president of Nanbu Bijin Co., an award-winning sake brewery in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Iwate. He is hoping to use artificial intelligence to assist skilled workers in sake production. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Iwate-brewed sake wins top prize at London contest

Iwate-brewed sake wins top prize at London contest

Kosuke Kuji (R), president of the Nanbu Bijin brewery in Iwate Prefecture, holds the trophy for the International Wine Challenge Champion Sake award at one of the world's largest wine contests in London on July 6, 2017. Kuji's wife Rika can be seen beside him. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Iwate-brewed sake wins top prize at London contest

Iwate-brewed sake wins top prize at London contest

(From L) Hitoshi Suzuki, president of the Ichinokura brewery in Miyagi Prefecture, Kosuke Kuji, president of the Nanbu Bijin brewery in Iwate Prefecture, and his wife Rika, hold trophies in London on July 6, 2017, after winning awards at one of the world's largest wine contests. The Nanbu Bijin brewery won the International Wine Challenge Champion Sake award, while the Ichinokura brewery obtained the Sake Brewer of the Year and the Great Value Champion Sake awards. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Northeastern Japan city after powerful typhoon

Northeastern Japan city after powerful typhoon

The mangled remains of a house are seen in Kuji in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Iwate on Aug. 31, 2016, following strong winds and heavy rain brought by Typhoon Lionrock. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

10 dead, 3 missing in northern Japan after typhoon

10 dead, 3 missing in northern Japan after typhoon

Photo taken from a Kyodo News airplane on Aug. 31, 2016, shows an inundated area in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Japan, following flooding triggered by heavy rains brought by Typhoon Lionrock. Iwate was one of the hardest-hit areas in the devastating March 2011 tsunami. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

10 dead, 3 missing in northern Japan after typhoon

10 dead, 3 missing in northern Japan after typhoon

Photo taken from a Kyodo News airplane on Aug. 31, 2016, shows an inundated area in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Japan, following flooding triggered by heavy rains brought by Typhoon Lionrock. Iwate was one of the hardest-hit areas in the devastating March 2011 tsunami. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo