Visit to Suzu City, Noto

TDA (Town Design Aid) organised a fact-finding visit to Suzu City, Noto, as part of a reconstruction support tour following the Noto Peninsula Earthquake that occurred on 1 January 2024 (organised by Yanaï and Chikada), with 15 participants. Mr Yana, who was involved in organising the event, is a TDA member and a staff member of the Reconstruction and Town Development Promotion Office within the Environment and Construction Division of Suzu City, seconded from Saitama City.
The group arrived in Kanazawa City the previous day and departed from in front of Kanazawa Station at 7:30 am on the day of the tour in a chartered minibus. They inspected the area around the Wajima Morning Market, where buildings that had collapsed in the earthquake had been cleared away and new structures were gradually being built. Passing through the Senmaida and Nafune Fishing Port districts, we drove along a road in the Sotoura district where large rocks were exposed on ground that had risen from the seabed, vividly experiencing the global-scale geological shifts caused by the earthquake. In Suzu City, after receiving an explanation from a specialist guide from the ‘Reboot Suzu’ reconstruction support initiative regarding the impact of the disaster and the reconstruction process, the delegation inspected Mitsuke Island, Hōryu Town and temporary housing. We then visited Suzu City Hall for a meeting with Deputy Mayor Naoyuki Kaneda. The Deputy Mayor’s remarks regarding Suzu City’s unique approach to infrastructure reconstruction—that they ‘aim for reconstruction rather than mere restoration’—left a strong impression.Having conveyed our hope that, as a group of experts, we could be of some assistance to Suzu City, we set off on our return journey and disbanded at Kanazawa Station at 7.00 pm.