"Hello, How Are You? I Miss You"... A Call to a Son Who Went Missing at Sea Four Years Ago

"Phone of the Sea" Opens on a Beach in Hokkaido, Japan
20 Dead, 6 Still Missing in Sightseeing Boat Sinking Four Years Ago
"We hope it will be a safe place for bereaved families to express what's in their hearts"

A booth where people can call family members who went missing at sea four years ago has opened on a beach in Hokkaido, Japan.

On November 2, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing Japan's Asahi Shimbun and Kushiro Shimbun, that the “Phone of the Sea” opened on November 1 on a beach in Rausu, Hokkaido, facing the Shiretoko Peninsula.

Four years after the sightseeing boat disaster... A phone booth built by a fisherman who continued the search

A booth where people can call family members who went missing at sea four years ago has been set up on a beach in Hokkaido, Japan, local media outlet Kushiro Shimbun reported.

The phone booth was built in memory of the victims of the “Shiretoko sightseeing boat sinking,” which occurred on April 23, 2022. At the time, the sightseeing boat Kazu I, which was circling the Shiretoko Peninsula, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site, sank in severe weather with 26 passengers and crew aboard. Twenty people died, and six remain missing.

The project was led by Kenji Sakurai, a 63-year-old fisherman in Rausu, and A, a 54-year-old relative of a victim. Sakurai continued to search for the missing as a volunteer after the accident, while A has yet to find A's former wife and son, who was 7 at the time of the accident. Since April, the two have spent more than six months building the booth with about 20 local fishermen and others. “Four years have passed since the accident, but no memorial monument has been built, and there are no signs that one will be. I thought something was needed,” Sakurai said.

Named “Station of Thoughts,” the booth is about 2 meters tall, and its interior is painted to evoke the sky. Inside are a black rotary telephone and a notebook where visitors can write down their thoughts. A message on the wall reads, “May your feelings ride the waves from here and reach someone dear to you...” Wooden rails were laid beside the booth, facing the sea. They were made for A's son, who loved trains, and are said to carry the hope that his words will reach the sky.

Inspired by the “Phone of the Wind”... “We hope people can say what they never got the chance to say”

A beach in Hokkaido, Japan, for illustrative purposes. AFP-Yonhap News

On November 1, the day the booth opened, A picked up the receiver and said, “Hello, how are you? I miss you.” A then asked, “You haven't been found because you don't want me to be sad, have you?” A said, “The sadness doesn't go away, but when I come here, I can quietly think of the two of them and send them my feelings. I hope not only the families of those who lost loved ones in the accident, but also their friends and acquaintances, will feel comfortable stopping by and saying over the phone what they never got to say.”

“It's hard to speak out loud. It's hard even in your own room. I'm glad there's now a place where you can do that,” Sakurai said. “Those left behind are doing everything they can to keep going. I hope this will be a safe place where bereaved family members can express what's in their hearts.”

The “Phone of the Sea” was inspired by the “Phone of the Wind” in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture. The “Phone of the Wind” was installed in the garden of his home in 2011 by garden designer Itaru Sasaki, who wanted to speak again with his late cousin. After the Great East Japan Earthquake, people who had lost family members began visiting, and the number of visitors exceeded 30,000. In 2020, it was also made into a film starring Hidetoshi Nishijima and others.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.