“Nothing compares to being there,” she said.

The survivors still living there told the group that every building, every house is considered temporary.

The earthquake before the tsunami caused the ground to drop nearly 20 feet in towns such as Minamisanriku.

Townsfolk told the group the government is planning to come in and fill the entire valley to raise it back up to where it was. Next, comes a new wall. Only then can survivors begin in earnest to rebuild.