What gives you hope?

Kyoko | Whāingaroa

Kyoko and her family fled Japan after the devastating 2011 Fukushima earthquake and nuclear disaster, eventually building a new life in the small, supportive community of Whāingaroa/Raglan.

“We had a big earthquake [Fukushima, 2011] and all the family were together, and we thought, this is too hard for us to sleep on the day. It was shaking all the time, and the shake was so big – it was like a movie. We were so scared. We just packed one bag, including our dog. We took the dog and a few cars and we started driving to the south.

On the way to the south, the radio said the nuclear plant was exploding. We searched Google to figure out which country we should go to. We didn’t really have money and we didn’t have any connections in other places. But New Zealand came up as nuclear-free, and you could apply for permanent residency quite easily.

We arrived into Wellington Airport and after a few days, the first place we drove to was Raglan. My dad was the driver and we didn’t know where to go, but he definitely wanted to surf. We came here and we really liked this place, but we had to go to Auckland to get everything else sorted first.

So me and dad went to cooking school for one year and we became chefs. My dad was a dentist in Japan and had never cooked before, but he became a chef.

After one year, we got a job. Then he came to Raglan straight away and tried to find a job here. The sushi shop next door hired my dad, and he started working as a sushi chef.

I was working in Auckland, but all my family kept visiting my dad. We found that Raglan was a really nice place. We really wanted to live here in the future, but we never planned it.

After I got permanent residency, I saw a little space next to the sushi shop was for rent. My partner was pushing me, saying, “You should do the shop.”

I love drawing, and I’d never really done jobs with my artwork, but my family pushed me. I decided to rent the space. That’s how I moved down here. That was eight years ago. Then I started selling my artwork and making some printed t-shirts.

My parents were over-aged to apply for permanent residency. They applied twice but got declined both times. There were no other options. Then we met this really nice immigration adviser from Raglan, and she was really helpful. She told us to do these petitions, and all the people signed for us. We just shared the story, and we did it here. All the locals were so nice and supportive.

We got so many petitions for my parents, and that’s how they got permanent residency. My family fits really well in this little town. I think especially because my family surfs as well. What we are doing here – artwork and the restaurant – people really like us and support us so much. We’re so grateful. People are so warm and helpful. We feel like this is more like home for us.”