In the MIkawa neighborhood of Omuta, Fukuoka, the udon restaurant Donbeian was among the many victims of the large-scale flooding to strike Kyushu. Despite there being little chance the restaurant will be able to reopen in the foreseeable future, the entire local Omuta H.S. boys' ekiden team turned up on July 10 to help clean it out as a gesture of support for owner and Omuta H.S. alumnus Hirofumi Esaki , 66. Even as the rains continued to fall Esaki said, "Thanks to the kids I can at least see a way forward now. Donbeian will definitely be back." Floodwaters overcame the restaurant midday on July 6, rapidly rising to waist-deep level. Tables and seats from the customer area were strewn everywhere, with cooking utensils and bowls floating in the muddy waters. "I was in the second-floor office," recalled Esaki. "It was all I could do to get the heavy noodle-stretching machine away from the water and up to a higher place." By July 8 the floodwaters...
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