In Yatsushiro City, a home improvement store has continued operating since immediately after the Kumamoto earthquake, serving as a vital lifeline for local residents.

A visit to the store one month after the disaster revealed a shift in the types of items residents were buying. With water supply still disrupted and residents enduring immense hardship, the items they were purchasing revealed their current situation, reflecting their hope for recovery.

Some were searching for 30-meter-long hoses, others needed brooms instead of vacuum cleaners. What were their reasons? Our investigative team spent 100 hours closely following the home improvement store one month after the earthquake.

■100 Hours of Close Coverage: What Needs Reveals the Present

One month after the Kumamoto earthquake, a home improvement store in Yatsushiro City, which had continued operating since immediately after the disaster, had become a vital lifeline for residents to regain their daily lives.

Man:
"Cracks (in the house). Adhesive and waterproofing."
Man:
"The gas stove fell and broke."

We spent 100 hours closely observing a home improvement store. The items residents were buying revealed their hopes for recovery.

Even inside the store, with the ceiling having collapsed and repairs underway, everyone—customers and employees—was wearing helmets for safety reasons while the store operated.

In the building supplies section, this man picked up...

Resident of Yatsushiro City (60s):
"Adhesive to repair a table damaged in the earthquake. The legs were metal and broke."

Looking at photos taken immediately after the earthquake, several shelves in the house had fallen, scattering their contents on the floor. The adhesive was for repairing furniture.

Learning from this experience, he purchased tension rods as an earthquake countermeasure.

Meanwhile, this couple purchased items needed for their afternoon work.

A resident of Yatsushiro City:
"I bought rubble bags to prevent the shards of broken plates and glasses from scattering. About 80% of the plates were broken. Furniture and other things toppled over and were a mess."

It took about half a month to finish cleaning up, and the rubble bags were for disposing of the broken dishes and other items.

■Why a long hose is necessary

The most common concern during the interviews was:

A resident of Yatsushiro City:
"Water, above all else. There's nothing we can do without water."
A resident of Yatsushiro City:
"The well water stopped flowing immediately after the earthquake."

Even now, a month later, approximately 4,500 households in Yatsushiro City are still unable to use well water properly.

This woman, choosing a hose after work, purchased a 30-meter long hose.

Ms. Mori, a resident of Yatsushiro City:
"We have well water, but the water is fine. 20 or 30 meters. How long is 30 meters? I want the longest hose possible."

Why is such length necessary?

Upon arriving home, Mr. Mori attached the hose to the faucet in his yard. He then headed to his neighbor's house. The resident, Ms. Yukimizu, had lost her well water supply after the earthquake and had been having to bring water in a tank from a relative's house nearby every morning.

Mr. Mori said he only learned of his neighbor's situation after seeing this.

Mr. Mori: "I saw you going to get water every morning, so I bought a hose and ran it here. There's no water bill. It's well water."
Ms. Yukimizu: "You bought a hose?"
Mr. Mori: "Yes, I bought one. Please use it."

The hose extended approximately 20 meters from his own yard. He purchased the long hose specifically for his neighbor, who was still without water.

Mori-san: "How is it? Is the water coming out?"
Yukimizu-san: "It's good. We were using a cart and buckets to pour water here."
Mori-san: "It's fine, keep using it."
Yukimizu-san: "Thank you so much."
"I'm sorry. I made you waste money."
Mori-san: "It was on sale, so it's okay."
"Since we have water at home, I didn't think the water here wouldn't come out."

Many households in Yatsushiro City rely on well water. Even neighboring houses can have water while others don't. Even now, nearly a month later, Yukimizu-san still hasn't been able to arrange for a repair company.

Mori-san: "At the time of the earthquake, my house was a complete mess, and I was preoccupied with what to do with the broken things. (Immediately after the earthquake) I didn't have the luxury of worrying about other people, but now that I've cleaned up to some extent, I realize how difficult things are for my neighbors, and (now) I want to help if there's anything I can do."

■Cash registers closed due to earthquake…

　100 hours of close observation at a home improvement store. Even at the consultation counter, which normally handles mainly parts orders, changes were occurring.

This woman brought in a problem.

"It's related to music. I run a CD shop. The impact of the earthquake caused the shop's cash register to stop working."

Ms. Matsumoto, in her 80s, r...