Possible Remains Of Japanese Home Wash Up In Washington

Workers in Washington have found what appears to be the remains of a Japanese home, the latest in a steady stream of debris from the Japanese tsunami of 2011 to wash ashore on the West Coast.

According to Newser, kayakers off the coast of Washington found what they believe to be the remains of a Japanese home: nailed-together lumber produced in an Osaka factory, a container of kerosene, and cough syrup – according to AP, the kayakers also found the remains of a washing machine, a toilet bowl, and a laundry hamper.

The kayakers are a part of the “Ikkatsu Project,” and are attempting to establish a baseline for measuring the amount of debris that will be washing up in the fall and winter. Of the potential house remains, Ken Campbell, one of three to discover the debris, said that it while it was exciting to find the debris, “it was sobering, especially when you’re smelling somebody else’s cough syrup. Somebody lived here, and it doesn’t look like a house anymore. I was not prepared to find something like that.”

If it is indeed a home then this is the first recorded instance of a Japanese home making the 5,000 mile (8,000 km) trip across the Pacific; the steady stream of debris expected to wash up on the West Coast and in Alaska has many worried, not only because of the cost to clean up but also because of the risk of invasive species.

As to whether the debris is indeed the remains of a home, Seattle oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer said it is too soon to tell: On Tuesday, he said “it’s like an archaeological dig…it’s a bunch of things that could be construed as a house.”