I don’t know if its just an awesome coincidence that Hideaki Akaiwa and the Kamen Rider 1 statue are both in Ishinomaki, but it seems like this is a town for heroes. Akaiwa was at work when the tsunami hit. He ran home to find his entire neighborhood flooded. With no regard for his own safety, Akaiwa grabbed some scuba gear, dove in, swam to his house, and pulled his wife out just before the water swallowed her up. A few days later, he repeated the feat to save his mother.
What makes Akaiwa a true hero in every sense of the word is that he is still going. Not willing to wait for authorities to rescue the town, once he had saved his family he continued on his quest to find and save survivors. He rides out every day on a shitty little bicycle to search for signs of life in the devastation.
No fear. No pain. Kamen Rider Akaiwa, we salute you!
Source: LA Times
