Photo/Illutration Xu Haoyu’s house after the 2021 landslide in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture (Provided by Xu Haoyu)

ATAMI, Shizuoka Prefecture--Despite raging torrential rain, Xu Haoyu left his home in the Izusan district here to go shopping around 10:20 a.m. on July 3, 2021.

Little did the Chinese-born Xu realize, but he had just made a life-or-death decision.

Xu had only moved from Tokyo to a house in this seaside resort city the night before with the intention of opening an accommodation facility.

About 10 minutes after he left, his home was hit by a massive landslide. The first floor was swept away, and the second floor was inundated with mud, rocks and debris.

The disaster left 28 people dead or missing. The figure includes an individual whose death was judged to be disaster-related.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Xu recalled.

He had loved Japanese anime and manga culture since he was a child and came to Japan in 2015, where he worked in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district selling cosmetic goods and clothes to Chinese tourists.

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Xu Haoyu vacuums the floor of his new home in Atami on June 23, which he is turning into an accommodation facility. (Sokichi Kuroda)

A visit to Atami, which is perched on a steep mountainside with panoramic views of Sagami Bay, convinced him it would be a great location to start his own business.

Xu opted to operate a lodging facility there, seeing as the city is so close to Tokyo.

In June 2021, he bought a vacant house with the intention of doing it up so he could rent out rooms to guests.

After the landslide, all Xu had left were a wallet, a smartphone and a house key.

At the time, he was still registered as a Tokyo resident.

Xu consulted with city officials on where he could stay and resolve other concerns, but found himself at a loss when he was told to consult with the Tokyo ward office where he was still registered as a resident.

At this point, Atami locals rallied to help him.

Xu could converse in Japanese but not fluently. A city assembly member and other residents negotiated with the local authorities to allow him to stay at an evacuation center and helped him complete the necessary documentation to formalize his move to Atami.

Xu also received assistance from local residents when he applied for a disaster certificate and needed to complete other paperwork.

During this period, he got to know other disaster victims as he moved from one evacuation center to another.

“I made many friends,” he recalled. “I felt a strong urge to do something for Atami.”

Last fall, Xu finally moved out of an evacuation center into municipal housing.

This past April, with funds borrowed from a friend and through other means, he was able to purchase a plot of land with a house on it. His dream of opening an accommodation facility began taking shape at last.

He is currently renovating the building and making other preparations to open the facility this summer.

“He (Xu) has incredible energy and works hard without complaint even though he got caught up in a disaster in an unfamiliar place,” said Shigeru Ota, 65, vice head of an association working to help disaster victims.

“I hope by opening my accommodation facility I can help boost tourism in Atami,” Xu said. “Having survived (the disaster), I’m living a second life. I want to promote the charms of Atami, my home away from home, where so many people helped me.”

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