When we stopped for more coffee and cake at a Seven-Eleven in Yamada I’d asked the cashier (mimed) whether I could plug in my phone for a cheeky recharge. The answer was a ‘no’ so I forgot all about it and went outside to refuel on my purchases. Then this lovely man came up to us and gave me a battery operated phone charger, spare batteries and bag of salted lemon sweets. I’d no idea you could buy the first of these items and he refused adamantly any payment from me. When asked ‘why’ he simply pointed to the sea beyond and said ‘tsunami’.