this is otsuchi before the tsunami.hi stopped-- 3:25 p.m., march 11, 2011. >> ken sasaki: this is my house. >> simon: that's your house? >> sasaki: yeah. >> simon: ken sasaki works for city hall in a city which has disappeared. how long had you been living here? >> sasaki: over 20 years. >> simon: now, when you came back here the first time after the tsunami, was there anything of yours left here? >> sasaki: nothing was left. >> simon: ken was in a meeting near the harbor when the earthquake struck. 30 minutes later, he heard an ominous noise coming from the ocean. >> sasaki: "oh, it must be a tsunami. i have to run to uphill." and then, i turn back. that was so... >> simon: it must have looked like hell. >> sasaki: yeah, it must be the hell. >> simon: nine of his relatives were killed by the tsunami-- aunts, cousins. ken-san, as he's known, had to live out of his car for three weeks. >> sasaki: it was terrible. it was so cold. there was no gas. no whiskey, no beers. ( laughter ) >> simon: ken-san is as unique a charact