One person died but the roughly 100 inhabitants like Yukio Teraoka and his wife -- well drilled in what to do in seismic hot-spot Japan -- dashed out of their houses and fled to higher ground in time.
"We cannot live in our house any more," Teraoka, 82, told AFP as he and his wife shovelled the heavy, sodden sand brought by the waves out of their wrecked home.
"There is 30 kilograms (65 pounds) of rice stored in this," said his wife, in red rubber gloves, woolly hat and face mask, pointing to a hefty steel container the size of a refrigerator that rolled on the ground.
"But it's all waste now after being soaked in sea water."
Elsewhere in the village, one of several that dot the small coves of the Noto peninsula hit by the 7.5-magnitude quake, a tangled mass of wooden, metal and plastic debris litters the streets.
The detritus includes furniture, mattresses, shoes and, by one mangled metal fence, a forlorn and soggy Snoopy stuffed toy, even though like many villages in ageing Japan, Shiromaru has zero children of elementary school age.
- Lack of supplies -
The death toll from the quake and its aftermath on Saturday reached 100, with more than 200 still unaccounted for. More than 30,000 people are in government shelters.
Buffeted by the salty seaside wind, only a few people were cleaning up in Shiromaru on Friday four days on from the disaster, with little help from the over-stretched authorities.
"I don't think we have received substantial supplies or food," Takushi Sakashita, 59, who lives nearby, told AFP.
He said he has refrained from taking food rations at a nearby shelter so they would go to people more in need.
"I myself try not to move around to save petrol, because fuel stations are not working and there is a serious lack of fuel," he said.
Shiromaru at least remains reachable along the main road.
Many other communities are still cut off, with hundreds of landslides having made many roads impassable. Tens of thousands of people were without power or running water.
- Submerged -
Toshio Sakashita said his house was submerged in about 2.5 metres (eight feet) of water.
"The tsunami came from the cove of Shiromaru through the river, and then ran up through the street," the 69-year-old told AFP.
The raging mass of water swept through the first storey of many of the wooden houses, scattering their belongings.
"We have received no public support here. Look, the main street is still blocked due to the rubble, which has been left untouched," he said.
"We will have to stay at a shelter with everyone else for about three months or so," said Teraoka.
"And then for two to three more years we will live in a temporary housing, because the whole Ishikawa prefecture is suffering the disaster," he said.
"We will die sooner or later. We are over 80 already."
Ruin and rescue dogs in quake-ravaged Wajima
Wajima, Japan (AFP) Jan 5, 2024 -
Joining soldiers and firefighters in the desperate search for survivors after a huge earthquake in central Japan was rescue dog Elsa, described by her trainer as "the best of the best".
Nimbly crossing loose roof tiles and splintered wooden beams, she sniffed through the wreckage of a destroyed wooden house in Wajima, one of the cities worst hit by the 7.5-magnitude earthquake on New Year's Day.
Along with rescuers including Japanese troops, the large black dog with pointed ears was searching for an elderly woman possibly buried under the rubble of her home.
"Please Elsa, please find her," came a voice from a crowd of neighbours and other relief workers watching their efforts, three days after the disaster struck.
The dog was brought to the coastal city by Yasuhiro Morita from his rescue dog training centre around 500 kilometres (300 miles) away in western Tottori region.
"She reacts to dead bodies when searching the rubble -- she is trained to always bark when she finds a body," Morita told AFP.
"But today, she just wandered off towards the bystanders instead, which likely means there was no body inside," he said.
Morita described Elsa as "the best of the best in western Japan", but she wasn't the only mutt on the job -- the defence minister announced Thursday that a rescue dog named Jennifer had found an elderly woman under the rubble who was pulled out and saved.
The ravaged house was just one of the devastating scenes in Wajima and other parts of Ishikawa on the Sea of Japan coast.
Strong aftershocks have shaken the region since Monday's terrifying main tremor, which triggered landslides, a major fire and a tsunami more than a metre high.
As of Friday, 92 people had been confirmed dead in the disaster, with 242 others reported missing.
Wajima resident Hiroyuki Hamatani, 53, had been relaxing with his relatives when the quake struck.
"Things fell over and walls crumbled, and the entrance door also collapsed. The house itself is standing, but it's far from liveable now," he told AFP.
Water and food are scarce, as "supplies have hardly arrived yet, but I guess they're on their way now", he said.
"I don't have the space in my mind to think about the future. Things are all scattered inside my house. More aftershocks could make it collapse, so I can't go back just yet."
On the approach to Wajima -- a city of around 23,000 residents, known for its artisan lacquerware -- tunnels were partially blocked by fallen boulders, and mountain surfaces had been left barren by landslides.
Flattened houses lined the route, with debris and snow dotting the sides of the road.
- 'No trace left' -
Even more shocking sights awaited those who made it into the city.
An imposing seven-storey building lay on its side, while fallen utility poles blocked a path surrounded by twisted wreckage.
"Is someone there? Answer us please!" a soldier was heard shouting while his team searched the ruins of a home for another missing resident, entering through broken windows.
The quake sparked a blaze that laid waste to an entire market area where 200 structures reportedly burned down.
There, the ground was blanketed in charred building materials, with burned-out cars sitting in front of a topsy-turvy backdrop of houses dislodged from their foundations.
Standing looking at the ruins was Shinichi Hirano, 47.
"This is where my grandma's house used to be, but it's all burned down," he told AFP.
"She passed away a while ago, so her house has long been vacant, but still, this area is full of fond memories," he said, reminiscing about a cake store and a barbershop he used to frequent as a child.
"But they're all gone. I only see burned ruins now," he said, with a sad smile on his face.
"It pains me" to see these familiar places decimated, Hirano said, adding: "I'm just speechless."
An 80-year-old man, who declined to give his name, gazed on woefully as the pungent smell of soot wafted through the air.
Even three days after the earthquake, faint columns of smoke were still billowing here and there in the desolate city.
"I came to check on my relatives. I haven't been able to see them yet," the elderly man said.
"This is just terrible. There is no trace left," he said.
"Terrible," he repeated, sighing heavily at the sight. "It's just like war."
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