Otsuchi town, in Iwate Prefecture, is one of the coastal cities in Sanriku that were severely damaged by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. In this town, our marine station of Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute has been doing marine research for 50 years out of pure intellectual curiosity. Since we have been settled in this town, we decided to collaborate with this local community after the disaster. I will talk about what we have experienced, how we think about remote areas and our own role, what we are doing now as a member of the local community, and the relationship between academia and local communities in the Sanriku region.