Kayakers find possible Japanese house pieces; boat was from tsunami

Kayakers surveying Washington state's most remote beaches for debris from last year's Japanese tsunami say they believe they have found part of a house.

The three kayakers with the Ikkatsu Project say they were working their way up a beach south of Cape Flattery when they found lumber, some of it stamped with a serial number they traced to a mill in Osaka.

They also found parts of a laundry hamper, washing machine and a pink child's toilet bowl.

The arrival of debris from the March 2011 tsunami, including a dock that washed up in Oregon, has worried officials on the West Coast. They say it will be expensive to clean and could carry invasive species.

They've asked for federal help.

Consulate: Boat found in Wash. was lost in tsunami

The Japanese consulate in Seattle has confirmed that a boat that washed up on a Washington state beach was debris from last year's devastating tsunami — and it's owner doesn't want it back.

Consulate spokesman Travis Doty says the Japanese government used the boat's registration number to track down the owner, who confirmed having lost it from the northern part of the island of Honshu during the March 2011 disaster.

The 20-foot fiberglass boat was discovered near Ilwaco at Cape Disappointment State Park on Friday. State workers have steam-cleaned the boat and determined it to be free of invasive species or pathogens, and officials say they plan to display the boat at the park.