It’s a brisk autumn morning, and the Mishima overlook in Fukushima prefecture is crowded with photographers, mostly from Taiwan, eager to capture the scenic Tadami Line railway as it crosses the arched Dai-ichi Tadamigawa Bridge.
Among them is local photographer Kenkou Hoshi, who has photographed the region more than anyone else and has singlehandedly pioneered grassroots tourism in the area.
After discovering the hilltop viewpoint overlooking the Tadami River, he convinced local authorities to construct stairs for easier access; he’s now lobbying for an elevator for the elderly.
As the train chugs into view at 9:05am, there’s a whir of clicking cameras as though for a celebrity.
“New industry is difficult to attract, so tourism is the best way to bring development,” Hoshi said through an interpreter.
Knowing that most tourists to Fukushima are Taiwanese wishing to experience autumn and winter seasons they don’t have back home, Hoshi promoted Mishima by organizing competitions in Taiwan of photographs taken of the Tadami Line from the overlook.
He launched Mugenkyo no Watashi tours on the Tadami River, which, using flat-bottom boats similar to those that ferried him across the river as a boy, take in the haunting place where his village once stood, abandoned after a 1964 landslide.
Furthermore, although eight years have passed since the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, caused by the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck off Tohoku’s coast, concern over radiation is the most common response you’ll receive if you announce you’re heading for Fukushima.
Maybe that’s why just 120,000 foreign visitors stayed overnight in 2018, despite the fact that the contaminated evacuation zone now comprises just 2.8% of Fukushima Prefecture.
For repeat visitors who have seen destinations like Kyoto or for those wishing to escape the crowds, Fukushima is an off-the-beaten-track alternative, at least until word gets out.
Japan’s third-largest prefecture but with fewer than 2 million inhabitants, Fukushima is mostly rural, with winding mountain roads, forests, rushing rivers, waterfalls, marshlands and highlands.
Among Japanese, Fukushima is famous for changing autumn leaves, heavy snowfall, historic sites in Aizuwakamatsu that embody the samurai spirit, peach and persimmon trees, local cuisine you won’t find anywhere else, over 130 hot-spring resorts and more than 60 sake breweries.
“It’s our fifth time to Japan, and after following posts on social media and YouTube, we decided to come to Fukushima,” said Natalie Meek from the United Kingdom. “We’re renting a car and spending five days around the Aizuwakamatsu area because there’s so much to see.”
Japan believes so strongly in Fukushima’s comeback, the prefecture was selected for the commencement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics torch relay, at J-Village, the nation’s top soccer training facility.
Because of J-Village’s location just 12.4 miles from the nuclear meltdown but saved from the tsunami due to higher ground, it was the operational base for 1,000 people dealing with the disaster and is now considered a symbol of revitalization.
From there, the torch will journey north through coastal towns that have steadily recovered since 2011, including Soma, southern terminus of Japan’s newest and longest hiking trail, the 620-mile Michinoku Coastal Trail that passes through four prefectures and was created to promote healing and attract international visitors.
Turning inland, the relay will pass through towns like Fukushima City, prefectural capital and famous for its onsen (hot-spring baths).
Just 92 minutes from Tokyo on the fastest Shinkansen bullet train, it offers the Iizaka Onsen area, you can soak your cares away at nine public baths and experience ryokan (Japanese inns) like Nakamuraya, where 7th-generation innkeeper Hiroshi Abe proudly points out antiques and architectural details, from the lobby’s open-hearth fireplace to rooms once used by samurai.
Sources: CNN
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