Robert R. Gray

Hattachi Beach

Hattachi Beach is one of the most scenic spots I’ve seen in Japan. The way the rock formations jut out of the emerald water to support a giant red torii gate is breath-taking. The beach is located 23 kilometers (14 miles) from the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Iwaki, Fukushima. It was reopened to the public last year after being declared safe.

 

Ukedo Elementary School

Ukedo Elementary School has an amazing story behind it. It’s located in Namie, Fukushima, just 200 meters from the ocean. When the earthquake struck on March 11, 2011, the standard procedure for teachers was to keep the children outside in the school yard until their parents could come pick them up. The children instinctively wanted to run to the nearby hills and seemed to sense a tsunami would come.

The teachers and children argued about which to do. Finally, the teachers decided to listen to the children. They all started heading towards the hills. On their way, they suddenly saw the tsunami racing at them. The teachers in the back of the line got their feet wet as they ran from the tsunami, but they made it up the hill and all survived. No lives were lost at that school.

The tour I was on, led us from the school up to those hills, allowing us to walk the same path that they did that day. The picture below shows the school as seen from the hills.

A particularly eerie thing is the clock outside the school. It stopped when the earthquake struck. It still shows the time when the earthquake happened, a literal moment frozen in time.

This was the fourth and final blog post about my visit to Fukushima.  There are some people who criticize these disaster tours, saying that it is profiting off of tragedy. However, the Japan Wonder Travel tour works directly with the local people to benefit them. It is a respectful tour to help them rebuild.

I spent time with many different people in Fukushima during the tour. The returnees to these ghost towns hope that tourism will help rebuild the area and reduce the fear of radiation. I encourage you to visit if you can.