Fukushima Rediscovery Trip: Stories of Towns and People in Odaka District and Futaba-machi that Weave Hope and Future

  • Fukushima
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Odaka District and Futaba Town in Minamisoma City are located in the Hamadori region of Fukushima Prefecture, approximately 3.5 hours from the Tokyo metropolitan area by limited express "Hitachi" or local train, and approximately 1.5 hours from Sendai by local train. We planned and conducted a tour in the Hamadori area with Rurio Corporation, which is engaged in community development projects in the Tohoku region, and had participants of various ages from their 20s to 60s.

～Day 1: Odaka Town walking tour

Lunch at Café Kamitsure, a hometown cafe

The tour started with a greeting in front of Odaka Station. As we were to meet at noon and hungry, we first moved to a lunch place to fill our stomachs. We were served at "Hometown Café Kamitsure" this time. The interior is furnished with warm wood-grain furniture, and the spaciousness is perfect for a community space, making it a very popular place among women!
Hometown Cafe Café Kamitsure
B lunch set

Ice break with other participants

With our stomachs full, we moved on to "Asobaba Rasikuru," the Odaka Industrial Exchange Center near the station. In order to familiarize the guests from the Tokyo metropolitan area with those from Sendai, we had an ice-breaking session with the staff of Rurio, who will be our hosts for the two days, where participants introduced themselves and played games with each other. Each of the participants had gathered here with a variety of thoughts and feelings about the tour, and by the time the ice breaker was over, they had become friends with each other.
Ice breaker

Visit to Odaka Pioneer Village

Now it was time to start the first day's Odaka walking tour. The first stop was the Odaka Pioneer Village. Odaka Pioneer Village was born in Odaka Ward, Minamisoma City, an area that was under evacuation orders for more than five years until July 2016 due to the nuclear power plant accident caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Many communities were lost due to the catastrophe and the sudden evacuation order, and various issues are still piling up. Mr. Tadano, a staff member, gave us a briefing on the past history, business activities, and the future of Odaka's recovery. It was very impressive to see how earnestly they listened to him, taking notes and asking questions.
Odaka Pioneer Village
Tour of the museum
Odaka Pioneer Village - Official HP of coworking space with simple accommodation in Odaka, Minamisoma, Fukushima

Visit to Oretachi no Denshokan

The next stop was a "handmade" folklore facility in Odaka Ward. Its name is "Oretachi no Denshokan. This place was opened on July 12, 2023 by a Tokyo photographer to convey the 2011 nuclear accident through art. The facility was originally a vacant warehouse that was renovated by local residents and artists. The director of the museum, Mr. Nakasuji, expressed his wish to "use art to express what the nuclear accident has brought about. It was a valuable opportunity for the director to share his thoughts on the recovery and Kodaka.
Oretachi no Denshokan exterior
Tour of the museum
Tachi no Lore Hall, Moyai Exhibition, moyai3.11 Great East Japan Earthquake Official HP

Tour of Aosbashi

The next restaurant we visited was "aosubashi," which opened in July 2023. The restaurant, which used to be a sushi restaurant before the earthquake, was renovated and turned into a new bakery-cafe and coworking space. The name "Aosubashi" is a transposition of the characters for "Aoba Sushi," and the first floor is a bakery-cafe featuring local bread from all over Japan, while the second floor is a co-working space ideal for desk work or remote work. As a "place of new discoveries and encounters," it aims to be a place where people who have taken root in the community, immigrants, and future visitors can interact and create something new together.
Aosbashi

～Day 2: Walking in Futaba Town

Walk around Futaba Town

Start of Futaba Town Walk
Walking around the town
The next day, we moved to Futaba Town and started walking around Futaba. Around Futaba Station, there are still scenes that make you think, such as the former site of the fire brigade that remains as it was at the time of the earthquake, and clocks that have been stopped since then.
And there are many mural paintings in Futaba Town. FUTABA Art District" is a project by chef Takayuki Takasaki, a native of Futaba Town, and the mural art company "OVERALLs" to enliven Futaba Town, Fukushima Prefecture, which was forced to evacuate the entire town due to the nuclear accident, through mural art. Although some of them were destroyed or dismantled by the earthquake, many mural art works are still decorating Futaba-machi and attracting many people's attention. Everyone listened intently to the guide's explanation of the meaning behind each of the murals.

Tour of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Lore Museum

After walking around the town, we boarded a shuttle bus from Futaba Station to the "Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Museum. This prefectural facility in Futaba Town, Fukushima Prefecture, will open on September 20, 2020. The museum exhibits the reality of the unprecedented combined disasters of the earthquake, tsunami, and TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident that occurred in Fukushima, as well as the progress made toward recovery, while storytelling lectures are given four times a day by residents who were affected by the disaster. In addition, through training programs, surveys and research, the museum disseminates lessons learned on disaster prevention and disaster mitigation both domestically and internationally, and connects them to the future. One of the things we can do is to look at the disaster as our own personal matter and continue to pass on the lessons to the future.
Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Lore Hall
Tour of the museum
Futaba Town Shuttle Bus

Lunch at Sendan-tei: Enjoy Namie Yakisoba

After the tour of the museum, it was time for the lunch that everyone had been waiting for. This time we visited "Sendantei" in the Futaba Town Industrial Exchange Center. Here, you can enjoy local delicacies such as "Namie Yakisoba," which is famous for winning the B-1 Grand Prix. Namie Yakisoba is a nationally famous local delicacy of Namie Town, consisting only of extra-thick Chinese noodles, pork belly, and bean sprouts. It is seasoned with a generous amount of sauce, and is served with a dash of chili pepper. It is a signature dish that is filling, filling, and hearty. Everyone's satisfied faces are very nice!
Sendan-tei restaurant
Namie Yakisoba

Review of the tour

The tour is coming to an end. The last stop was the Asano Twisted Silk Futaba Super Zero Mill. This new mill and new tourist attraction will open in Futaba Town in April 2023. Futaba Super Zero Mill operates as a part of Futaba Town's reconstruction and next stage of development, and is introducing Futaba Town's representative yarn and towel products not only to Japan but also to the rest of the world. This time, we rented a training room for participants to review the tour with each other. The two days flew by so quickly that everyone seemed to be satisfied with the tour, saying in unison, "One night was not enough. The tour was a good opportunity for the participants to learn about the current situation in the Hamadori area.
Asano Twisted Silk Futaba Super Zero Mill
Group presentation

～Last stop: Lunch at Hometown Café

This tour was a valuable experience for the participants to learn about the current situation through walking around the towns of Odaka-ku and Futaba-machi in Minamisoma City, observing and interacting with the people there. Even though the degree of reconstruction and approaches are different due to the difference in when the evacuation order was lifted, we were able to hear about the thoughts of local people who are taking on new challenges and their expectations for the future, which made us think, "What can I do here? It was an opportunity for me to think "What can I do here? I believe that a new step toward recovery will be to make people want to visit the area again, based on what they heard and felt through their interactions with the local people. Please come back anytime before you forget the memories of this time!
And if you are curious about this place after reading this article, why don't you come and visit? You will be warmly welcomed by the local people.
In addition to what we have introduced in this tour, there are many more attractions in the Hamadori area. If you have never been to the area before, or even if you have never heard of it, why don't you give it a try? Enjoy the experiences and gourmet food that you can only experience here!
*All images are for reference only.
*The contents and services in this article are subject to change.
*This tour is now closed.
*This tour has been selected and implemented as part of the "Brush-up Project for Enhancing Regional Value," a project to promote the expansion of exchanges and related populations in the Innovative Regions of Fukushima Innovation Coast Initiative.
This tour is jointly planned and operated with Rurio Co.
Rurio Inc.
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