Posted on 10/26/2011 6:58:35 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Journeys to the edge: Tourism in Fukushima makes more sense now
One windy city surviving on the cusp of Japan's nuclear frontier is ready and waiting for visitors
By James A. Foley 27 October, 2011
Iwaki City is a cluster of exurban hamlets about 200 kilometers north and east of Tokyo, on the coastal Hamadori region of Fukushima Prefecture.
A few years ago I rang for a taxi from my apartment in Iwaki to the train station in the middle of town. I forget where I was going, but I do recall with great clarity the conversation I had with the cab driver.
It was a windy day. From my veranda I could see the metal marquees of the neighborhood shops flailing in the wind. Power lines and traffic signals, too, swung wildly in the breeze. From above, I saw the taxi park in front of the red brick walk-up, a placed called Maison Kuramae, that I called home.
/snip
For the more intrepid travelers, a visit to a city on the outskirts of the tsunami-ravaged nuclear no-man's land, might be one of the most evocative and educational things to do while touring Japan.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnngo.com ...
Is this some really perverted way of "sharing the pain?"
P!
"My parents went to Fukushima, and all I got was this t-shirt. And a third arm."
Fixed it.
I read that Japan was going to give away 10,000 round trip tickets to get people coming back as tourists. I didn’t think it would work but the writer of this piece is indeed one of those ‘all expenses paid’ people Japan hopes to use to get tourist dollars.
Why go clear to Japan? Just come visit me in Idaho. And don’t let the giggle throw you off when you use your mere two hands to try and shake ours...
Back about a month or so ago the Japanese government was contemplating sponsoring a writing contest to increase tourism to Japan. I told a friend of mine in Japan that if I won I’d go to Fukushima as a tourist. Now look what’s happened! LOL! Too weird! I bet those Japs are reading my mind!
Don't knock 'em unless you've tried 'em.
Send a few of those tickets to us. We’ll go in a heartbeat.
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