SIGHT in FUKUSHIMA JAPAN -Tourism Information of Fukushima Prefecture-
News Release
【 April 23, 2013 】
Reopening Arcadia in Fukushima City
Hanamiyama Park is a place which is called “Arcadia” in Fukushima City and is full of various kinds of flowers. 320,000 people visited it during cherry blossom season in 2010, before 3-11 earthquake disaster.
Last year entering the park was limited in order to cure the flowers and the trees there. However, this year it is open for people and a wide variety of flowers mesmerize many tourists.
The best season is from late March to early May when you can enjoy seeing flowers such as cherry blossoms, peach flower, and forsythia fruit etc. with full bloom. Please have a look at the latest pictures of Hanamiyama.
Here is the detailed explanation on Hanamiyama.
http://www.tif.ne.jp/lang/en/sightseeing/topic.html?id=40&category=4
【 January 26, 2013 】
A Charter Flight ｂetween Seoul and Fukushima Flies for the First Time
On December 21st, Asiana Airlines charter flight between Seoul and Fukushima, which had been suspended, was reinstated for the first time since the 3-11 earthquake. This charter flight resulted from Fukushima prefecture’s effort to reopen scheduled flights. Fifty five delegations consisting of Korean tourism organizations, the Korean government tourism department, Choi Bulam(a famous actor) and travel companies visited Fukushima prefecture with ordinary tourists.
The returning flight left for Korea full of Japanese passengers.
After arriving at Fukushima Airport, the delegation visited Fukushima prefectoral office to see the governor. Then, in Fukushima city they had a meeting to exchange their opinions with the people from travel companies in Fukushima prefecture.
On December 22nd, the party visited temporary housing in Fukushima city and
had a good time serving Korean dishes to the victims. After that, in order to inspect the condition of the reconstruction, they went to the exhibition house in Nihonmatsu, where the people from Namie machi evacuated. There, they saw traditional crafts, “Obori Soma-yaki(pottery)”, and also went to the “Decontamination Information Plaza ” in Fukushima city. On December 23rd, the last day of this tour, they visited Lake Inawashiro, Aizu Tsurugajo Castle, and Ouchi-Juku to see what each sightseeing spot is like now. They went back home to Seoul from Fukushima Airport on the charter flight with the ordinary tourists that enjoyed their just sightseeing in Fukushima. As a representative of the delegation Mr. Lee Charm, the president of a Korean tourism organization, left his comments: the purpose of this visit is to inform Korean people of the fact that Fukushima prefecture is a safe place and to reopen the scheduled flights between Seoul and Fukushima. If charter flights like this are planned several times and there is more demand for traveling, it would have the positive impact of attracting other airline companies to consider reopening scheduled flights.
【 December 25, 2012 】
Taiwanese Travel Companies visit Fukushima Prefecture for Travel Planning by Charter Flight
On December 18th and 19th, eleven people from ten prominent Taiwanese travel companies visited Fukushima prefecture for the purpose of travel planning in four prefectures: Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima, and Miyagi. This tour will be carried out by a program called Taiwan Reconstruction Aviation Program which will be conducted from the end of January to February, 2013 using charter flights from Taiwan to Fukushima Airport and Akita Airport, respectively.
This charter flight program will be done as a result of steady requests by Fukushima prefecture to Taiwan after the 3-11 earthquake.
On December 18th, the party of Taiwanese travel companies who came to Fukushima prefecture via Yamagata prefecture, visited Ouchi-Juku and then Ashinomaki Onsen(hot spring) where the tourists from Taiwan will stay. There, they attended a meeting to exchange their business cards and opinions about this program with the staff from travel companies in Fukushima prefecture. The participants from the Taiwanese party told their Japanese counterpart that they would make an effort to send many tourists to Fukushima prefecture.
On December 19th, they visited Aizu Shuzo(sake brewing) history museum and Aizu Tsurugajo Castle. Then they participated in Akabeko, a red cow painting experience. After enjoying local cuisine for lunch, they left for Miyagi prefecture, the last destination of this tour.
【 December 25, 2012 】 
The last Visit to Tenei village by a Party from ASEAN Countries and others as part of
On November 22nd, the party from ASEAN countries and others had their last visit to Tenei village. Each member cooked their nations’ traditional dishes by using the raw materials that went through safety inspection, including the vegetables they planted last September on their first visit. The people from Tenei village were invited to eat the dishes made by the participants. They had a very good time. The participants from the “Kizuna(bond) Project” terminated all their programs in Fukushima prefecture, though they pledged that they would continue to report on the situation, including the information on the food in Fukushima prefecture.
【 December 25, 2012 】
Delegates from the “Kizuna(bond) Project” from South Asian countries Visit Kitakata city
On November 14th, as part of the “Kizuna(bond) Project” sixty representatives from Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan visited Kitakata city in Fukushima prefecture. They watched the people in charge of checking all bags that contained rice. Afterwards, they, themselves, had the same experience of checking rice. The participants learned that the rice grown in Fukushima prefecture was distributed all over Japan after severe inspection. Then they listened to lectures about earthquake experiences and radioactivity. Both lecturers live in Kitakata city. One lecturer was an evacuee of the Okuma town disaster area in Fukushima prefecture, the other now works to dispel the harmful rumors about Fukushima. From their lectures, they learned about what it is like in Fukushima prefecture and about the reconstruction effort. It was so impressive that there was a big applause from the participants after the lectures.
<Participant’s Impression>
To express my feelings with accordance of the disaster site, it is to declare first that news published across the globe regarding the nuclear radiation at Kitakata city and across has been proved a rumor during our visit to the same site.On returning at my home country (Afghanistan) I would like to invite my all fellows, tourists and family members to visit Fukushima once moreover, the message of mine to them would be a safe, prosperous and romantic Fukushima especially the city I visited Kitakata.
