Students visiting Fukushima prefecture have been increasing after some years passed since the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant of Tokyo Electric Power Company took place at the eastern part of the prefecture in March 2011. Just after the disaster hit Fukushima, the prefecture saw a considerable decline in tourists.
A number of junior high schools and high schools in other prefectures have resumed organizing educational tours such as school trips and camping school tours visiting the Fukushima prefecture.
According to the Prefectural Government, the number of school tourists visiting the
Junior high school students are experiencing a farm work of removing some of apple trees’ leaves under the guidance of a farmer, Kiyoshi Sakai. (Kitakata-shi, Fukushima prefecture)
prefecture has recovered to 70 percent of the pre-disaster level. Some schools are adding a disaster-study program in itineraries of their school trips.
In Kitakata city located in the north-western part of the prefecture, city people, including local farmers, and their city government made their efforts together to persuade teachers of schools in other prefectures to resume organizing educational tours in Fukushima prefecture.
Municipality official and staff members of the green tourism support center, arranging hands-on farm programs for tourists, have visited a number of schools in other prefectures and made their teachers understand the safety of the city.
In early September, Kiyoshi Sakai, 74, farming in the city, received six students of Matsudo City Fourth Junior High School in Chiba prefecture. They visited the Kitakata city with other students on a school field trip.
The six students experienced farm works of spreading manure on a blueberry orchard as well as removing some of apple trees’ leaves for exposing maximum sunlight to apples. At lunch, Sakai’s family served the students with home-made curry dish and fresh vegetable salad.
“Through a farm field trip, I hope, students will understand they are growing by receiving lives of farm products,” Kiyoshi Sakai said.