The number of people traveling to Fukushima Prefecture during a period between April and June this year by participating in tour programs offered by the Japan Agricultural Cooperative (JA) group’s Nokyo Tourist Corporation grew 60% from a year before to 12,035, according to the firm.
Reflecting increased attention on the region, the number went up 40% even from the same period in 2010, a year before the triple disaster –- an earthquake, a tsunami and a nuclear meltdown – struck in March 2011.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s subsidies for Fukushima-bound tours and the popularity of “Yae no Sakura (Yae’s cherry blossoms),” a public broadcaster NHK’s historical drama series inspired by a true story set in the prefecture’s Aizu district, have helped increase tourists to the region, contributing to its restoration.
Nokyo Tourist officials say agricultural tours are especially popular in Fukushima, as the area is relatively close to metropolitan areas and people are beginning to care less about harmful rumors concerning the nuclear power plant accident.
With the aim of encouraging more people to travel to Fukushima, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in fiscal 2011 began offering 3,000 yen per stay per person to those who go on a trip to Fukushima in tours provided by designated Tokyo-based tourist companies. People living, working or going to school in Tokyo are subject to the subsidies. Starting in fiscal 2012, the metropolitan government offered subsidies of 1,500 yen per person also to people going on a day trip without staying overnight.
The metropolitan government offered subsidies to 40,000 stays and 15,000 day trips in fiscal 2012, and allocated 100 million yen in the fiscal 2013 budget. “More people are applying for subsidies as tour companies’ tours to support disaster-hit regions and tours to visit drama filming locations are gaining popularity,” a metropolitan government official said.
The number of people who visited Fukushima by Nokyo tours in June rose 80% from a year before to 6,783, eight times as much as June 2011, when the number of tourists plummeted due to the disaster. The number marked a 60% increase even compared with June 2010 before the earthquake.
Agricultural tourism is attracting people to Fukushima, according to Nokyo Tourist. Its tour for 46 people held earlier this month in Iwaki, Fukushima, to pick and cook summer vegetables under the guidance of a professional chef was fully booked, and its honey-squeezing and woodland-walking tour for 25 people scheduled in September in Ayukawa, Fukushima, is already fully booked.
(July 29, 2013)