TOURS
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Study Tour
We start a trial study tour to take people into Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station once every month to learn about the real site of the disaster and ongoing decommissioning process. Next available slots are December 18th (Wed) and January 29th (Wed). More details → click here.
Standard Tour
Our standard tour takes 5.5-6 hours to look around the affected area, starting at JR Odaka or Namie Station on Joban Line. We offer you an informative tour by our English speaking guide. See the current Fukushima and learn the scale of the triple disaster as well as the massive ongoing efforts for the recovery. We are looking forward to having you from all around the world ! → To book the tour click here. Covered by The Guardian.
Custom Made Tours
A custom made tour is an independent trip plan designed and arranged just for you. An English speaking guide/driver will take you to look around Fukushima's coastal area, giving you a first hand experience of the area where the nuclear disaster took place. For more information click here
We also organize field trips for universities.
LOOK BACK SCENES AND TOPICS
EXPERIENCES WITH US
There has been a lot of media in this area, especially the red zone and we wanted to understand more about the disaster, what happened, how the community is repairing and what are the challenges. So it was excellent to find Real Fukushima tour. It is like being in our own documentary with real facts and up to date information. Our guide has lived in this area all his life and his knowledge, passion and scientific explanations were invaluable. It is impossible to describe the area, especially the red zone, and how people have been affected and the extent and scale of the disaster. It is a humbling experience and I recommend that it is a must do to really appreciate what happened and now the cleanup and ongoing issues and successes are happening in Fukushima. Thank you, this tour is one that will stay with me for the rest of my life. →TripAdvisor
I can highly recommend this tour. The guide, being a local, has expert knowledge of the area and events and is very good at communicating in an informal and easy way. The tour gives, in my opinion, an unsentimental and true story of what happened in Fukushima and how it affected people living there. As such it is an important part of contemporary history, not only for Japan, but for the rest of the world as well. →TripAdvisor
The official tour of Fukushima exclusion zone and around. This is as real as you can get to see what actually is happening inside the area years after the earthquake strucked. The tour provides details and information of what had happened, what is happening now in the area. The tour took 4-5 hours, during that time you will be exposed to certain degree of radio activity area. In which is not dangerous at all. If you have seen Dark tourist, and interested in coming to see the area by yourself, don’t be afraid nothing as dramatic as in the show. This is the real thing, real fact, real lives, Real Fukushima. →TripAdvisor
LoI was lucky enough to find a tour company that is run by local residents trying to encourage people to see the real Fukushima, as opposed to what was depicted on the Dark Tourist show. If you wish to try with them please book your tour here, don’t forget to say that Travel Geek sent you 🙂 … and no I’m not on commission!rem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla id purus neque. Curabitur pulvinar elementum neque in dictum. Sed non lectus nec tortor iaculis tincidunt.
It was an absolutely impressive and recommendable tour. The guide was so awesome and she spoke English very well. Fukushima and also the contaminated area have such a nice nature. I think it is very important to show this place to get the people to know about the risks and consequences of nuclear power. And that is why it is necessary to keep some of the buildings and places to memories the people, also after the evacuation zone will be recultivated again. But especially for foreigners I want to say Fukushima is not just a nuclear contaminated zone it is also a really nice place to stay with beautiful nature and very cordially citizens.
It was quite a surreal feeling being in the evacuation zone. It is one thing to hear about it on the news, but quite another to actually experience this on the ground in person. I was shocked at how deserted the evacuation-lifted areas were, especially Namie. Driving through the evacuation zone was quite eye-opening, and really gave me a sense of what is currently unfolding in the area in regards to the ongoing radiation issue. The one place that really left an impression on me was the town of Namie, mainly due to the fact that you can feel that people suddenly packed up and left one day, leaving behind everything. It is actually quite eerie.
Karin has a masters degree in International Politics, speaks excellent English and was eager to welcome me to the Evacuation Zone and show me around. She had recently opened the Lantern House, a Bed & Breakfast guest house, right in Odaka (小高町), just 15 kilometers from the nuclear power station. Over the course of the following weeks we carefully planned my visit to the Evacuation Zone. I had never expected to run into someone as dedicated and knowledgeable as Karin. She knows all the data, all the places and all the people. When I came up with the idea to maybe do some short interviews with former evacuees, she arranged a meeting with Katsumi Anbe, a city government official who was the head of the Odaka ward education office before the disaster. On October 15, 2017 I stepped off the train and was picked up by Karin, who drove me to the Lantern House. I fell asleep in a big, beautiful Tatami room and was greeted by a home-made breakfast early in the next morning. →One Man, One Map
ACCESS
To join our standard tour, please come to Odaka or Namie Station. If you have JR Pass, take Shinkansen to Sendai and come down to Odaka by local train. It will take three hours from Tokyo. If not, take a JR train from Tokyo on the Joban Line for the cheapest. Ask Google or Jorudan.
POINTS OF INTEREST
Driving through Red Zone
You are not allowed to enter the Difficult-to-return Zone as a general rule. The national government has loosened the restriction one by one. As of August 2022, you can pass through it on designated roads. The roads marked in blue are open to four wheel vehicles without special permission. The roads marked in red are open to four wheel vehicles, motorcycles and mopeds. The Joban Expressway marked in green is open to four wheel vehicles and motorcycles over 125 cc. Please note that the expressway is a toll road.
The national government decontaminated designated areas and has opened them to the public. As of August 2022, the areas painted with green are open to the public including walkers and bikers. The areas painted yellow will be opened in the near future.
Radiation Dose near the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant
Radiation maps
http://jciv.iidj.net/map/http://safecast.org/tilemap/
Accommodation
We recommend Futabaya Ryokan in the front of JR Odaka Station. The accommodation fee is 7500JPY with two meals. If you install Spot Tour App on your mobile phone and get seven or more stamps by visiting designated spots on the "Tour within 20km of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station" (Search tour code 95057 in the app), you can receive 3000JPY accommodation subsidies at the Futabaya inn.
POSTS
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