Remains – Real Fukushima https://real-fukushima.com Tue, 19 Aug 2025 23:19:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://real-fukushima.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Realf-150x150.png Remains – Real Fukushima https://real-fukushima.com 32 32 No Students were Lost at Ukedo Elementary School https://real-fukushima.com/no-students-were-lost-at-ukedo-elementary-school/ Fri, 25 Aug 2017 05:51:35 +0000 https://real-fukushima.com/?p=4584
Ukedo Elementary School is located a mere 200 meters (220 yards) from the Pacific Ocean; a wonderful place for an elementary school, with uninterrupted views, and only a short walk to the beach. Of course, this is also why it was such a dangerous place to be on March 11th 2011. The school gym is shaped like a ship, to reflect the main industry of the town. The top of the gym wall marks the waterline of how far up the tsunami reached. A clock on the wall, radio-controlled, is stopped at the time the tsunami hit, when the power went out.

When the earthquake struck on March 11th, there were around 80 pupils at the school, aged 6-12. The staff followed the official guidelines for what to do during an earthquake, but then came the tsunami warning. There were around 50 minutes between the earthquake hitting and the tsunami that followed. Because it’s such a rare event, there was no official procedure for what to do. As schools in Japan are designated evacuation centres, the suggestion was to keep the children inside. Thankfully, the staff at the school ignored this, and took all 80 students to the nearby hill, Ohirayama, two kilometres away. They knew the way to National Route 6, and climbed over the hill to reach it. Once there, a large truck urged the staff and children onto its cargo bed, and so everyone from the school was successfully evacuated to Namie Town Hall before the tsunami hit. They stood in safety as water destroyed the landscape.

Many of the children lost their families in the tsunami, but because of the brave and intelligent actions of the staff at Ukedo Elementary, not one child or staff members from the school died in the disaster. The following days, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant had several hydrogen explosions and the town of Namie began its evacuation.

Listening to this story whilst staring at the now-empty school is simultaneously difficult and heart-warming. There were other places along the east coast where the story ended far more tragically. All of the damaged buildings along the coastline are gradually being demolished, but it is hoped that Ukedo will be left as a monument to independent thought, common sense, and the bravery of the staff and students on that day.

]]> Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant https://real-fukushima.com/fukushima-daiichi-nuclear-power-plant/ Fri, 25 Aug 2017 05:00:38 +0000 https://real-fukushima.com/?p=4548
Can I visit Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant?

Yes, you can, yet, the site is still in process of decontamination and decommissioning. Due to this, the access is still very limited to the public.

]]> Fish Nursery used Thermal Effluent from the Nuclear Plant https://real-fukushima.com/fish-nursery-used-thermal-effluent-from-the-nuclear-plant/ Fri, 25 Aug 2017 02:53:13 +0000 https://real-fukushima.com/?p=4505

This fish nursery once used thermal effluent (water heated by the cooling systems) from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The nursery was located on shore just south of Daiichi, and so it was completely destroyed by the tsunami. 

]]> Town of Okuma https://real-fukushima.com/town-of-okuma/ Fri, 25 Aug 2017 01:20:09 +0000 https://real-fukushima.com/?p=4465
During the evacuation period until 2020, the main road of JR Ono Station looked empty with nobody and no sound.

Before the earthquake and the nuclear accident, the town of Okuma had a population of 11 thousand and covered 78 km2. You can now visit the western area of the town (30 km2) since 2019, including the JR Ono Station area, which now has a new station complex with several restaurants. The Japanese government has decided to clean up further more areas of Okuma in several years in order to lift the evacuation orders.

The main road of JR Ono Station has now fully renovated with the new station complex with some restaurants and the new convention centre. The new complex opened in 2025 to proceed with revitalisation.
In front of JR Ono Station before the disaster, there were the signboard with the town's slogan "Nuclear is an earth friendly energy" and the map of town welcoming visitors.
During the evacuation orders being issued to the JR Ono Station area until 2020, wild boars were often witnessed on the main street of the staion. The same road is now fully renovated and has the new complex.

Western Okuma has been cleaned up. TEPCO built apartments there for 700 of its employees.

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