It’s been 15 years since the earthquake, the tsunami, and the nuclear disaster suddenly happened all at once in Fukushima.
It was March 11th in 2011 when the magnitude 9.1 earthquake, followed by the tsunami of some 18m high struck the northern east of Japan. As a result of this unprecedented scale of the natural disaster, more than 18,000 people lost their lives suddenly across a wide area of the eastern coastlines of our country. On the next days, Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) had three hydrogen explosions releasing radioactive materials into the atmosphere, and three meltdowns due to the loss of electricity. The evacuation orders were issued several times to the 20km radius and further from the power plant, and more than 160,000 local residents in Fukushima had to have a sudden evacuation.
Since then, the Fukushima region has been heavily impacted individually and as a society. At the same time this region is making long-lasting and enormous efforts to recover from it, which is perhaps a very unprecedented scale in our world, and perhaps a very different path when compared to Chernobyl.
Our standard tour in 2026 will take you to the 20km zone from FDNPS where the evacuation orders were once issued. Now that many of the orders have been lifted after a massive decontamination effort, people are gradually coming back in this reopened area. The radiation evacuation zone is shrinking accordingly, but will remain on a limited scale for at least 30 years or more.
Our aim is to learn about the disaster, ongoing revitalisation efforts, and critical differences from Chernobyl through visiting some important places as well as talking to some returnees so that you can have more comprehensive understandings of what happened here and is now happening and what the future will be in Fukushima. We would also like to exchange various opinions on nuclear and think together what the future of energy might look like.
This project is still experimental but is to be educational. We would like to hear your voice to develop a better programme for international visitors as well as for local people who have experienced this disaster. Your accumulated dose will be even less than 1 micro Sievert from a 6 hour tour, which is equivalent to 1/10th of one detail X ray. The fee is JPY10,000 per person. Our English speaking guide will help you to discover the area and have some first hand experiences. Let’s join us and think together. Feel the atmosphere and see what’s going on in Fukushima with your own eyes!
Standard Tour 2026 Autumn - A Special Edition
As an experimental programme from the September slots onward, we are planning to add one morning activity ; a visit to the Interim Soil Storage Facility in the current gated zone with the permission. The purpose of this is to learn about the unprecedented scale of the decontamination efforts by the government as well as the current status of the current evacuated towns, which remains partly untouched since the 2011 disaster so that you can learn the real impact of the evacuation to the community. In the afternoon, we will continue our regular Standard Tour until 16:30 to learn about the on-going efforts for revitalisation and the scale of the triple disaster including visits to some tsunami sites.
<Meeting Point & Time after Septemer>
Meet at JR Ono Station at 9:30 on the JR Joban Line. It’s located 6 km from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, one of the closest stations to the plant. The area was once fully evacuated but reopened in 2020. You can come from either the Iwaki direction (south) or the Sendai direction (north).
End at JR Futaba Station at 16:30 / Train info – To Tokyo : take the 16:48 southbound local train to Iwaki Station, and change to the Express Hitachi No.26 at 18:17. Your arrival time at Tokyo is 20:42. / To Sendai : take the 18:12 northbound local train. Your arrival time at Sendai is 20:13. (if preferred, we can drop you a litter earlier so to take the 16:20 train, which arrives at 18:58 at Sendai).
<Important>
1) You need to submit a copy of your ID at least two weeks before your visit to complete the registration procedure for entry to the Interim Soil Storage Facility in the gated zone.
2) As the tour starts in the morning, you need to stay in this region of Fukushima or nearby cities such as Sendai or Iwaki the night before. There is no morning train from Tokyo that takes you to the meeting point by 9:30.
For your stay, please feel free to ask us about local accommodations in the reopened towns within the 20km zone. Along the JR Joban Line, several local hotels have returned from their evacuation, and some new ones have recently opened for revitalisation near the JR Stations of Hirono, J-Village, Tomioka, Ono (Okuma), Futaba, Namie and Odaka. Come and stay in this region and experience the local vibe!
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*On March 14th, 2020, the JR Joban Line between Tokyo and Sendai reopened entirely for the first time since 2011. You can now travel to this coastal region directly from north to south.
What to expect on Standard Tour (Regular)
- Visit the rural village of Odaka and meet local returnees from their evacuation, and learn about the real impact on the local community.
- See abandoned rice fields as well as the decontamination efforts to reduce the radiation levels by removing the top soil.
- Visit the tsunami-damaged area and the Ukedo elementary school -a tsunami memorial site by the shore in Namie Town (¥300).
- Visit The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum (¥600) in Futaba Town in Futaba Town.
- See some of mural paintings in the Futaba Station area, a new revitalisation art programme for the town.
- Drive through Route 6 in the current evacuated zone and see Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant from a distance (you won’t be able to see the reactors), as well as thousands of the soil bags for decontamination.
- Visit the newly built housing complex for the returnees and the brand new revitalisation hub the Road-side Station Namie to learn about the ongoing efforts for revitalisation.
- See numerous solar panels which are being built after the disaster, with the aim of providing 100% renewable energy for Fukushima by 2041
- Start at 11:30 at Namie Station on the JR Joban Line
- End at 17:30 at Futaba Station
To viewers of Netflix's Dark Tourist
If you are interested in visiting, please first read the following guidelines. We consider that
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[Notes]
Please be aware that this is not an adventure-type sightseeing tour. We will ask everyone to show respect to this region and people. Photography and videography are not allowed in many areas due to private concerns.
Reservations are available through the Booking Calendar and open on the 1st of each month for dates up to five months in advance.
If you take part in this tour for your business purposes, such as if you are a journalist, photographer / videographer, Youtuber, or Tik Toker, you need to mention it in advance.
Due to COVID related-precautions, we currently offer small group tours up to 5 people. Hope this provides a more private and special experience for you.
If you are interested in our Monthly Study Tour into Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, please go to >>this page and book the slot.