404

404

PAGE NOT FOUND

Unfortunately the page you are looking for is not available.

Back to Home

Unique in Fukushima

Miharu Takizakura
Nature & Scenery

Miharu Takizakura

Miharu is a small town in central Fukushima Prefecture. The town’s name means “three springs” and it is easy to see how it got such a name. With cherry, plum, and peach trees blossoming in spectacular displays every spring, it is almost as if spring has tripled! But the most famous of the trees in Miharu is the Miharu Takizakura tree, which is a nationally recognized Natural Monument.Over ten centuries old, the beautiful Miharu Takizakura is a flowering cherry tree that spreads out in all directions and makes for a breathtaking vista. The cascading blankets of blossoms are how this tree got the name takizakura, or “waterfall cherry tree.” It is even one of the “three great cherry trees” of Japan (along with Usuzumizakura in Gifu and the Jindaizakura in Yamanashi Prefecture).Miharu Takizakura sits in a sakura hollow in order to protect it from the elements while providing excellent drainage. The heavy boughs of the tree are supported by wooden beams and lend to its elegant form. The Miharu Takizakura begins blooming from mid-April. During the day the sight is whimsical, but visit in the evening and you’ll be treated to an almost haunting beauty as the tree is illuminated.Aside from this huge cherry tree (over 12 meters tall and 18 to 22 meters in spread), the area is also blessed with various wildflowers, including cherry and rapeseed flowers. But, of course, the Miharu Takizakura is what the annual 200,000 visitors are there to see. The view from the base of the sakura is considered to be the most beautiful and the Miharu Takizakura often ranks as the best sakura tree in all of Japan.

Aizu Hanko Nisshinkan
History & Culture

Aizu Hanko Nisshinkan

Aizu Hanko Nisshinkan was the highest-level learning institution of its time. It was established in 1803 by the Aizu Domain to foster Japan's next generation of talented samurais.Children of samurai families entered this school at the age of ten and worked on academic studies and physical exercises to instill both physical and mental discipline.The property, covering about 26,500 square meters in area, used to house such facilities as a martial arts training hall, an astronomical observatory, and Suiren-Suiba Ike, Japan's oldest swimming pool.During the late Edo Period, the school turned out a great deal of excellent talent, including the legendary group of young warriors, the Byakkotai. The facilities, which were burned down during the Boshin War, have been rebuilt faithful to their original design. They now function as a hands-on museum that features exhibits of the magnificent architecture of the Edo Period and dioramas of school life as it used to be.Visitors can enjoy practicing some of the essential disciplines of the samurai, including tea ceremony, Japanese archery, meditation, and horseback riding, as well as experiencing hand painting an akabeko (red cow), a traditional good-luck charm of Aizu.Make a reservation : https://nisshinkan.jp/reservation*Since the website is in Japanese, we recommend that you use Google Translate or other translation functions to make reservations. 

The Remains of Ukedo Elementary School in Namie Town
Disaster Recovery & Revitalization

The Remains of Ukedo Elementary School in Namie Town

The Remains of Ukedo Elementary School in Namie Town (震災遺構浪江町立請戸小学校) are located in the coastal area of Fukushima prefecture.Ukedo Elementary School, located 300 meters from the sea, was having classes when the earthquake struck at 2:46 p. m. on March 11, 2011. A few minutes later, a tsunami warning was issued for Ukedo. The school staff urged students to evacuate immediately to nearby Mount Ohirayama, approximately 1.5 km from the school. When the tsunami hit about 40 minutes after the earthquake, all of the students and staff had evacuated safely.The school building suffered great damage from the earthquake and the tsunami, as did most of Namie town, which shortly after became under evacuation order due to the nuclear disaster (the evacuation order for some areas in Namie Town was lifted on March 31, 2017).In 2021, the remnants of the Ukedo Elementary School building opened to the public. The facilities remain largely untouched, with debris, broken floors and ceilings, smashed objects, collapsed furniture and other school items. Visitors can see the extent of the destruction caused by the earthquake and tsunami and learn about the importance of disaster preparedness.At the entrance, you can scan a QR code using your phone to access the English translation of each explanation panel as you proceed through the school grounds.

Bandai-Azuma Skyline
Nature & Scenery

Bandai-Azuma Skyline

This sightseeing road that runs from Fukushima City's Takayu Onsen to the Tsuchiyu Pass, commanding panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.The spectacular views that stretch out at an average altitude of 1,350 meters attract visitors time and time again, and Bandai-Azuma Skyline has been selected as one of the 100 Best Roads in Japan.In spring, tourists can enjoy flower viewing while at the same time taking in the otherworldly winter scenery of the "Snow Corridor".In summer, the Nemoto Shakunage (Rhododendron brachycarpum), a species of alpine rose, and other alpine plants display their colorful flowers and fresh, brilliant green leaves. During autumn, the drive warms as roads become enclosed by fiery seasonal leaves.There are also many hot springs in the vicinity of the Skyline where visitors can enjoy a bath and relax stiff muscles while out on a daytrip.The roadway passes next to the crater of Mt. Azuma-Kofuji. Visitors can easily park their car at the nearby guest center and enjoy a short hike up to the crater’s rim.The Bandai-Azuma Skyline Roadway has been selected as one of the top 100 roads in Japan, and unlike many others, this one is free to use. There are rest stops along the way for the hungry traveler; the most popular is Jododaira, as it’s home to a rest house and an observatory.Be sure to plan ahead though, from mid-November to early April the roadway is closed due to heavy winter snowfall.

Top