Hopes for new jobs from tourism

Japan’s Tohoku region devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami hopes tourism will create new jobs and revive rural economies.
The area that encompasses Fukushima’s Daiichi nuclear power plant has launched a year-long campaign entitled Destination Tohoku.

The campaign hopes to revive tourism outside the nuclear exclusion zone to pre-earthquake levels and replace jobs lost in farming and fishing.

While many resorts along the coast have been destroyed, most transport services and hotels in the countryside and in the city of Sendai are up and running.
There are many visitor attractions within Tohoku’s 28 designated tourism areas.  These range from hot springs and UNESCO World Heritage Sites to food, shopping and cherry blossom festivals.

The campaign has set up tourist offices near train stations, staffed by multi-lingual guides who can provide info about attractions.

Visitors calling into these offices will be given a Tohoku Passport offering discounts on eating out and sightseeing.


To learn more go to tohokukanko-fukkou.jp/en

and in Japanese visitjapan-tohoku.org