IWAKI, Fukushima Prefecture--The Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 uprooted the lives of friends and family of Haruna Shiraiwa in this coastal city in northeastern Japan.
IWAKI, Fukushima Prefecture--The Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 uprooted the lives of friends and family of Haruna Shiraiwa in this coastal city in northeastern Japan.
But as the area began to slowly recover, the second-year student at Taira Commercial High School wanted to show the world that things were returning to normal in Iwaki, so she got together with like-minded friends and together they organized "Tomotra in Iwaki," a bus tour in Iwaki where the students will serve as tour guides.
Shiraiwa was one of 300 high school students from the disaster-stricken areas who took part in a short-term study tour to the United States last summer.
Based on what she learned during that study tour, she came up with the idea of the bus tour when she returned to Japan.
Shiraiwa and seven additional high school students organized the tour and presented their idea to H.I.S. Co., the travel agency that handled arrangements for their study tour to the United States. H.I.S. officials agreed to cooperate, and the Iwaki tour became a reality.
By serving as tour guides, the high school students hope to not only talk about their experiences during the March 11, 2011, disaster and aftermath, but also get to know tour participants better.
One such tour guide is Aoi Seto. Immediately after the disaster, the second-year student at Iwaki Sakuragaoka High School considered evacuating, but decided to remain in Iwaki. Although the water supply and gas to her home were cut off, she was able to use the shower at the houses of friends who still had power.
Haruka Yashiro was forced to evacuate because her family's house fell within the 20-kilometer radius no-entry zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. A third-year student at Futaba High School, Yashiro has been living and attending school in Iwaki since the spring of 2012.
"I want to repay my gratitude to the people of Iwaki who have welcomed us," she said.
In 2011, the number of tourists to Iwaki plunged from the 10 million of the previous year to about 3.6 million. Although the number increased to 7.3 million in 2012, it has still not recovered to pre-disaster levels.
"I hope the tour participants will feel the attractions of Iwaki and get to know the people who live here," Shiraiwa said.
The two-day tours will depart from Tokyo's Shinjuku area and include stops at Spa Resort Hawaiians, as well as areas that were hit hard by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. The tour costs 19,980 yen ($197) per person and will depart Tokyo on three occasions, May 25, June 1 and July 6.
Reservations can be made with H.I.S. at 050-5833-2811.