Tourist sites still struggling a week after Niigata quake

June 25, 2019

Murakami, Niigata Pref.--Hot spring resorts and other tourist sites in Niigata and Yamagata prefectures are still reeling from a powerful earthquake that rocked the northeastern Japan area a week ago.

The earthquake, which occurred on the night of June 18, registered upper 6 on Japan's seismic intensity scale in the city of Murakami in Niigata and lower 6 in the city of Tsuruoka in Yamagata. The quake left a total of 36 people in five prefectures injured, and damaged 149 buildings in three prefectures, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

Some "ryokan" Japanese-style inns in the hot spring district of Atsumi in Tsuruoka remain closed until July 1, after the earthquake damaged piping that supplies hot spring water to the inns.

Local inn Kashiwaya Ryokan suffered damage to its roof and walls.

Takehiro Saito, the 38-year-old manager of the inn, said that past visitors sent him messages of encouragement on social media, promising that they will visit again.

"I hope to show my gratitude to guests who return (after the inn reopens)," Saito said.

"Summer is our busiest season," said Mayuko Abe, 33, who works at the Atsumi tourism board. "We want to restore damaged facilities to their original condition so that people can visit with safety."

More than 100 people have canceled trips to facilities in Yamagata, including areas undamaged by the earthquake.

"We're in cherry-picking season. We hope people will come," said Hiroko Arao, a 66-year-old senior official of the prefectural hot spring association.

Hot spring resort inns in Murakami, which suffered virtually no damage from the quake, have also been hit with cancellations.

Senami View Hotel, which continued to accept guests after the quake, had about 150 cancellations. According to hotel general manager Shozo Nakamura, cancellations tended to come from outside of the prefecture.

"Reservations for the summer holidays have been slow. (The earthquake) has also affected autumn reservations, and we need to think of countermeasures," said Katsuhiro Ozaki, senior managing director of Taikanso Senami no Yu. The hot spring hotel received cancellations totaling about 900 guests. Jiji Press