Major Fukushima beach reopens after 7 years
July 16, 2017
IWAKI, FUKUSHIMA PREF.- Usuiso Beach in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, reopened Saturday to bathers for the first time in seven years since the summer before the March 2011earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent nuclear accident.
Usuiso on the Pacific coast is one of the largest beaches in the northeastern Japan prefecture, with about 260,000 visitors in 2010.
It closed down in 2011 due to the disaster and triple meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 plant.
The beach reopened after tide embankment construction was completed and safety was confirmed by radiation checks on seawater.
After performing the hula at a ceremony, local high school girls headed toward the water's edge. "The waves were higher and colder than I had expected," Aoi Konno, a 17-year-old high school senior, said.
Hula dancing is popular in Iwaki, which provided the setting for "Hula Girls," a 2006 hit movie.
Built after the March 2011 disaster, 5-meter-tall tide embankments tower behind the beach.
"We can enjoy a beautiful view of sunrise here. It would be disappointing if the ocean view was blocked," said Yoritame Anzai, a 49-year-old self-employed from Iwaki, who came to the beach with his daughter.
After the March 2011 disaster, all 18 bathing beaches in Fukushima shut down. Only three, including Usuiso, have reopened. (Jiji Press)
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