North-East Japan’s tourism industry is heavily affected by the earthquake

Monday, March 21, 2022

The recent earthquake that hit the Fukushima Prefecture has affected the tourism industry of the country. This can affect the country’s plans on attracting tourism to the country severely. In some parts of Tohoku, it reached upper 6,  which is the second-highest level on Japanese seismic intensity scale. The earthquake has damaged several bulidings in the region.

Notably, the Saryo Soen Ryokan in the Akiu hot spring resort in Sendai was hit very hard The quake caused the inn to temporarily close as it broke water pipes, flooding parts of the inn’s facilities. The manager Toyoko Kaneko, said that they were fully booked for the weekend. The manager said that they were unsure that their facilities might be damaged again after the quake when the second wave might hit.

All Nippon Airways is providing special flights to Sendai from Haneda as the Tohoku Shinkensen line remains partially closed after last week’s quake. The quake happened just before the country was aiming to reopen after the COVID-19 pandemic. All the expressway sections that were closed due to the quake have been reopened.

However, the JR East’s Tohoku Shinkansen train line remains closed between Nasushiobara Station in Tochigi Prefecture and Morioka Station in Iwate Prefecture. And the Sendai Station is in the closed section. The company expects to fully reopen the closed shinkansen section in April or even later. On Sunday, the company started work to remove a shinkansen train derailed in the section due to Wednesday’s quake.

In the Fukushima Prefecture, the Hamanoeki Matsukawaura a food store in the city of Soma partially reopened on Sunday after a three-day shutdown caused by the tremor. The earthquake has created cracks on walls of the store. Running water remains unavailable, while the nearby fishing port and seafood processing factory have been damaged.

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