Fukushima - Taking Life Day by Day

The best way to discover little-known sights and make even familiar places feel brand new, is to go exploring by bicycle.

Today we're going to Fukushima, a region with incredibly varied scenery, and a people famous for their fortitude in the face of adversity.

Well done!

I was born in Fukushima, and I've
lived here all my life. I just love this place.

Here we go.

What an amazing sensation.

The region's young people are its hope for the future.

We have to care for our horses.
They do all the work.

Come with us now, on a four-day, 350-kilometer ride through Fukushima.

We've come by Shinkansen to Fukushima City, population 300,000.

Good morning.

So today we've come up from Tokyo to Fukushima.

This is Zac Reynolds, from Australia.

Zac works for a cycle manufacturer, and has already explored much of Japan by bicycle.

We're off, and heading north.

Ten kilometers from Fukushima station, and Zac is cycling through a fruit growing area.

Looks like some nashi here.

Starting to see some more orchards up in this area.

Zac's spotted an orchard where you can pick your own fruit.

Hopefully we can see what kind of fruits are in season at the moment.

- Hello!
- Good morning!

- I see you have loads of peaches.
- Don't worry. I'll sell them all.

- Are they all from around here?
- Of course! Ripened by the sun, picked with love.

It's the most important thing.

And your clothes are all peach too.

- Showing your love for this fruit?
- You guessed it.

Unlike most Japanese growers, Sato doesn't grow his peaches in protective bags.

This requires much more care, but bathed in sunlight, his peaches develop a beautiful color.

- I'll be as gentle as I can.
- That's the way.

- Well done!
- It's beautiful.

- The color is so deep.
- You chose a nice one.

And now to see how it tastes.

Very good!

- A nice clean cut.　
- Better than I could.

It's not too sweet and not too soft, but it's really full of flavor.

The orchard has been in Sato's family for four generations.

But, in 2011, this almost 120-year legacy was nearly wiped out by the Tohoku earthquake.

After the meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, tourism here collapsed.

Sato's sales fell by over 90 percent.

I asked everyone what we should do.
Our business had really hit rock bottom.

That meant there was nowhere to go but up.
So we decided we just had to carry on.

We gritted our teeth and got back to work.

They looked for new ways to make the orchard more appealing to visitors.

One idea was a cafe in the orchard, serving desserts made with different fruits each season.

- Really tasty!
- That's good.

I've lived here all my life. I just love this place.

I want everyone to share my love for Fukushima.
I'll never give up trying for that.

It's beautiful sunny weather this morning.

Should be a good day.

Zac's now riding east, towards the coast.

Entering the city of Soma, we have an expansive view out over the Pacific Ocean.

Definitely a nice view from up here.

This was the area worst hit by the great tsunami caused by the 2011 earthquake.

Looks like a lot of new solar panels here, as well as the wind power generators.

You can see some construction up here.

Even today, 11 years after the disaster, the reconstruction work is far from complete.

Hello there!

So we're coming into the center of Namie Town.

After the nuclear accident following the 2011 tsunami, Namie's residents were ordered to evacuate.

The evacuation order was partly lifted in 2017, but people still cannot return to their homes in some areas.

Today we're going to visit this new town center that's just been opened.

Look at all these.

They all have a horse motif on them.

- Ah, hello!
- Hello.

Is all this pottery locally made?

The craft is named after one of the town's districts.
It dates back 300 years.

This is a famous old design, showing a horse and the Pacific ocean.

The holes suggest birds flying between the waves.

I've cut this to show how it's made.

There's an outer and an inner layer that
only join together around the lip of the mug.

They're made separately then joined?

It acts as an insulator, so you may not realize
how hot the drink is until you take a sip!

A 13th generation Obori-soma potter, Onoda had to evacuate after the nuclear accident, abandoning both home and workshop.

After so many years of decay, there's no way he could ever repair the buildings now.

The town's redevelopment plan is progressing, but will probably take four more years to complete.

We had a watch shop here, and a liquor store.

And over there was a pottery store.
It sold locally made ceramics too.

I hated to think of Obori-soma ware dying out.

It has such a history,
I felt I had to do everything I could to keep it alive.

Determined to preserve the Obori-soma ware tradition, Onoda regularly makes the three-hour round trip from his home to teach classes at the new Namie mall.

Eleven years seem to have passed in a flash.

This is my home, where I was born.
I'll try anything to get people to return to the area.

You just have to keep working at it.

It's a long road yet to recovery, but Namie will eventually get there.

On the third day, Zac has left the coast and is riding west, through the mountains.

A guy fishing in the river here.

Look at this. See the forest here?

So beautiful and cool under here, especially on a hot summer's day.

Ah, here it is.

Zac's going to visit a high school in the town of Kagami-ishi.

Hello!

- Thanks for showing me around.
- You're welcome.

Kasai is taking Zac to see the school horse riding club.

This club is highly competitive, and has twice won national championships.

- Hello!
- Hello!

- My name's Zac.
- I'm Maria.

- She's head of the riding club.
- Cool.

Inoue Maria began riding when she started school here three years ago.

The club currently has 11 members.

You don't suddenly become a good rider.

You have to work at the basics, day after day.
Do that, then one day you'll get it.

The most important thing
is to get to know your horse.

Fukushima is historically famous for horse breeding, and people here still have a great love for this animal.

The daily work of cleaning and grooming helps club members to develop a close rapport with their horses.

It's been 25 years since Zac rode a horse, but with Maria's help he gives it a go.

Hold the reins with both hands, thumbs on top.

- You got it! That's the basic grip.
- OK!

- What an amazing sensation.
- Really?

You'd need daily practice to get used to this.

That's right.

Be sure to pat and thank your horse.

Thank you. That was such fun!

We take good care of our horses.
After all, where would we be without them?

I even like sound of the word "horse."

Do you plan to work with horses for a living?

I hope to become a racehorse trainer.

I'll probably have to move to Hokkaido for that.

That's a long way from home.
Won't you feel lonely?

- No, it'll be fun.
- You just love working with horses.

Absolutely!

It's the last day, and Zac has more hills to climb before reaching his goal.

I made it past 822m, elevation of about 400m gained.

I'm going to enjoy this downhill.

Zac is now in the hot-spring resort of Yunokami Onsen.

Wow. Check out this station here.

Traditional thatched roof.

Never seen a station like this before.

Looks pretty old, this station.

- Good morning!
- Hello.

What an amazing place.
How long have you worked here?

About 35 years.

Three of us run the place.

My bosses are in there. Let me call them over.

- Why are you calling me boss?
- Well, you joined the company first.

But you're the boss today.

Nice to meet you.

May I ask your names?

- Boss, you go first.
- I'm Shiraishi Minako.

Station master Shiraishi.

I'm Tamagawa Eiko.
Today I'm running the station kiosk.

And I'm Watanabe Katsue.

You seem like great friends.

This is unusual. An open hearth in a station.

It's to help preserve the building.

Insects will attack thatched roofs if they stay damp.
The smoke coats the thatch and repels bugs.

It's colored the walls too.

When we started here, they were white.

35 years of smoke, and they're pure black.

The station was remodeled in 1987 with this charming thatched building designed as a tourist attraction.

Shiraishi and her two friends were sent by the Aizu tourist association to run the newly opened station.

35 years later, and they're still here, welcoming visitors to the area.

They bring out a box of photos from all the years they've worked here.

- We haven't changed a bit.
- Not a bit!

Always laughing, even back then.

Three lives, centered on this little country station.

Over the years, they married, raised children, cared for aging parents, but the station was always there for them.

A place that never changed, a place to be with the friends they trusted most in life.

We sometimes have to take a break,
but mostly we try to be here everyday.

We'll probably still be here next time you come.

Might be walking with a stick, though.

I'd be very happy to see you all.

Zac's now getting closer to his goal, Mount Azuma-kofuji.

Nice view here.

Ah, look at this here.

You can see the smoke coming out.

This bare rocky peak is the remains of an ancient volcano.

Is this the top?

Wow, look at this here, the sea of clouds over to the north and then looking back down towards Fukushima City where we started.

Wow, what a beautiful view.

What an awesome place to finish this trip.

Meeting all the people in these different areas that have had these common hardships but various effects.

Often it seems like after one disaster, take a couple of steps forward and then you have to take another step back when something else comes.

You can see the forward thinking attitude of the people and banding together to take whatever comes in their stride

and just move on and make things better.

Even in the hardest times, people here in Fukushima never lose their optimistic attitude,

the will to build a better future.