今回の東北旅で福島の観光名所、歴史的な会津若松へ行きました。お城と武家屋敷はもちろんけど、お城での侍の格好している案内人と、武家屋敷での赤べこ塗体験が一番の思い出になりました。

どれだけ会津若松が観光上手か、感心しました。良い風にですよ。うちのままとパパ、私ども夫婦、そして子供３人で行きましたが、皆が素晴らしい思い出になりました。

今回は市内しか見れませんでした。次回は磐梯山、大内宿、そしてできたら尾瀬に行きた～いな！

"For Fukushima" was the theme for our family trip to Tohoku. We spent the 1st night in the Hawaiians Resort in Iwaki City along the coast. For the 2nd day, we drove inland to the opposite side of Fukushima to the historical castle town of Aizu Wakamatsu.

We saw the famous castle as well as toured the Aizu Bukeyashiki samurai residence complex. While they were both impressive, we had the best memories from the guide wearing a samurai outfit outside the castle, as well as the "Aka-beko" painting workshop at the samurai museum. It's experiences like those that make for the best family bonding.

For this visit to Aizu, we only got to see the town. Next trip, I want to go explore Mt. Bandai, see the Ouchi Edo-era post town, and get lost in the wilderness of Oze. Aizu, I'll be back!

「見に来てほしい」

東北の知り合いに言われました。3.11の地震と津波、その後の原発問題。いくらテレビで画像を見ても、現地を自分の目で見た方が重要だと。100年（1000年？）に一度の自然の現象で自分及び子供達の目で見た方が良いと。

人の苦しみを見て良いかどうかの不安を置いておいて、今回の東北旅で「津波の跡見学」を目的の一つにしました。

ハワイアンズにお世話になってから小名浜、いわき市の港へ行ってみました。

まずは魚市場ラ・ラ・ミュウに入りました。何もなかったと思われるぐらいに回りが片づけられたが、地震から１５分後に２ｍの波が市場を被されましたそうです。１回の売り場のダルビッシュにそっくりのお兄さんとの仲間の笑顔は忘れられません。原発から１００km距離の漁業禁止ゾーンだが、他所からの魚を下ろして、負けないで元気で販売していました。「応援で何か買いたい」と言ったら「すぐに家に帰れば良いけど、そうじゃないでしょう？無理にしないで」と、優しい心。

ラ・ラ・ミュウの２階に避難所の資料展示があった。辛い思い出だ。観覧船は４月下旬から復活の様で、取り敢えずは案内の人の指導で車で移動して、塩屋崎灯台の北側にあった町へ行きました。写真の様に、建物の基礎しか残っていません。

基礎しか…

「見に来てほしい」とは、こういう所。テレビじゃ…

その後、行き会った人の紹介でお寿司屋さん「ともえ」でお昼を食べた。どこかの食事会の為に立派な船盛りを作っている最中だったマスターとの奥さんは親切に美味しいお料理を下さりました。「１００km禁止ゾーンのせいで寿司屋は苦しいけど、頑張っています」と。

「見に来てほしい」とは、これだね。

"We want you to come and see."

That's what one of my ryokan association colleagues from Tohoku (northeastern Japan) told me about the aftermath of the March 11th and following triple disaster. It's one thing to see images of the destruction on TV, but it's important to see it personally with your own eyes. The earthquake and tsunami were once-in-a-100 (1000?) years demonstration of the power of nature.

So putting aside my concerns about possibly being inconsiderate to the people there who suffered so much, on this trip to Fukushima I made it one of my goals to see the tsunami area and show it to our kids.

After leaving the Hawaiians Resort, we drove down to Onahama, Iwaki City's main port. The seafood market Ra Ra Myu had been restored to the point that you wouldn't think anything had taken place here. But 15 minutes after the earthquake, the market was inundated with a 2-meter wave. I will never forget the smiles of the the Darvish-look-alike fishmonger and his coworkers. "Our port's fishing ships can't work these waters due to the 100-km exclusion zone around the nuclear plant. But we get in fish from all over the world," they said as they carried on business as usual. When I mentioned I wanted to buy something to help support them, they said, "If you're headed straight back home, that would be great. But your travelling, so don't worry about it." I was touched by their generosity.

Ra-Ra's 2nd floor had a display depicting living conditions in the evacuation centers. That was tough to take in. The center's pleasure boat rides wouldn't start operating until late April, so on the advice of the info center we drove up the coast to the village that had been below the Shioyazaki Lighthouse.

As you can see in the picture, the village has been reduced to just the foundations of the buildings that had been there before the tsunami struck.

"We want you to come and see." This is what she had been talking about.

Later, we drove to a sushi shop, Tomoe, that a passerby had introduced us to. The sushi master was just finishing up a massive "funa-mori" sushi platter for some banquet nearby, but he and his wife kindly served us delictable sushi. "It's hard as a sushi chef to have to acquire fish from outside the 100-km zone." But by the looks of it, his business is still thriving.

"We want you to come and see." This is it, too.

2011.3.11は世界を変わった日でした。地震、津波、そして原発問題。「福島」は新たな意味になりました。

原発などのせいで亀清旅館までキャンセルの津波が激しかった。３月中旬・下旬及び４月上旬は我が宿が本当に静かでした。

逆に、津波などのお蔭で夏は記録的でした。皆さんの遊びは海から山へシフト;節電でなお蒸し暑い東京から割りと涼しい長野へシフト。

亀清旅館の８月売り上げは最高でした。

しかし、福島は静かのままだったようです。

恩返しを込めて、この春は家族の春休みで福島へお出かけしました。シアトルから来ているママとパパも連れて、親孝行を兼ねて。

一泊目はHawaiiansでした。キャンセル待ちで予約はぎりぎり取れたぐらい賑やかでした。伝説のフラガールは直接見れて、感動しました。

「元気」をお伝えしたいと思ったら、逆に「がんばっぺ福島」から「元気」を頂いてしまいました。

2011.3.11 is a day that changed the world. The earthquake, tsunami and nuclear radiation problem made "Fukushima" a household name everywhere.

Due to "Fukushima", even here at Kamesei Ryokan we had a tsunami of cancelations. Mid and late March as well as early April were extremely quiet here at our inn.

On the other hand, thanks to "Fukushima", we had a record August. Travellers in Japan avoided the ocean and came up to Nagano and its mountains instead.

Fukushima meanwhile continued to be quiet.

I felt indebted to Fukushima, so for this spring, our family decided to spend the holiday in Fukushima. Since my parents are here visiting from the States, we took them, too.

For our first night, we stayed at the famed Hawaiians Resort in Iwakuni. It was only due to a cancelation that we were able to get a booking -- it turns out the resort is back to being in full swing. And seeing the famed Hula Girls live was amazing.

We had intended to give Fukushima a boost of energy by visiting, but ended up on the receiving end instead.

スパリゾートハワイアンズ Spa Resort Hawaiians