Futaba Town (双葉町) is where two (Units 5 and 6) of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant‘s six nuclear reactors are located, but both were offline and successfully shut down. Problem Units 1 to 4 were in neighboring Okuma Town. Being within the 20-km evacuation radius of the Daiichi plant, the entire town was ordered to be evacuated soon after 3.11.
The townspeople and temporary town hall later kept moving to different locations such as Saitama Prefecture and cities in Fukushima Prefecture. A few months after the disaster, former residents were allowed back to Futaba for short periods to check on their homes while dressed in protective clothing.
Contents
- The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum
- Tomioka, Fukushima after 3.11
- Futaba Business Incubation and Community Center
- Futaba Super Zero Mill
- Futaba Art District
On March 4, 2020, evacuation orders for the area around the reopened JR Futaba Station was lifted, followed by the complete restoration of the JR Joban Line on March 14, 2020 after the segment between Tomioka Station and Namie Station was reconnected.
On Aug. 30, 2022, about 10 percent of the town centering around JR Futaba Station was made habitable again after decontamination, safe radiation levels, and infrastructure reconstruction. Public housing near the station was built.
At the heart of Futaba’s reconstruction is the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum which opened on Sept. 20, 2020, and the adjacent Futaba Business Incubation and Community Center (双葉町産業交流センター) housing the offices of TEPCO’s Fukushima Recovery Headquarters. The new Futaba Town Hall also opened on September 5, 2022 after having moved to Saitama Prefecture and then to Iwaki in the interim years.
About 85 percent of Futaba’s land area is still restricted (帰宅困難区域), disallowing those residents to return to their homes. As of March 2025, Futaba’s actual population was only 183, just 3 percent of the 5,436 registered residents.
Moreover, about 60 percent of current residents are newcomers, not returnees. According to a survey, about 60 percent of former Futaba residents do not intend to return. Many of their homes are still in the restricted zone. Even if alternate housing becomes available in Futaba, most former residents prefer to return to their original homes instead of any other housing.
Rice was a major industry in Futaba with many rice paddies. The soil was highly fertile. However, the topsoil, being the most fertile part, was removed for decontamination and replaced by sand brought in from the mountains. This new topsoil lacked nutrients and returning farmers found poor harvests such as for broccoli. Restarting agriculture in Futaba is proving to be difficult and time consuming.
An industrial park in Futaba’s Nakano district near the coast is being developed and most of the companies moving in are in the construction business related to the decommissioning of the nuclear power plants or reconstruction.
The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum, Futaba
Fukushima’s largest 3.11 memorial museum (denshokan) is the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum (東日本大震災原子力災害伝承館) in Futaba.
Built with funds from the Japanese government and operated by Fukushima Prefectural Government, the museum is a large, three-story modern building with a 5,200 sq m floor space. There’s a large entry hall, video theater, seminar rooms, exhibition rooms, and lookout deck. It opened on Sept. 20, 2020 after parts of Futaba were reopened to residents and businesses.
Through videos, interviews, exhibits, and museum talks, the museum is geared to explain the pre-disaster history of the area, the history of the nuclear power plant, the area’s association with nuclear power, what happened on March 11, 2011, the impact of the nuclear accident, the handling and management of the nuclear disaster, and the ongoing reconstruction and recovery.
First, you watch a short prologue video in a round theater, then walk up a spiral slope with a history wall displaying a photo chronology of the area’s nuclear power plants starting in 1967 when the construction of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant began.
The main exhibition rooms show what happened and the impact of the nuclear disaster.
Right: Camera that washed up from the tsunami.
We had an English-speaking museum guide showing us around, but the most interesting part was hearing disaster lessons and stories from a local person (kataribe 語り部) giving a museum talk about the disaster.
The museum conducts these disaster experience talks four times a day for 40 minutes each. The talk is followed by a Q&A. A wide variety of topics are presented by different people from nearby towns. The talks are all in Japanese, but they do have an onscreen translation system which may or may not be so accurate.
We heard a slide show talk by Aoki Yoshiko, Tomioka Town resident and director of the Tomioka 3.11 Storytelling Association. She was the former principal of Tomioka High School and was retired and living in Koriyama in when 3.11 occurred. She gave assistance to Tomioka evacuees arriving in Koriyama after 3.11. She later moved to live in Tomioka after the evacuation order was partially lifted in April 2017.
One of her main points was that the nuclear disaster cut the bonds and connections between town residents. The local community needed to be restored.
Tomioka Town (富岡町) is south of the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and where Daini Nuclear Power Plant is located. The tsunami reached the JR Tomioka Station area and washed away much of the train tracks. The train tracks between Tomioka Station and Namie Station up north was the last segment to be rebuilt before the entire JR Joban Line was restored on March 14, 2020.
Due to the radiation leakage, all Tomioka residents were ordered to evacuate the next morning after the disaster. Tomioka was within the 20 km evacuation radius from the Daiichi plant. Many evacuated to Koriyama city.
Photo above shows Tomioka residents fleeing the town in their cars, causing a traffic jam by 7:30 am on March 12, 2011. Our storyteller regarded this photo as precious, being the last group photo of the townspeople taken together before they scattered to different places.
Tomioka is most famous for its long, straight road named Sakura-dori lined with cherry blossoms near Yonomori Park in spring. In the early years after the disaster, it was sad to see this road being closed off due to radiation levels. But the flowers still bloomed as a symbol of strength and encouragement.
Part of the cherry blossom road was finally reopened in April 2016, and fully reopened on Jan. 26, 2022. Cherry blossoms bloom from early to mid-April.
Video: https://youtu.be/pwbCYEo023w?si=o2_qgDtMM3eGQ5pj
From April 1, 2017, evacuation orders for parts of Tomioka were lifted to allow 90 percent of evacuee residents to return. However, those who actually returned remain a small minority.
In 2022 and 2023, evacuation orders were lifted for more areas of the town. Local elementary and junior high schools reopened in 2022.
As of Jan. 2024, Tomioka’s actual population was 2,307, only about 21 percent of the registered population of 11,516. This means about 80 percent of former residents were still evacuees. In 2010, Tomioka’s population was 15,996.
Okuma Town has a similar story with only 622 actual residents as of January 2024, only about 10 percent of the 9,952 registered residents.
In the special exhibition room in February 2025, there was this display of costumes and implements from 25 local festivals in Iitate Village. One side effect of 3.11 and mass evacuations was the suspension of local festivals due to the lack of participants and festival goers.
Many residents vowed not to have these festivals be discontinued on their watch. They are working to revive and continue these precious local traditions and teach the current and future generations. There’s a wide variety of festivals indeed.
Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum (東日本大震災原子力災害伝承館)
Address: 39 Takada, Nakano, Futaba-cho, Futaba-gun, Fukushima Prefecture 979-1401
Phone: +81(0)240-23-4402
Hours: 9:00 am–5:00 pm (enter by 4:30 pm)
Closed: Tuesdays (open if a national holiday and closed the next day instead), December 29 to January 3
Admission: ¥600 for adults, ¥300 for high school and below
Website: https://www.fipo.or.jp/lore
English pamphlet: https://www.fipo.or.jp/lore/lore_cms/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%95%E8%8B%B1%E8%AA%9E%E7%89%880313.pdf
Getting to Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum
Closest train station is JR Futaba Station on the JR Joban Line. Either take a shuttle bus to the museum or rent a free bicycle and pedal to the museum 2 km away. A bicycle will be handy to visit other nearby places like Futaba Art District and Ukedo Elementary School 2.8 km from the museum.
Fukushima has similar memorial museums at Iwaki 3.11 Memorial and Revitalization Museum in Iwaki, Tomioka Archive Museum in Tomioka, and Soma City Memorial Hall.
Futaba Business Incubation and Community Center
Next to the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum is the Futaba Business Incubation and Community Center, nicknamed F-BICC (双葉町産業交流センター).
F-BICC is a multi-purpose building with rental meeting rooms, rental office space, restaurant, and gift shop. On Feb. 1, 2023, Futaba’s first convenience store (Family Mart) since 3.11 opened in the building. Good place to have lunch before or after visiting the Memorial Museum.
Futaba Business Incubation and Community Center (双葉町産業交流センター)
Hours: 9:00 am–6:00 pm, closed Dec. 29–Jan. 3
Address: 福島県双葉郡双葉町大字中野字高田1番地1
Phone: 0240-23-7212
Website: https://www.f-bicc.jp/
Futaba Super Zero Mill, Futaba
Thanks to government subsidies to help revitalize Hama-dori, hundreds of companies have set up factories or offices in the towns near the Daiichi nuclear power plant. These companies in turn have attracted newcomers to move to these towns for employment.
As a result, local populations have been slowly increasing due to these newcomer migrants. In effect, these Hama-dori towns are being reborn into almost totally new towns in both physical and population makeup as most original residents are not returning.
They are in addition to the workers brought in for the plant cleanup and infrastructure reconstruction. Town populations now consist mostly of migrant newcomers instead of returnee residents and remain well below pre-disaster levels.
New industries are also emerging in the area, mostly related to the decommissioning of the nuclear power plants and infrastructure reconstruction. They include robotics and drones, the environment, recycling technologies, medicine, fisheries, forestry, and aerospace.
In Futaba, one showcase factory is Futaba Super Zero Mill (浅野撚糸フタバスーパーゼロミル) built by Gifu-based Asano Nenshi Co., Ltd. (浅野撚糸). The factory opened in Futaba on April 22, 2023.
It produces a twisted yarn named “Super Zero” with excellent absorption properties, quick drying, and durability. This patented yarn is mainly used to make towels. The resulting fabric is airy for coolness in summer, yet it retains warm air in winter.
The entrance hall displays a Yamaha grand piano which was left in Futaba Junior High School’s music room for 12 years after 3.11 until it was retrieved and retuned. It was then played by pianist Nishimura Yukie for a recital on November 4, 2023 in Super Zero Mill’s courtyard. There’s also a gift shop and 2nd floor outlet shop selling mostly high-quality towels. The relaxing cafe is run by Key’s Cafe.
Futaba Super Zero Mill (浅野撚糸フタバスーパーゼロミル)
Address: Tatenouchi 1-1, Nakano, Futabamachi, Futaba-gun, Fukushima (福島県双葉郡双葉町中野舘ノ内1-1)
Hours: 10:00 am–6:00 pm, closed Mon.
Phone: 0240-23-7648 (Shop: 0240-23-7646)
Getting there: 17-min. walk from JR Futaba Station or 800 meters from Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum.
Location map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/km4746v8a8nJQc7k7
Website (in Japanese only): https://asanen.co.jp/dakishimetefutaba/
Futaba Art District, Futaba Town
Futaba Art District near JR Futaba Station in Futaba Town is another symbol of recovery and community spirit. Huge wall murals on unused buildings near the train station and other spots. Artwork done by a Tokyo-based, mural art collective called “OVER ALLs” during the early 2020s.
Right: Former school sports ground in Futaba.
They wanted to demonstrate the power of art and light the fire in people’s hearts to start the town’s recovery process. So they asked the townspeople to allow them to paint encouraging murals on buildings.
At first, the artists were questioned and harassed by patrolling police in summer 2020, but they eventually got the town’s understanding and created at least eight wall murals in the central neighborhood. The faces in the artwork depict former residents and shopkeepers.
Futaba Town is known for daruma dolls and the New Year’s daruma market held since the 17th century. The Futaba Daruma Market was suspended for 12 years after 3.11 when it was finally held again in January 2023.
Photos of other Futaba artwork: http://www.overalls.jp/cn23/cn30/futaba-art-district.html
Interesting story behind how the project came about: https://en.hamadori-coast.com/place/p03
Location map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/n9sgMLUgTYF4iXYW8
Also see:
- Fukushima’s Road to Recovery
- Fukushima’s three regions
- March 11, 2011 triple disaster in Fukushima
- Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
- “Hope tourism” in Tohoku Region
- Futaba, Fukushima after 3.11
- The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum