Naraha (楢葉町) is a town south (map here) of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. After March 11, 2011, the town’s entire population had to evacuate, being within the 20 km radius from the Daiichi Plant up north. The town hall evacuated to Aizu-Misato Town and Iwaki city.
In August 2012, residents could finally enter the town’s former restricted zones, but not lodge overnight. In June 2014, the town hall started to return to Naraha.
On Sept. 5, 2015, evacuation orders were lifted, allowing residents to return. Naraha was the first municipality in the Hama-dori region to allow evacuees to move back. Naraha Town’s population in January 2025 was 3,338, well below the 2010 population of 8,188.
J-Village
J-Village (Jヴィレッジ) in Naraha is a National Training Center mainly for pro soccer built in 1997 by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and donated to Fukushima Prefecture.
It’s a large complex of ten soccer fields and a stadium, hotel, and restaurants/shops. It can also be used for other sports such as rugby, football, lacrosse, and basketball where athletes can lodge and hold training camps. The lodging and restaurant facilities are also open to the general public.
Due to 3.11, the entire facility was closed as a sports facility until June 30, 2013 during which the Japanese government used it as an administrative center and forward base for the Japanese government, Self Defense Forces, firefighters, and cleanup workers working at the Daiichi plant. Temporary housing and parking lots were built on the soccer fields. Workers would drive here, change into protective clothing, then ride buses to the Daiichi plant.
A new forward base for plant workers was built near the Daiichi plant to free up J-Village.
J-Village then received extensive cleanup and restoration before it reopened in phases as a sports facility from July 28, 2018. In September 2018, an indoor soccer field was built with a large white roof for all-weather use.
On April 20, 2019, J-Village was fully reopened along with J-Village Station on the JR Joban Line. It was intended to be used as a practice facility for Tokyo 2020 Olympic athletes.
Since 1997, J-Village has played a pivotal role in training and producing top-notch Japanese national teams including the Japanese men’s soccer/football team qualifying for the World Cup six consecutive times from 2002, and the Japanese women’s Nadeshiko Japan national soccer team became world champions in 2011.
J-Village also served as the starting point for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay on March 25, 2021. The torch relay traversed 51.71 km through 26 cities, towns, and villages in Hama-dori, Naka-dori, and Aizu for the next three days until March 27. It was supposed to be symbolic for the ongoing 3.11 recovery in Fukushima and the Tohoku Region.
Before the Tokyo 2020 was postponed for a year, the Olympic flame had arrived in Japan from Greece on March 20, 2020 at Matsushima Air Base, Miyagi. It was displayed in turn in Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima Prefectures during March 20 to 25, 2020.
The decision to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was made on March 24, 2020. Even so, the Olympic flame was displayed in a small lantern inside J-Village from April 1 to 7, 2020 where over 5,300 came to see it.
In November 2025, J-Village will be the soccer venue for the 25th Summer Deaflympics to be held in Japan (mainly Tokyo) for the first time.
J-Village Hotel has three buildings: Annex, South Wing, and North Wing. After check-in, make sure you get on the correct elevator.
J-Village Hotel check-in time is 3:00 pm, and check-out is 10:00 am. Dinner restaurant is open 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm, breakfast buffet from 7:00 am to 9:00 am. The rice, fish, pork, vegetables, etc., are locally grown. Private party rooms also available.
J-Village
Address: Utsukushimori 8, Yamadaoka, Naraha, Futaba-gun, Fukushima
Near JR J-Village Station on the JR Joban Line. Part of J-Village is also in neighboring Hirono Town.
Website: https://j-village.jp/en/
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
- Naraha, Fukushima after 3.11