You might be wondering:  What exactly is Fukushima?

Fukushima is both the name of a prefecture and the name of its capital city.    Remember, prefectures are like states, or provinces, or territories.

This is a map of Fukushima Prefecture.

This is a much clearer map of Fukushima Prefecture.  The coast, which is along the Pacific Ocean, is on the east.   The rest of the prefecture is landlocked.

A tsunami hit the coast of Fukushima Prefecture after the earthquake on March 11, 2011.  It killed many people.   Furthermore, it damaged the nuclear power plant which was located on the coast.  (Nuclear power plants must be located near water.)

The nuclear power plant was in the middle section on the east coast.  It’s all those little towns on the coast that had the most damage, both from the tsuanami and from radiation.

Fukushima City and Koriyama City are two big cities located in the center section of Fukushima.  They got hit hard, but not as hard as further east.    Basically the further west you go, the less radiation that settled.

So what was Fukushima Prefecture famous for BEFORE the earthquake?

Mountains.  Fukushima was famous for mountains.

Beautiful, unpolluted nature.

Wonderful view of the stars.

Fresh and healthy food.

Children playing outdoors in the snow.

Hot springs.   And monkeys in hot springs.

The pristine beach.

And LOTS LOTS MORE!!!!!!!!

(Free images from sozai-library.com)

Remember, I wrote a book about Fukushima?

The book that I wrote tells more about Fukushima and its beauty.

Because yes, Fukushima is beautiful.  I’ll try to show its beauty in this blog…..so stay tuned!

Happy Meowtines Day!