Fukushima's Tourism Rebounds 77% of Pre-Quake Levels

by Armand Vaquer

Above, Fukushima Airport's banner on their Ultraman exhibit.

Considering the media misinformation about the nuclear power plant accident, tourism to the Fukushima region has risen.

According to Kyodo News:

The number of tourists to Fukushima Prefecture rose 26.3 percent in 2012 from the previous year to 44.46 million, rebounding to 77.8 percent of 2010, the year before the triple disaster -- an earthquake, a tsunami and a nuclear meltdown -- struck, the prefectural government said Monday. 

Tourism "steadily recovered due to restoration of tourist facilities and declining misinformation about the nuclear power plant accident," an official at the prefecture said.

For kaiju fans, the only item of interest in the region is the Ultraman statue that stands in Fukushima Airport's terminal building. The statue is three meters tall and was erected to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the airport's opening. Combined with scenes depicting other monsters and clothing used in the filming of Ultraman, it is the first permanent display of its kind in Japan.

It is listed on page 18 of The Monster movie Fan's Guide To Japan.

To see the Fukushima Airport's Ultraman page (in Japanese), go here.

 To read the full story, go here.