As someone who has been to Chernobyl a lot, doing a Fukushima Tour was extremely high on my bucket list. Thankfully, this was something I managed to achieve in 2024, as well as knocking off a first visit to Japan.
Said trip was arranged through my travel agency, Young Pioneer Tours, and was no mean feat to organize. Planning it for a second time is also not all that easy, which has led me to write this Fukushima tour guide.
What was the Fukushima disaster?
The Fukushima disaster of 2011 was a tragic combination of natural and man-made calamities. Triggered by a massive 9.0 earthquake and the ensuing tsunami, it led to the meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. This wasn’t just a nuclear disaster; it was a human one, displacing over 150,000 people, many of whom still haven’t returned home.
The fallout wasn’t just radioactive—it reshaped Japan’s energy policies, public trust, and even its food industry. Fukushima’s agricultural products, once celebrated, faced stigma despite rigorous safety measures. Yet, the region has fought back with resilience, showcasing its recovery through festivals, tourism, and yes, even food.
Today, though, the area is not just surviving but, in many respects, thriving. This is a testament to Japanese grit and how they deal with disasters. From a touristic point of view, it was incredibly moving to see here, as well as Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on the same trip.
What do you do on a Fukushima Tour?
On the Fukushima tour organized by Young Pioneer Tours, we managed to semi-tailor what we did, which largely included a very interesting trip to the power plant, seeing the coast, as well as the many “ghost towns” that still exist. We also got to see how much progress had been made too, which was equally as interesting in many ways.
And while this can be done as a one-day trip, we personally did an overnight one. After all, for most people, this would be a one-off trip. We also stated overnight in the region, which was a great choice I will talk about later in the article.
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Who are the options for Fukushima Tours?
There are basically a few different options if you want to do a tour to Fukushima. The most famous of these is perhaps Japan Wonder Travel. They offer a two-night tour which, while good, is also very, very rigid. There are also very restricted dates offered by the company, with them, for example, offering almost nothing in 2025, particularly in the summer. It should also be noted that, in many ways, these tours are little more than propaganda from TEPCO—the company in charge of the plant.
Real Fukushima Tours, on the other hand, are less rigid (to a degree) but only offer a day tour. They not only have much less pull than Japan Wonder Travel but frankly refuse to do anything that involves an overnight trip, for whatever reason.
There is, of course, also the option to visit Fukushima independently, with it being accessible by train. The problem here, though, again, is that you will not have permission to visit many places, and without hiring a car, there is not sufficient public transport to see all that much.
Lastly, though, there is what I obviously think is the best option, and that is coming with Young Pioneer Tours! Now, while I have not yet finalized how we run the tour in 2025, I am very close to being able to offer group and bespoke Fukushima tours throughout the year. Watch this space, or rather the link to our Japan Tours.
Best Fukushima Tour?
What we did, and indeed are planning to do in the future, makes it the best Fukushima Tour in our opinion, and this is for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is how involved we get with both the good and the bad. Yes, this is Dark Tourism, but there is also light at the end, with us trying to emphasize just how much of a recovery there has been.
There is also the fact that we at least try to temper the outright propaganda of TEPCO, who, while not an “evil” company, are really trying to push the narrative hard that it was really not their fault.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, though, is that by doing it overnight, we remove the need to unduly rush and instead take it at a decent enough pace for people to be able to truly take everything in. Frankly, doing this over a day is just too much of a rush.