Restoration of Kominejo Castle stone walls in Shirakawa, Oct. 14, 2018. （白河小峰城 の 石垣修復 を見る ２０１８年１０月１４日 ）
Stone walls of Kominejo Castle site in Shirakawa were heavily damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. Restoration work began after the disaster and it took more than 7 years to fix the majority of the walls. Today the repaired walls were opened to the public for only a single day and photo above shows the repaired western stone wall protecting the Honmaru or the central area of the castle. The location of the castle was right next (north side) to JR Shirakawa Station.
白河小峰城跡の城壁は、東日本大震災で大きく崩れました。震災後、修復作業が始まりましたが、７年以上経ちようやく大部分が完成しました。本日は１日だけ、修復された石垣が公開されました。写真は、本丸西側の城壁です。小峰城は、ＪＲ白河駅のすぐ北隣にあります。
Photo above was a map of the castle area posted at the site showing the repaired portion of the stone walls in red and blue. Restoration work was completed for the major parts except for the yellow part in the east. All the work is scheduled to be finished in the next few years when all the area will be open to the general public.
写真は、現地にあった城壁の修復状況を示す地図です。青と赤の部分が修復済みです。ほとんど修復は終わっていますが、東側にある黄色の部分が残っています。あと２－３年のうちには、全ての修復が終わり一般に公開されるとのことでした。
Photo above shows the northern side of the wall which is the longest. White colored stones show the repaired part of the collapse.
写真は、本丸北側の城壁です。色の白い部分が、崩壊による修復箇所を示しています。
Photo above shows stone wall at the back side (northern side) of 3-story Yagura or turret building. This stone wall was one of the oldest ones built even before the large-scale reconstruction work between 1629 and 1632 lead by the load Niwa Nagashige.
写真は、三重櫓北側（裏側）の城壁です。初代藩主の丹羽長重公が１６２９年から１６３２年の間に行った大規模改修より以前から存在している古いものです。
Right next to the east side of the castle area there was a large tomb for some of the new government force solders from Satsuma domain who died in the Boshin civil war battle in Shirakawa as shown above.
城の東側のすぐ隣に、戊辰戦争の白河での戦いで亡くなった薩摩藩の戦士のお墓（戊辰薩藩戦死者墓、合葬）がありました。（写真）
Photos above show Shimizumon gate site (left hand side) which was the most important gate for the castle and which was located just in front of the main 3-story Yagura building. A brief description panel stood at the site.
写真は、三重櫓の南側正面に位置し、城で最も重要な清水門跡（左側）とその説明です。
Visiting Namie 1.5 years after the lifting of evacuation order, October 7-8, 2018. （避難解除１年半後の 浪江町 に復興の兆しを見る ２０１８年１０月７－８日）
I visited Namie Town on a special 2-day tour organized by Environment Restoration Plaza (Fukushima City). About 20 people from inside and outside of Fukushima Prefecture participated in the tour with almost the same number of staff members attended. Namie Town had been evacuated for the whole population and area immediately after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident in March 11th, 2011. The central part of the town was lifted an evacuation order by the end of March, 2017 and started its restoration efforts. I visited the town at the time and enjoyed beautiful cherry blossoms street along the Ukedo River, but the town center was in the very beginning of reconstruction. On this tour I visited many places, had chances to hear from many local people and totally had a strong sense of momentum toward the revitalization. Photo above was one of the places: Ukedo Fishing Port. The port had already been recovered from devastation by tsunami, but the number of fishing boat is still 27 compared to 94 before the disaster. This was the second largest fishing port in Fukushima following the largest Haragama Port in Soma.
環境再生プラザ（環境省の組織で福島県にある）主催の２日間のツアーに参加し、浪江町に行きました。県内外から２０人ほどが参加し、また主催者側から同じ位の数の方々にサポートして頂きました。浪江町は，２０１１年３月の原発事故で全町民、全エリアが避難指示となりましたが、町の中心部は２０１７年３月末に解除されました。私が翌月４月に訪れたときは、請戸側沿いの桜並木が大変きれいでしたが、町中はこれから復興が始まるときでした。今回の旅では、町の色々な場所、色々な方のお話を聞くことができ、町の復興の勢いを十分に実感できました。写真は、その１つの請戸漁港です。港は、津波の被害から復旧し試験操業も行っていますが、漁船の数は２７と，震災前の９４に戻るにはまだこれからです。請戸漁港は，福島県では相馬の原釜漁港に次いで、２番目の漁獲高を誇ります。
On a hill called Ohirayama near the Ukedo Port, there was a large memorial for all the 182 victims in Namie Town by the March 11th disaster as shown above. It became famous that all the children and teachers of Ukedo Elementary School evacuated on this hill safely at the time of tsunami. We could see from here the remains of the school, the Pacific Ocean and even Fukushima Daiichi stacks 5km away.
請戸漁港の近くの大平山と呼ぶ丘の上に、大震災で浪江で亡くなった１８２人の方の慰霊碑（写真）があります。この丘は、近くの請戸小の生徒・先生が、津波が来る中で避難し全員助かったことで有名です。丘からは，旧請戸小、太平洋、また５ｋｍ離れた１Ｆ原発の排気塔も見えます。
We stayed overnight at the town operated public inn called Ikoinomura-Namie as shown above. The facility was renovated and reopened in June 2018, and was one of the recovery symbols. It was very comfortable. It was not ready to provide meals yet. There were nice hiking trails in the back yard but the area was still under preparation and closed.
１日目の夜は、写真の町の公共の宿「いこいの村なみえ」に泊まりました。２０１８年６月に修復され再開したもので、町のシンポルの１つです。新しく快適でしたが、まだ食事の提供には至っていません。裏山には、素敵なハイキングコースもありますが，整備中でまだ閉鎖されています。
There was a nice commercial and eatery area called Machi-Nami-Marche just adjacent to the town hall as shown above.
町役場の隣には、写真の「まち・なみ・まるしぇ」と呼ぶお店と食事処の小さなコーナーがあります。
We had a nice and healthy breakfast at Kitchen Grandma as shown above, which was located within Machi-Nami-Marche.
我々は、この中にある写真のキッチングランマで、朝食をとりました。
About 3-minute walk from the town hall, there was a guest house called Aotaso, which has several rooms for accommodation. A young manager Izumi-san in his twenties operates this facility with many supports from local people. Many volunteers and students from outside Fukushima have been using this house.
町役場から３分ほど歩いた場所に，あおた荘というゲストハウスがあります。泊まる部屋として数部屋あり、和泉さんという２０代の若い経営者が地元の方の協力も得て、運営しています。県外からの多くのボランティアや学生さんなどが多く泊まるそうです。
At OCAFE shown above, which was a small café located at Kariyado district surrounded by fields, we could see and hear special picture stories.
町中心部から少し離れた苅宿地区にあるＯＣＡＦＥ（写真）というカフェでは、特別な紙芝居が見られました。
Mrs. Oka performed and told us a picture story about firefighters at the time of the March 11th disaster as shown in the picture and very short piece of video above. It was a very regrettable story triggered by nuclear plant accident.
上の写真とビテオ（ごく一部分のみ）にあるように、岡さんが、震災と原発事故時の消防隊員の無念の話を紙芝居で語ってくれました。
At Ishii farm operated by another active woman Mrs. Ishii in the town, we had a harvest experience of fine egoma or perilla beans just in season. Egoma plant looked today as shown above. We harvested large amount of egoma beans equivalent of several bottles of very expensive egoma oil today.
石井農園では、もう１人の元気な女性の石井さんから、ちょうど時期のエゴマの収穫体験をさせてもらいました。写真は、今日のエゴマの姿です（収穫前）。我々が本日収穫した分で、高級なエゴマ油のびんが、数本作れるそうです。
On the way to Namie in the first day, we stopped at Stable Michikusa in Minamisoma as shown above. Since the nuclear plant accident many horses had been taken to this shelter and taken care of by a volunteer.
１日目に浪江に行く途中、南相馬の厩舎みちくさに寄りました。原発事故で飼い主から離れた馬たちの世話を、ここであるボランティア（いまではお仕事）さんがしてきました。
A memorial for cattle victims by the nuclear plant accident stood at the back of the site as shown above.
裏には、原発事故の影響で犠牲になった牛たちの慰霊碑も立っていました。
Another stop was Soma Ranch which was a large cattle farm of 180 calves before the accident. Today the owner restarted the ranch producing grass and raising sheep as shown above.
もう１ヶ所、南相馬で寄ったのが相馬牧場です。ここは，原発事故前は１８０頭の子牛を飼っていましたが、今では牧草と羊の飼育に変わりました。
This bus tour started from JR Fukushima Station and moved east toward Hamadori region. The bus traveled through Soma and Minamisoma Cities, stopping at some of the places, and finally reached Namie Town area. On the way back, the bus went through a part of still evacuated area such as Obori district. Each of us carried a small dosimeter and my dosimeter measured air radiation dose of between 0.06 and 0.84 micro Sv/h throughout the tour. The maximum dose of 0.84 was seen when moving through still evacuated Obori area. Accumulated dose for 33 hours during the travel was 3.11 micro Sieverts, which was equivalent of 0.83mSv/yr. This is considered below the global safety standard.
このバスツアーは、ＪＲ福島駅を出発し、東の浜通りに向かい相馬と南相馬を経由し，浪江に入りました。帰りは、大堀地区など一部避難区域を通りました。我々は皆、参考に線量計を携帯し道中測定をしました。私の線量計では、線量は0.06から0.84マイクロシーベルト／時の間を記録しました。最大値の0.84は、まだ避難区域の大堀地区を通過した際に出たものです。また、全行程の積算値は、3.11マイクロシーベルトでこの値は、年間被ばく量に換算して0.83ミリシーベルト／年となり、国際安全基準から見ても小さい値でした。
The exact route and locations are shown in the map below. The map can be scaled up and down with a click and scroll.
ルートと場所は、下の地図を参照ください。地図は、クリックとスクロールで、拡大・縮小が可能です。
Yanagiya Ryokan site in Shirakawa: Oct. 4, 2018. （白河の柳屋旅館跡 戊辰１５０年 ２０１８年１０月４日）
I visited Shirakawa City today. Commemorating 150th anniversary of the end of Boshin Civil War, some of the restoration works for historic sites have been done in the city. Former Yanagiya Ryokan site, as shown above, was one of them. This was an upscale inn for high-ranking samurai in Edo Period. After Meiji Restoration in 1868, the Emperor Meiji rested at this place on the way to Tohoku region expedition in 1881 and stayed at here on the way back. The photo shows the front garden and symbolic kura-type or storehouse-type building. The location was 3-minute walk from JR Shirakawa Station as shown in the map below.
本日は、白河に行きました。戊辰戦争終結１５０年（福島では）を記念して、白河でも各史跡の修復作業が進められました。写真の旧柳屋旅館もその１つです。江戸時代の、高級旅館でした。１８６８年の明治維新後、明治天皇の東北行幸（１８８１年）で休憩所と宿泊所として使われました。写真には、前庭と蔵座敷が写っています。場所は、ＪＲ白河駅から歩いて３分ほどです。
A couple of brief description boards above in Japanese, both of which stood at the site, said the inn was used by a large samurai group of 106 which fought against new Meiji Government forces at Shirakawaguchi Battle on May 1st of 1868. This was the largest battle in Shirakawa.
写真の簡単な説明板が、立っていました。１８６８年５月１日の白河口の戦いに参戦した，新撰組１０６名もここに泊まりました。この戦いは、この地で最大のものです。
A photo above shows a front gate of the former Yanagiya Ryokan.
写真は、旧柳屋旅館の門です。
Photo above shows a stone memorial for the stay by the Emperor Meiji in 1881.
写真は、１８８１年の明治天皇行在所の記念碑です。
A whole appearance of the renovated building is shown above. The original building was built in 1804. Because it suffered damage by the March 11th earthquake in 2011, repair and restoration work began in 2015 and completed on March, 2018.
写真は、修復された外観です。元の建屋は１８０４年に建てられましたが、東日本大震災で被害を受け、２０１５年から修復作業が始まり、今年２０１８年３月に完了しました。
A photo above shows the interior which consists of three Japanese-style tatami rooms.
内部は、畳の和室が３部屋あります。（写真）
There was a well in the exterior. The well was 9-meter deep and it was used to provide fresh water for the Emperor Meiji.
外には、つるべ井戸があります。９ｍの深さで、明治天皇の御膳水として使われました。（写真）
In the map above, which stands at the site, red sign shows the location of Yanagiya Ryokan. It is close to JR Shirakawa Station which is shown in the bottom left. There were about 50 inns in this Motomachi district at the time along the old Oshu Highway, which is now a national route 294.
上の地図は、現地に立っているものですが、赤いしるしが柳屋旅館です。左下のＪＲ白河駅から歩いてすぐです。当時は，この本町（もとまち）地区には、旧奥州街道沿いに５０軒ほどの旅館があったそうです。現在、この通りは国道２９４です。
