Trips entitled “Recovery Support Tour” from big travel companies are set to visit Ofunato, one after the other, as of this month. The first tour is scheduled until the 3rd, and goes to the Sakari Station on the Sanriku Railroad. It wins popularity, not only for the donko-soup sightseers are treated to aboard a stationary train, but also for the souvenirs sold in the station’s waiting room.
This time’s tour was put together by Club Tourism in Tokyo, with the cooperation of Mosaba Rohas Club. The tour is entitled “Hang in there, Tohoku! Recovery Support Tour”, and after departing metropolitan areas, the tour headed to Ofunato from Iwaizumi, and down to Sanriku for 2 nights, 3 days.
According to the city of Ofunato, the tour consisted of 33 tourists from Chiba, and 24 from Yokohama. On the last day of the tour, the party of tourists stopped by Sakari Station and gathered aboard a stationary train where they were treated to donko-soup. The dish is very familiar to Kesen, and Vice-Chairman Mitsue Kumagai of Mosaba Rohas Club explains the fishing method and the unique swollen shape they are given after extracting the guts from the mouth of the fish. Many favorable reviews followed.
Kumagai also explains how after the heavy damages received by each of the coastal areas, fishermen were left without the fishing boats essential to their work. While expressing thanks for the all the support received up until now, and the “delight that tourists have come back so soon”, an exchange was cultivated.
Many tourists also make their way to and enjoy shopping at Santetsu Sakari Station’s Fureai Waiting Room, set up by NPO Yume Net Ofunato. There is much interest in the various items produced not only by local merchants but also by residents from the temporary housing units.
The Mosaba Rohas Club plans to treat groups to donko-soup every second day until the middle of this month. Kumagai also says that they are aiming to re-build the “Marugoto Taiken-kan” that was is Okirai during May. “I hope that we can develop an experience with the help of the fishermen who are back on their feet”.
The 3 Kesen Tourism-related groups that make up the Sanriku Kesen Tourism Council opened a “Tourism Fair” at Ginza’s Iwate Ginga Plaza in Tokyo, in January. They not only made direct sales to those who came to the fair, but also went around to the travel agencies in the metropolitan areas, and while proposing their “Recovery Tours to the Kesen Area” that includes routes that visit now world heritage Hiraizumi, promoted their group tours.
They say that interest and inquiries into their group tours to the area have increased. Even in Ofunato, subsidies towards the tours have begun and they are planning the attraction of tourists from a wide range of viewpoints.
（Tokai Shinpo 3/4/2012）
