Farm Experiences in Disaster-Hit Japanese Area Attracting Children

Ishinomaki, Miyagi Pref., July 10 (Jiji Press)--Agricultural and fishery experience programs being offered by a facility in a northeastern Japan district severely damaged by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011 are attracting children.

Since its opening in the Ogatsucho district of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, 11 years ago, Moriumius has received a total of some 15,000 elementary and junior high school students, with many becoming repeat customers.

Housed in a former elementary school building, the facility is located on an upland overlooking Ogatsu Bay, with mountains nearby. Program participants cook locally caught fish and heat bathwater with firewood collected in forests, tasting the "circular lifestyle" that the facility values.

Moriumius came out of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, said Gentaro Yui, a 51-year-old executive of the facility's operator.

Soon after the disaster, Yui and some friends worked as volunteers in affected areas. Spending weekdays in Tokyo working and weekends in Ogatsucho, he came up with the idea of creating a facility where children could stay together and learn about the environment amid abundant nature.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]