NAKA13（Tamakawa-Village）：A View from the Entrance（Hama, Naka, Aizu）

Tamakawa Village is located in the Naka-doori region of Fukushima.

I don't think people who aren't familiar with Fukushima know this(It's hard to find even using an internet search), but Tamakawa Village is  home to Fukushima Airport.

(The Airport itself spans over Tamakawa Village and Sukagawa City.)

You could say that it's the 'entrance' to Fukushima.

The other day, I had the chance to visit Tamakawa Village through interpreting work.

When changing trains in Koriyama, I ran into the mascot character of Tamakawa Village, who was their to help promote Fukushima's 'Destination Campaign'. I wasted no time in getting a photo together.

When you think of an airport, you usually imagine a bustling city to go with it, but that's usually only the case with giant 'hub' airports.

My parent's house is located 30 minutes away from Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, and as one would expect there is a dense population, and the area is bursting with activity all year round. (Sometimes it's so noisy it can make you feel sick.)

Tamakawa Village is the opposite. I think the quiet life style you see there is one of its best qualities.

It's a nice feeling gazing at the recently planted rice fields. I always dreamt of a life surrounded by nature, so I like to travel around and enjoy the nature here to relax.　

It's not that I'm feeling stressed. I particularly enjoy trying many of the local foods available in different areas.

Tamakawa Village's public facilities are suprisingly well equipped.

This is easy to realize when you compare them with the village office.

　Going inside, they have a lot to see, and there is contents that anyone from old to young can easily enjoy.

 I felt that this small village of less than 7,000 people was filled with the locals' hopes and dreams.　

Speaking of hopes and dreams, we had the chance to visit some of the local children.

We visitied Daiichi Primary School and Izumi Kindergarten in Tamakawa Village.　

The year I finished studying in Japan and left for home, my sister was in Kindergarten. When I came back to Fukushima last year,  she had just begun her primary school education. I know what kids are like around that age.

Even so, I was surprised by the school life of the Tamakwa Village children.

Their beautiful voices, and creative art perfectly capture the cuteness you see in children of that age.

At the primary school, which just recently celebrated it's 140th anniversary, students were using electronic blackboards and computers in class, learning about growing rice. Just as good an education as you'd see at a school in Tokyo.　

I think the children of Tamakawa Village are very happy.　

As they're raised by the surrounding nature, they're able to keep some of their childlike purity.

The entrance of Fukushima is far from being a busy, bustling metropolis. But the lifestyle there has its own quite, somewhat nostalgic quality.

It is my wish that the flights from Fukushima Airport to Shanghai are restored. I'd love to give my sister a short holiday, and maybe she could enjoy a brief time at one of Tamakawa's primary schools.