Futabaya Hotel

It was a wonderful experince to sleep in a japanese traditional housing! Let alone ran by its family, all the facilities were superb, the viewing window was refreshing and the food was light and amazing! Would recconmend tp fellow travelers willing to visit and explore Futaba

The lady owner of this Ryokan and her husband are so heartwarming, they have been featured in Ridley Scott's cinema film Japan in a Day, a year after the great Earthquake and Nuclear powerplant disaster! She never gave up on this small town when others moved to big cities after the tsunami. After the governmental restrictions were lifted, she returned here and completely renovated the Ryokan, eliminating all radioactive materials, rebuilding it safer and nicer than before. She kept planting flowers in front of the station despite the fact that the train line was still shut down and nobody was coming here. But she never gave up on her heritage and that's when all TV stations in Japan and all over the world started to interview her and when volunteers started pouring in the area. Businesses came from all Japan to open here nice eateries, crafts shops and shared work spaces. The train line reopened again and the famous Samurai festival Soma Nomaoi is going on every year just as it was for more than thousand years. So it is a very special thing to choose this Ryokan when coming here and be a part of history. Tomoko the owner is also in strong contact with the Chernobyl victims who also experienced such nuclear disaster and there is a beautiful relationship of support in between these two communities. Many artists come to the Ryokan to be inspired and create art projects, you can see so many posters and photographs, it's like a museum. Most of all Tomoko is so friendly and always smiling always positive, working so hard every day, cooking for the guests, you can really feel at home here. Many film crews and scientists stay here as their base to be filming and researching the area and the effect it had on nature and people. Futabaya can also help you book the very coveted tour inside the Decommissioned Daiichi Nuclear Powerplant but you better book half a year in advance. The food is always fresh and delicious, the rooms are so comfortable and very clean. There is an elevator inside to accommodate elderly or wheelchair and there is a public bath for women and one for men. Toilets are shared and very clean. There is a large parking next to the hotel and if booked early, large groups can stay here 20, 30 people. Groups of students from abroad are often brought here for the experience. You need to book early if you want to observe the most amazing festival in Japan, the Soma Nomaoi because the rooms will sell out in advance. The price is extremely reasonable even if you choose the dinner and breakfast set to be included. The ocean is just a 5 minutes drive away and there are many beautiful temples full of History of the Soma Samurai and their horses.

Booked a tour with Real Fukushima for the TEPCO nuclear power station tour. They recommend to stay at this hotel for the tour early the next day.Hosts of the Odoka traditional hotel were originally evacuated in 2011, and now have moved back in 2016/17 to host visitors for the nuclear power station which is incredible. We had a great stay with them and appreciate their kindness to let us stay for the tour which affected their livelihood. My partner and I learnt so much information about Fukushima and we are pleased to have experienced this first hand and see the effect of local people and the environment.

Cosy place with incredible friendly owners who even took us to the local museum. Japanese-styled rooms, solid breakfast and shared bathrooms.