Katsurao, Fukushima

The road into Katsurao climbs through the Abukuma highlands, the elevation rising steadily until the village center sits well above the surrounding plain, open to a sky that feels wider than expected. The Katsurао River and Takase River cut through the folds of the terrain below. Azalea grows in dense clusters across the hillsides — not planted for show, but simply there, as it has been.

For years after 2011, the village stood empty. The Fukushima Daiichi accident forced every resident out, and the evacuation order was lifted only in stages from 2016 onward, with the final restricted zones cleared in 2022. What is being rebuilt here is deliberate and specific: solar generation, a smart community framework, infrastructure meant to carry a small mountain village forward rather than simply restore what was. The復興交流館あぜりあ functions as a hub for that process — part meeting place, part record of where things stand.

The older textures remain alongside the new. The 郷土文化伝承保存館 holds what the village remembers of itself: the 三匕獅子舞, a ritual that belongs to this particular place. And in winter, 凍み餅 — rice cake dried slowly in the cold mountain air — is still made here, a food that requires exactly the climate Katsurao provides. The せせらぎ荘, near the trailhead for Gojūninzan, offers a bath and a bed at the edge of the hills. The village is not fully returned, but it is present, working.