The event will also be livestreamed online on Zoom, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn where a recording will be available following the event.

As part of the series of events in collaboration with Japan’s Reconstruction Agency looking at the revitalization initiatives in the Tōhoku region of north-eastern Japan, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) explores the area’s landscape and folklore while introducing the scenery of Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate prefectures along the wild and scenic Michinoku Coastal Trail.

The Michinoku Coastal Trail is one of the initiatives of the Green Reconstruction Project, which was established by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment to contribute to the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake with the creation of the Sanriku Reconstruction National Park at its core. The trail, which follows along the Pacific coast from Kabura-jima in Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture, to Matsukawa-ura in Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture, was initially opened in stages and the entire 1,000 km-long route was officially inaugurated in June 2019. 

In this event, moderated by Japan House London’s Programming Director Simon Wright, we are delighted to be joined virtually by Aizawa Kumi, Managing Director of the Michinoku Trail Club, to talk about the development of the trail and the areas of Tōhoku encompassed in its route. She will also be accompanied live at Japan House by Matthew Joslin from JNTO to introduce the most important tourist spots and the regional folklore of the three prefectures.

About the speakers

Matthew Joslin currently leads on marketing and communications at the Japan National Tourism Organization. Passionate about Japan ever since he started learning the language and immersing himself in the pop culture in his early teens, he has lived and studied in Tokyo, travelled the country from top to bottom and chewed off many an ear about the diverse wonders of off-the-beaten-track Japan.

Aizawa Kumi is an architect, interpreter, editor, publisher and documentary film producer specializing in disaster preparation and recovery. Now based in Tokyo, she focuses her energies on her home region of Tōhoku, particularly in recovery post-March 2011. As the managing director of the Michinoku Trail Club, she oversees and promotes the extensive hiking path, that not only aims to attract visitors to one of Japan’s wildest and most scenic areas, but to also bring healing to the local communities themselves.