Natural Disaster #2

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/26/world/asia/26blossom.html?_r=2&hp%3C/a%3E

Japan's Cherry Blossoms Bloom, but Nuclear Fears Keep Tourists Away

As the warm weather is approaching slowly, colorful, scented flowers are slowly beginning to bloom. Cherry blossoms are known to bloom mid April, and Cherry Blossoms in Miharu, Japan are known to attract tourists every year despite blizzards, earthquake and a Nuclear disaster. With the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant about 30 miles away, it scared off tourists this year. 85 year old vegetable farmer, Masayoshi Hashimoto said "this tree has lived though many disasters. It may survive the nuclear incident, but the town might not." Cherry Blossom season (in Japan called Sakura) is known to bloom along the Tohoku coast, a region heavily hit by the earthquake and tsunami. Each year, this area is known to be filled with tourists to see the Cherry Blossoms, except for this year, due to risks of high radiations, as well as the damages from this disaster. Last year 300,00 tourists came to see the tree blooming, while this year, that number dropped by 80 percent. The town has worked hard to make sure, their one thousand year old tree made it through every hardship. The mayor of Hirosaki said "these cherry trees blossom every year despite any catastrophe. Like the trees, we will also recover."

I believe this article is very important because it shows how hard everyone and everything was hit. The Earthquake as well as Tsunami absolutely destroyed Japan, but one of their tourist sightseeing attractions is still standing, stronger as ever. This 40 foot tall, one thousand year old tree is still standing. Even though tourists attraction could have been higher, that doesn't stop the beautiful Cherry Blossom Tree from blooming. Not only did the tourist attractions decreased, but the communities expectations as well as hard working outcomes decreased. "Damage to tourism in the area adds to the woes of a local economy that has suffered severe blows: many fishing and farming communities were decimated in the tsunami and many of the factories in the region are struggling to rebuild or restart production lines." The Cherry Blossom was known for the amount of tourists that it attracted as well as the profit it brought along. "In Miharu, the weeping sakura has been an important source of income for and aging farming community. About 300,000 people descended on the town to view the 40-foot tree last year, spending generously at local inns and eateries, as well as on produce. This year, the town expected the number of visitors to fall about 80 percent." This article shows that even for the smallest things, everyone is suffering, and the people suffering are depending on others, to help them get on their feet.