We all heard about the great Fukushima Nuclear Disaster which happened in 2011. So what may your thoughts on Fukushima? So devoid of life and existence of mankind? Well, contrary to that, Fukushima is actually a striving little city filled with regular people (high school students, salary men etc) and they utilize JR Fukushima Station as the transit point to the surrounding areas and beyond.
Likewise, with the amount of human activity, the station is striving with nicely decorated pieces of art laced among the station walls. Upon alighting from the train, the first thing you notice is a huge replica of lanterns hanging by and its a representation of the hanabi fireworks festival in Fukushima. Next to it lies rows of festival costumes with explanations (in Japanese) on what they represent and what it is about.
The waiting area was also nicely decorated with wooden hues and makes one feel at ease with nature. You can also learn about the history of Fukushima through the notice boards around the lobby area.
On entering the station, if you look up closely you get to see bubble like designs on the ceiling and it greatly reminded me of jelly beans. Upon exiting the station, I was greeted by a tall Kokeshi doll that does not speak but looks elegant in form. Besides her, stands an exhibit of other kokeshi dolls (smaller in size) encased in glass. It really nice to see all these traditional artifacts keeping the station culturally vibrant. But what caught my eye was a board with pink post its scattered across the branches of the painting. In it, lies well wishes and blessings from the folks in Fukushima to people who had suffered from the disaster. It brings a stark reminder of the events that happened in 2011 and brought to light how instead of cowering before doom and gloom, the station reflects the spirit of the community, standing forever upright, proud of their tradition, towards the light and forging a road ahead into the future.
