Chicago Sun-Times: "With Radiation Concerns Gone, Japan Eager For Tourists"

Above, Itsukushima Shrine and its torii gate at Miyajima Island near Hirohima. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Chicago Sun-Times has an article today on Japan's eagerness for foreign tourists.

The article, titled "With Radiation Concerns Gone, Japan Eager For Tourists," states:

Tourism to Japan is down — dramatically down — since March, in the aftermath of one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded. Part of the problem is misconceptions. We traveled the country over eight days in late June and early July, and here’s what we found:

† Japan was not destroyed by that earthquake. In Tokyo, the temples, shrines, restaurants, shops and pachinko parlors are open. In Sendai, which took a pretty good jolt as the city closest to the epicenter, evidence of damage in the central district — and there was some damage — is rare.

† Radiation levels from that damaged nuclear plant near Fukushima, 150 miles from Tokyo, are negligible except around the plant, an area that’s been evacuated.

And there's a lot more.

To read the full article, go here.