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Fukushima
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Hama-dori, situated in eastern Fuku-shima Prefecture facing the Pacific Ocean, consists of three cities (including Iwaki),nine townships and three villages. Covering 2,971 square kilometers, the region accounts for about 22% of the prefecture's total land area.
The southern half of Hama-dori, with Iwaki City as its center, was once Honshu's largest coal mining base. Nowadays, the district is a key trading and energy-supply center as well as a base for marine industries and recreational activities. Construction projects either completed or currently under way include seaports, industrial parks and large-scale power generation plants, including nuclear power plants.
Nature
Geographically, the Hama-dori region is a lowland with a rather straight coast-line about 159 kilometers in length. It borders the Naka-dori region in the Abukuma mountains to the west. Visitors to the coast can enjoy magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean, fishing, and a delicious variety of seafood. Scenic beaches abound, and in the summer many people visit the region's coast to engage in marine activities. Another attraction in Hama-dori is the many beautiful ravines, formed by rivers, large and small, which originate in the Abukuma mountains and flow into the Pacific.
Because of its coastal climate, the region is the warmest in the prefecture, and the first to enjoy the flowering of the cherry blossoms that herald the beginning of spring. In summer, the ocean breeze is particularly pleasant, and in winter snow-fall is light, in contrast to the prefecture's Aizu region, which often receives heavy snow.
Industry
The traditional industries of the Hama-dori region are fishing and seafood processing, centered on the ports of Soma in the north and Onahama in the south. The annual catch, comprised of a variety of shore and ocean fish, runs to about 235 thousand tons and helps supply the prefecture with seafood.
Soma and Onahama, important Japanese seaports, also play vital roles as centers of foreign trade and coastal industry. The chemical industry was early to develop in and around Onahama, for example, and has helped spur industrial growth throughout the prefecture.
Also noteworthy in the Hama-dori region is the electric power industry. The coastal town of Futaba, for instance, boasts two nuclear power plants and is Japan's largest nuclear power plant zone.
The Soma Central industrial Park Project
A large-scale industrial park in the Tohoku region, the Soma Central Industrial Park combines an expansion of the port of Soma with the construction of the Soma Joint Thermal Power Station. An industrial park built for the 21st century, it is expected to serve as a base for the promotion of new industry in the area. Cooperation with adjoining Miyagi and Yamagata prefectures, which are conveniently linked with Fukushima Prefecture by an excellent transportation network, will act as a further aid to development.
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