A Fukushima farmer who relocated to Fukui when the nuclear disaster started in 2011 is running a farming-related guesthouse in a rural area of the prefecture in hopes of revitalizing the depopulating region that supported him during difficult times.

Osamu Kojimoto, 47, used to grow organic rice in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture. But fearing the radioactive fallout ejected by the core meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, Kojimoto and his family fled to Fukui, where his friend lived, and later decided to stay for good.

Kojimoto opened a guesthouse named Zakuro no Yado in April 2014 in a mountainous area in Sabae, about 10 km east of the city's center. He renovated a 50-year-old two-story wooden house with a traditional irori (fireplace) to turn it into the guesthouse where people can experience farming and get a glimpse of country life.