Monorail opens in disaster-hit area in northeastern Japan to boost tourism

SENDAI - A ceremony was held Saturday to mark the opening of a monorail in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, hit hard by the devastating 2011 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that triggered the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The monorail on Kesennuma Oshima, the biggest inhabited island in Japan's northeastern Tohoku region, connects the middle of 235-meter-high Mt. Kameyama with its summit, where an observation terrace, walking paths and a cafe have been developed.