Radiation safety

Fukushima's long road to recovery

With few oil and gas resources of its own, Japan expanded its investment into nuclear energy during the 1970s after a 1973 Arab oil embargo sent prices skyrocketing.

By 2010, the country relied on nuclear for 30% of its energy. It had ambitions to raise this towards 50% by 2020.

This fell to almost zero after the earthquake, forcing the country to import vast amounts of gas as reactors were turned off across the country.

Masaru Nakaiwa believes small-scale energy projects like this could be the future for Japan.

The director general of the Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute believes the mountainous terrain and natural hot springs spread over Japan's four main islands make it an ideal place for generators like those seen at the Sansuiso Inn.

He says: "If we want to promote renewable energy in small towns and in the mountains this is a good way without high set-up costs. So it is a very realistic solution to distribute renewable energy nationwide."