Residents in a northeastern Japanese town have opened a facility designed to pass on the experiences of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The new facility opened in Otsuchi Town, Iwate Prefecture, on Saturday.

It features more than 200 items related to the disaster and future preventive efforts. The items include photographs taken by residents right after the quake struck, and those showing the changes in the townscapes as reconstruction proceeds. The town's hazard map is also displayed.

A group of residents and reconstruction experts organized the project to renovate an old building as a private facility to house the exhibits.

They plan to use the space as a venue for disaster prevention drills and a place where residents can meet and chat.

The head of the group, Kurahori Yasushi, who lost his parents in the 2011 disaster, said he wants to use the facility as a place to remember the disaster and to prepare for a future disaster.