Wednesday marks nine years since the second of the two consecutive massive earthquakes hit Japan's southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto. Reconstruction work is making progress in the affected areas.



Both of the two tremors during a three-day period in 2016 recorded a seismic intensity of seven, the highest level on Japan's scale. This resulted in a total of 278 deaths, including those who died later due to disaster-related causes.



The Aso region in the prefecture suffered heavy damage, but has seen a major recovery. The Shin-Aso Ohashi Bridge was completed in 2021 to replace the Aso Ohashi Bridge that collapsed after massive landslides.



The Minami-aso Railway resumed full operations in 2023 after having suspended part of its service since the quake. All the reconstruction work at Aso Shrine was completed in December last year. The shrine's Romon style gate, considered one of Japan's finest, collapsed in the quake.



Tourism has rebounded, too. The number of tourists to Aso City rose to about 6.88 million last year, exceeding the levels before the quake. The figure dropped to about 3.16 million in the year of the disaster nine years ago.



Many of tour groups and school trips are visiting not only popular tourist destinations such as the vast grassland of Kusasenri, but also quake-related sites. Such sites include preserved remains of damaged structures and the KIOKU museum, which was built to pass on the experience and lessons from the quake.



As a tourist site that experienced the disaster, the region is also making efforts to share the importance of preparedness.