The 2026 report on J-POWER’s Okutadami hydropower experience tour for elementary school students and their parents. It provides details of the educational activities, including a power station tour, an experience inside the dam and nature observation. The initiative, now in its 20th year, is also featured.
J-POWER’s “Eco × Energy Experience Tour” is an educational program launched in 2007 on the coexistence of hydropower generation and the natural environment. Now in its 20th year, it documented a two-day, one-night family tour based at Okutadami. This year’s participants comprised 15 groups and 30 people. Activities included an introduction by the tour captain, nature talks by a local organization and a quiz competition. Participants stayed at Midori no Gakuen, and local ingredients were used, including Uonuma-grown Koshihikari rice for lunch.
The tour focused on visits to the dam and power station. Okutadami Dam is Japan’s highest dam at 157 meters, with a total reservoir capacity of approximately 600 million tonnes and an area of approximately 11 square kilometers. The report provided details of a tour across the dam crest and underground, mini experiments, a visit to the generator room and the operation of Unit 1, allowing participants to experience the energy obtained by allowing water from the reservoir to fall. Participants also experienced dark adaptation and observed the night sky.
The history of the dam and environmental considerations were also explained in detail, including memorial activities for those who died during construction of Okutadami Dam, ecosystem conservation efforts through an eco-park during construction of Unit 4, and the existence of a maintenance-flow power plant using the river’s maintenance flow. The latter part of the tour included classroom learning about the history of the dam and power station, a parent-child review session and a dinner featuring local food and the region’s character.