Yotsudanbara Airfield

The closure was due to a combination of factors. The primary underlying reason was long-term economic non-viability and a lack of demand, a common fate for the specialized agricultural airstrips built during that era in Japan. The final event that sealed its closure was the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. In the aftermath, the Kurihara city government repurposed the site as a temporary storage area for disaster-related debris, permanently ending all aviation activities.

The site is no longer an airfield and is unrecognizable as such from the ground. The former runway and adjacent land have been completely redeveloped into the 'Kurihara Yotsudanbara Mega Solar Power Plant'. Construction for this large-scale solar energy facility, operated by companies including Kyocera and Tokyo Century Corporation, began around 2018. The entire length of the former runway is now covered with solar panels.

Opened in 1993, Yotsudanbara Airfield was a 'Nōdō Richakuriku-jō' (農道離着陸場), which translates to 'Farm Road Airstrip'. It was part of a national project by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to modernize agriculture. The intended operations were to facilitate aerial crop dusting/spraying and to provide a means for the rapid air transport of high-value, perishable agricultural products to urban markets. In practice, it was also used by the general aviation community for recreational flying, including ultralight aircraft and flight clubs. Its history is representative of a government initiative that, while ambitious, ultimately failed to become economically sustainable.

There are no plans or prospects for reopening Yotsudanbara Airfield. The permanent and long-term conversion of the site into a major solar power generation facility makes its return to aviation use virtually impossible.