Tamura, Japan: For the first time since Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster more than three years ago, residents of a small district 20 kilometres from the wrecked plant are about to be allowed to return home.

The Miyakoji area of Tamura, a north-eastern city inland from the Fukushima nuclear station, has been off-limits for most residents since March 2011, when the government ordered evacuations after a devastating earthquake and tsunami triggered a triple meltdown at the power plant.

"The town will be broken up": Kitaro Saito does not intend on returning to Miyakoji yet. Credit:Reuters

Tuesday's reopening of Miyakoji will mark a tiny step for Japan as it seeks to recover from the Fukushima disaster and a major milestone for the 357 registered residents of the district – most of whom the city hopes will go back.

But homesick evacuees have mixed feelings about returning to Miyakoji, set amid rolling hills and rice paddies, a sign of how difficult the path back to normality will be for those forced from their homes by the accident. Many families with young children are torn over what to do, one city official acknowledged.