- 6,311
- Hong Kong SAR
Hello GTP! I haven't posted here in many moons, but I just got back from a motorsport photography assignment in Japan. I thought you may be interested in some pictures I took on route to Sportsland SUGO whilst travelling up Route 6 within a couple of kilometres of the Fukushima Daiichi powerplant. A very sobering and thought-provoking experience.
"Taken from the window of our hire car at 40kph, the eerily named New Atom stands a mere 4km from the centre of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi I Nuclear Power Plant. This section of Route 6, scattered with overhead digital signs displaying current radiation levels, is a surreal and bleak reminder of the fateful day in 2011 when the power station was overwhelmed by a Tsunami that led to three nuclear meltdowns and release of radioactive materials into the surrounding area. The disaster led to the installation of a 20 kilometre exclusion zone, with almost every building and business in this area still remaining vacant. What has been viewed as a poor overall reaction to the disaster by the Japanese government has meant the views of the many of the Japanese people on nuclear power being the only viable option available to replace fossil fuels have taken a backward step. Building after building along this route lay empty and dilapidated, steadily being reclaimed by nature, but positively, there is plenty of activity in the area as businesses slowly start to move back in. Just how much of the community will be restored to it's former self remains to be seen."
These are some of the cars out of hundreds that are scattered around the area in vacant dealerships, garages and parking lots. Obviously, time wasn't on our side for exploration and despite radiation levels now being 'safer' to the public, it was not a place in which we wanted to spend more time than we had to.
Stay strong, Japan!
"Taken from the window of our hire car at 40kph, the eerily named New Atom stands a mere 4km from the centre of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi I Nuclear Power Plant. This section of Route 6, scattered with overhead digital signs displaying current radiation levels, is a surreal and bleak reminder of the fateful day in 2011 when the power station was overwhelmed by a Tsunami that led to three nuclear meltdowns and release of radioactive materials into the surrounding area. The disaster led to the installation of a 20 kilometre exclusion zone, with almost every building and business in this area still remaining vacant. What has been viewed as a poor overall reaction to the disaster by the Japanese government has meant the views of the many of the Japanese people on nuclear power being the only viable option available to replace fossil fuels have taken a backward step. Building after building along this route lay empty and dilapidated, steadily being reclaimed by nature, but positively, there is plenty of activity in the area as businesses slowly start to move back in. Just how much of the community will be restored to it's former self remains to be seen."
These are some of the cars out of hundreds that are scattered around the area in vacant dealerships, garages and parking lots. Obviously, time wasn't on our side for exploration and despite radiation levels now being 'safer' to the public, it was not a place in which we wanted to spend more time than we had to.
Stay strong, Japan!
