We got the rare opportunity to take a tour (with official permission!) through Fukushima, Japan`s Exclusion Zone. That is, the part of Fukushima that even after 7 years, people aren’t allowed to live in due to higher radiation. But the Exclusion Zone is such a tiny part of Fukushima…please don`t think that all of Fukushima is like this! (It`s only about 20km or so that is!)
All ready? Let`s go!
A tour of the Nuclear Power Plant! No pictures allowed inside…
Arete: Here we are, Rhi, in Fukushima’s exclusion zone!
Rhi: o.o What happened to that building???
Arete: This is tsunami damage from 7 years ago
Rhi: What is this building?
Arete: It was a fishing hatchery.
Arete: See? It’s near the ocean.
Rhi: Graffiti! In English…?
Arete: Oh, some pretty flowers, even here
Rhi: Don’t touch, don’t touch! They’re rajio-active!
Arete: They’re not really radioactive, not enough to hurt. But I won’t touch.
Arete: All right, on to the next place
Rhi: There’s more?!
Arete: This is an abandoned Nursing Home, but it’s hard to see through the windows. Next is an abandoned elementary school.
Rhi: They left all their books!
Arete: They had to leave quickly, Rhi. It was a matter of safety.
Rhi: Oh,like in hinankunn (fire) drills, you can’t take anything with you?
Arete: Exactly.
Arete: …
Arete: Oh! It’s the teacher’s room.
Arete: A classroom…
Rhi: Let’s look inside!
Arete: We’re not allowed to…it is a restricted area, and the building might not be safe inside. No one has been inside for seven years…
Arete: All that green tall grass was once a soccer/playing field…
A short break before going to the hotel.
Dinner!
Day 2:
Breakfast!
Rhi: Everything is broken. ? Where are we?
Arete: This is the red zone exclusion area of Futaba…
Arete: …wow…
Arete: Hard to believe that 7 years have passed, looking at this… Anyway, next to the beach.
Rhi: Yay!
Rhi: Not yay.
Arete: Hold my hand, Rhi. The wind is strong!
Arete: If only it would stop raining… Let’s make another stop.
Arete: This is Namie Station. This town opened up again last year.
Rhi: It was closed?
Arete: After the earthquake, yes.
Rhi: What’s this?
Arete: It’s a song by a composer born in Namie
Arete: And look, radiation in Namie is down to .2 microsieverts per hour. It’s plenty safe.
Rhi: Ok. Can we go somewhere inside next? It’s raining…
Rhi: Oo!
Arete: Rhi, they’re not yours. They belong to the evacuees who left this area after the tsunami. The stuff is waiting here for them to come pick it up.
Arete: And this is Okuma City
Rhi: I’m tired of destructed stuff… ?
Arete: Just a little more, Rhi. It’s good to see what happened so we can be more prepared next time.
Rhi: ? That’s a big plant in the door!
Rhi: Oh good, I’m thirsty. May I get a drink?
Arete: Not from here! Those machines don’t work anymore.
Rhi: Fallen flowers…
Arete: And flowers still growing. Life will come back to this town.
Rhi: Arete! I’m hungry!
Arete: I’m hungry too! Good thing there’s a cafeteria in the yellow part of the exclusion zone. Ah, wait Rhi. What do you say?
Rhi: Itadakimasu!