

Google Maps a Japanese Nuclear Ghost Town - arbuge
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/03/google-maps-a-japanese-nuclear-ghost-town/100482/

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davidroberts
Everything is so pristine and untouched. If it were the US, it would have all
been looted and graffitied long ago. But I'm afraid by publishing the
condition of his town through Google Maps, the mayor has pretty much assured
it won't stay pristine very long. Japan has its share of thieves and vandals
too.

Plus hordes of amateur photographers and urban explorers will be trying to
sneak into the place, radiation or not.

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ChuckMcM
Radiation contamination makes an excellent deterrent, not only can you not see
it, you can't know even if you don't feel any ill effects if you're going to
die coughing up a lung in a few weeks (and no, nowhere except inside the
containment buildings is that contaminated)

That said, it was an opportunity for Google to take radiation readings
everywhere (perhaps they did but didn't release that information). Looking at
the map this town must have been in the north east plume [1] mentioned in the
reports.

Sadly since the first survey I can't find links to follow up surveys, the last
being done around the end of 2011. Presumably with a wet season behind us
there would be movement of ground contamination and I would think that every
month they would do another survey if only to create better models about how a
contaminated environment evolves. Is rain significant? wind? How much is is
encapsulated by plants? Lots of questions.

[1] [http://enformable.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/New-
Japan-R...](http://enformable.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/New-Japan-
Radmap9.png)

~~~
veidr
_> Radiation contamination makes an excellent deterrent_

Well, quite a lot of people here in Japan now have their own Geiger counters
(pretty much everybody I know). The one I bought is a cheap (~ $150) model
made by Soeks specifically to address consumer demand in post-Fukushima Japan.

([http://www.amazon.co.jp/ガイガーカウンター-SOEKS-01M-2-0L-JP-
NUK-079-...](http://www.amazon.co.jp/ガイガーカウンター-SOEKS-01M-2-0L-JP-
NUK-079-ロシア製/dp/B0055LL1LQ/ref=sr_1_3?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1364524184&sr=1-3))

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unreal37
Might be worth mentioning that there are people that live inside the exclusion
zone, like Naoto Matsumura. He stayed behind to take care of all the animals.

[1] [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/31/japan-farmer-
fukush...](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/31/japan-farmer-fukushima-
nuclear-zone_n_943012.html)

[2] [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naoto-Matsumura-Guardian-
of-F...](https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naoto-Matsumura-Guardian-of-
Fukushimas-Animals/182452015189991)

~~~
istvanp
VICE Japan also made a video [1] on a couple of people (incl. the person in
your 2nd link) who decided to stay and take care of what they could.

[1] <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llM9MIM_9U4> (With English CC)

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jlgreco
I understand it would not have been necessary, but I think this would have
been a good opportunity to put one of those self-driving cars to use. Lots of
potential obstacles and the (not _really_ a concern) health risk factor.

~~~
leethax0r
Or even just a remotely controlled car.

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speeder
This is highly interesting!

Things I could notice: First, wildlife just ignores radiation, also nature is
quick to take back whatever we are not using.

Second, Japanese architecture is interesting, no building is ugly, both the
modern ones (like the waterfront building that did not got smashed) and old
ones (the traditional-looking houses). Maybe excepting schools (that are just
rectangular boxes filled with windows).

Also, Japanese are very organized, even seeing debris scattered and destroyed
stuff, the town still looks more organized and clean than the stuff I see here
in Brazil for most part.

Good to see that someone left a message on the blackboard, making explicit how
he liked the school.

Also, interesting to see that some stuff held well against the tsunami, the
damaged graduation hall for example still has everything in place except where
the floor collapsed, and still looking good.

The cars littering a field for some reason to me look like grazing cows.

Good vending machine that one supporting a building!

And it is dreading when I noticed that the most present animals are crows, not
other sort of birds, it is like if most of life left, and death decided to
remain.

This town also looks the sort of place I want to live in the future when I can
(of course, without disaster...)

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StavrosK
What surprised me is that someone left a barely used Volkswagen Beetle there
and didn't even return for it...

~~~
supahfly_remix
I noticed that, too. The owner might be dead, though.

~~~
StavrosK
Well, this got depressing quickly.

~~~
ctdonath
Well, it all started with a major earthquake + tsunami + nuclear disaster ...
depressing from the start.

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artursapek
I love what Google has done with Street View. Taking the technology indoors
just does something completely different for me than outdoor shots. In this
place it lets you look at intimate details of what used to be other peoples'
every day lives. There's so much to explore. Can any one read this blackboard?
<http://goo.gl/maps/zWAqm>

I'd love to see a hack that lets one walk around in first-person inside an
environment using Street View imagery, like a video game. Maybe the imagery is
sufficient for that if used right.

~~~
mirkules
"I'd love to see a hack that lets one walk around in first-person inside an
environment using Street View imagery, like a video game."

There was a TED video in 2010 doing almost that:
<http://www.ted.com/talks/blaise_aguera.html>

~~~
artursapek
I just watched that whole thing. Very impressive.

~~~
gcb0
interesting, but didn't microsoft started to try to map the world with that
very same approach way before streetview?

i can't remember the name of the project though...

~~~
micro-ram
Terraserver.com

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antman
This guys card is black is that good?

[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Namie+town,+Fukushima+Prefect...](https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Namie+town,+Fukushima+Prefecture,+Japan&hl=en&ll=37.490796,140.995531&spn=0.055367,0.111494&sll=37.492171,140.990038&sspn=0.082539,0.116386&hnear=Namie,+Futaba+District,+Fukushima+Prefecture,+Japan&t=m&layer=c&cbll=37.490793,140.995706&panoid=BK-
BpJc09upARV7M4mM2ug&cbp=13,145.67,,2,5.13&z=14)

~~~
mey
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_badge_dosimeter>

If I am understanding that article correctly, it is used not as an alert but
as a record of how much cumulative exposure a person has received while in a
hazardous area.

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dirktheman
Some cars, several buildings and some things look like they've been abandoned
yesterday. The VW for instance looks cleaner than my car, which I drive daily
and wash regularly. Other cars are completely smashed up, rusty. The same goes
for roads: some look like they've been paved yesterday, some are completely
cracked and overgrown. Not meaning antthing by it, just an observation!

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yalogin
Yeah but the interesting things only come out at night. Zombies, I mean
zombies.

Having said that, its been 2 years since it was left and the building and
roads look to be intact. No dust or leaves even.

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p6v53as
Looks like a regular town in where i live, East Europe.

~~~
meepmorp
I was thinking this, too. There's one shot of a concrete apartment block that
looks like it could be taken to any number of cities in the former sphere of
soviet influence.

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edgarvaldes
Why the blog is dot.mx?

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OGinparadise
Lesson I learned: when you have a major accident and the government (any of
them) says it's all safe to stay, eat and drink, GTFO as soon as possible.
<http://rt.com/news/japan-fish-radiation-fukushima-321/> We made a mistake and
we're sorry might not do it, when you get cancer or your children are born
with 3 heads.

