New and used cars. Forgotten vending machines. Food that will never be touched. Money on the ground. Empty shops and schools. Abandoned technology. The Fukushima exclusion zone has a radius of 20 kilometers where basically everything remains… exactly as its inhabitants left it. Polish photographer Natalia Sobańska traveled to Japan to capture images of that place, but it’s clear she got more than she expected…
Last week we shared with our readers some images of the Sarcophagus responsible for containing the radioactive fury of Chernobyl. The accident captivated millions of people thanks to the events depicted in the HBO series, but there is something we must never forget… and that is that the 21st century suffered its own Chernobyl in the form of Fukushima.
The combination of the tsunami and the nuclear disaster required the evacuation of almost half a million people. Today there is an exclusion zone with a radius of 20 kilometers, and eight years after the disaster, many have decided to explore that region. Photographer Natalia Sobańska had planned to spend three days there. A silent alarm alerted the police to her presence, and although she didn’t have too many problems, the three days turned into two.
Even so, Natalia admitted feeling relieved. What began as a happy and enthusiastic trip became an overwhelming process of sadness. Empty streets, intact dresses that no one will ever wear, shelves full of food, silent pachinko machines, abandoned traditional restaurants. Natalia’s images are formidable, but her personal experience went in the opposite direction.
If you want to see and know more about her travels, don’t hesitate to visit her official page and her Instagram profile.
