Fukushima’s Radiation Zone Holds Many Rare JDM Rides

Frozen In Time

Many of us have watched movies, documentaries, and TV shows depicting the fallout of nuclear disasters, some of which are steeped in fact, while others are a bit dramatized. But while disasters like the ones that happened at Chernobyl are a bit in the past, Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant incident is a bit more frequent, having taken place when a tsunami hit the area 12 years ago. To this day, the exclusion zone around the area looks much like it's stuck in time, as radiation levels remain high - and a bevy of cool vehicles sit abandoned, as YouTuber Exploring the Unbeaten Path recently discovered.

Quick Exit

As one might imagine, the exclusion zone was essentially abandoned following the nuclear incident, and people left in a hurry. That means their worldly possession are still sitting around, meals half-eaten, and cars parked everywhere - many of which are rare, interesting, or downright cool JDM machines.

Impressive List

The list of cars that our host comes across is rather impressive - there's a red S2000, of course, along with a bevy of R32 Nissan Skyline models, an S15 Silvia, a Toyota Supra or two, an MR2, WRX STi, and a wide array of vehicles that range in age from vintage to ones that were built just over a decade ago, just before disaster struck.

Eerie Scene

For this reason, the exclusion zone has become a bit of a popular tourist attraction, amazingly enough. While many of us would never dare go anywhere near an area with dangerous levels of radiation that could make us rather sick after just a few hours of exposure, there are plenty of brave folks willing to take the risk to see this eerie scene in person.

Radioactive Rides

The enthusiast in us sees things like this and wants to head in and rescue these cars, but obviously, they still technically belong to people, so that would be illegal. It's also worth noting that the cars themselves are likely carrying a good bit of radiation, to the point where they couldn't be legally exported anyway.

Other Problems

Some of the vehicles in the area did wind up being moved and sold elsewhere, which is a scary thought. Aside from carrying radiation that can make us sick, these cars could also suffer from what's known as "radiation hardening," making the sheet metal brittle over time to the point where it just cracks and warps.

>>Join the conversation about the Fukushima radiation zone's abandoned cars right here at S2Ki.com.

Decades To Go

As such, these poor cars will likely just sit and rot away for the foreseeable future, as it could be at least 30 years before radiation in the area falls back to reasonable levels. By then, there may not be much left of these vehicles or the surrounding infrastructure. 

>>Join the conversation about the Fukushima radiation zone's abandoned cars right here at S2Ki.com.