Creepy photos from the exclusion zone in Fukushima

The exclusion zone with a radius of 20 kilometers, left after the largest nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster, is terrifying: a network of abandoned houses and villages where hundreds of thousands of people once lived.

Four years after the accident that led to the evacuation of 160,000 people, 120,000 of them still cannot return, and some areas are still so dangerous that they cannot be there.

Last month, Polish photographer Arkadiusz Podniesinski visited Fukushima and saw the aftermath of the disaster with his own eyes. Now 20,000 people are working in the zone, clearing towns and villages so that former residents of some areas can return.

The photographer could not get into the so-called red and orange zones, he expects to make another attempt later.

(Total 24 photos)

Photo: Arkadiusz Podniesinski / REX Shutterstock

Abandoned cars. They cannot be removed without the consent of the owners.

Abandoned bikes.

Office.

School.

Arkadiusz Podnesinski in a protective suit.

Game salon.

Bags of contaminated soil.

Kuichi Nozawa and his wife live in a temporary home.

TVs contaminated with radiation.

Restaurant.

Bags of contaminated soil.

Workers clean houses so people can return.

Abandoned house.

Cars are overgrown with grass.

radiation level.

Supermarket.

Motorbike.

The crack in the ground was left after the earthquake.

The cows have developed strange spots that their owner believes are caused by the contaminated grass they feed on.