More fun with Google Maps Street View - Fukushima, March 2013

<p>Insomnia and lack of premium cable/satellite TV combine to produce in me a trivial pursuit that commentary writer Joseph Sobran used to call "Things I found while looking for other things".</p>

<p>Latest find via Google Street View - as of March 2013, they've just updated pix of the Fukushima area from a Google robo-car. It's interesting, touring what resembles a post-Zombie Apocalypse area. Amazing how quickly cities and towns deteriorate without continually maintenance. Or maybe Fukushima already looked like my own rundown neighborhood on a good day.</p>

<p>I found several interesting photos, including four fellows who appeared to be working in various areas, two by themselves, and a two-man crew using a small truck crane to lift road barriers (I didn't get the link for the last two): http://goo.gl/maps/boVMn and http://goo.gl/maps/4MYU4</p>

<p>But this photo intrigued me most: http://goo.gl/maps/HkwhB</p>

<p>It appears to be a photograph atop a pole. The photo appears to be of a rather banal looking industrial area - but it doesn't quite match the actual surroundings.</p>

<p>Any ideas what that is? Is it something common in Japan, or peculiar to that area?</p>

<p>I wonder when those pictures were taken. The grass is mostly dead as are the evergreens up the street, curiously the traffic lights are still operational (up the street from the first link).</p>

 

<p>They're all dated March 2013. No idea whether that's when they were actually taken, or just when they were uploaded.</p>

<p>Yeah, there are odd signs of life and possibly even occupancy here and there.</p>

<p>Well, I live in Japan and if I didn't know those photos were from Fukushima I'd say they are pretty representative of what Japanese towns and cities look like. Buildings, grass, shrubs, everything.<br>

That "photo" on the pole is a traffic mirror. It just shows a view that we don't quite see being at ground level.</p>

<p>Traffic mirror, apparently for curvy roads and blind intersections. What a brilliant idea. Thanks, Rachelle. </p>

<p>Ah, thanks, Rachelle. I saw lots of circular fisheye mirrors everywhere, but that particular mirror didn't resemble the others and I thought it was a photograph. If you do the virtual-cruise around Fukushima you'll see several photos of the Google car itself reflected in the many circular fisheye mirrors.</p>

<p>I just assumed the town was suffering extra decay from two years of neglect. Although it doesn't look any worse than the rural town where I used to live. I'm not sure why I expected Japan to look... neater. Probably the fault of wearing Western goggles. Next you'll be telling me I'm using the word <a href="

all wrong, like we get <em>bokeh</em> wrong.</p>

<p>Is Boxxy still around?! </p>

<p>Many Asian cities are a mix of modernized centuries old architecture and modern construction. Some places would make it feel like stepping into 1200 A.D. with a skyscraper around the corner. The impact is greater than one might experience in Europe due to the contrasting old and new architecture. </p>

<blockquote>

<p>"Is Boxxy still around?!"</p>

</blockquote>

<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ANewHopeee">Oh, yes</a>. She's like the new Judy Tenuta. Minus the accordion.</p>

<p>This is way off topic, but really.. a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxxy">Boxxy Wiki page</a>? It must be getting harder to keep up with the old Boxxy character as she ages. </p>

<p>It's sad to see a deserted area like this anywhere.....</p>

<p>One day this week I saw (I believe it was the NBC nightly news) a story about Google filming this is in Fukushima. </p>

 

<p>Google street view captures all sorts if things, including some that might be classified as "Not Safe For Work". You have been warned<br /> http://www.digitalspy.com/odd/news/a465335/manchesters-temperance-street-renamed-hand-job-alley-on-google-maps.html</p>

<p>At least someone at Google Maps has a sense of humor...</p>

<p>Bokeh is a Japanese word which can be translated as "mental haze or senility". It's also sometimes applied to the effect such people think they can see in the out of focus areas of a photograph.</p>