‘I’ve explored 300 derelict buildings but one will haunt me for the rest of my life’

An urban explorer managed to sneak into the abandoned nuclear control room in the Fukushima red zone – discovering it eerily frozen in time.

Lukka Ventures, 27, has spent the last four years exploring derelict buildings across the UK. After watching a documentary on the Fukushima nuclear disaster, he decided to head out to explore the ‘red zones’ – sites that have been closed off – around the nuclear power plant.

He snooped round abandoned hospitals, malls and apartments which he said were untouched by time, describing the experience as spookily surreal.

Join our WhatsApp Top Stories and Breaking News group by clicking this link

On March 11, 2011, an earthquake and tsunami initiated a nuclear incident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Three of the six nuclear reactors at the plant had severe damage and released hydrogen and radioactive materials and residents within 30 km of the site were ordered to leave.

Lukka, from Bury, said: “I’ve always wanted to go to Japan, there are a lot of abandoned places there. I had been studying the Fukushima red zones for a few weeks before I set off on my adventure.

“It was a very surreal experience. Everything had been left, there were calendars on the wall that were fixed on the same date of the disaster.

“You could see people had taken refuge and you would walk into the shops and all the stock would be on the shelves still. It was really surreal.

“You will walk into a building and there is stuff all over the floor. Animals have got in and tried to get food, you can see that the earthquake shook everything onto the floor.”

Lukka, spent four days in the Fukushima red zones in Ōkuma, Japan, in February 2024, sharing his findings on his YouTube channel – @lukkaVentures

He carried a Geiger counter – an electronic instrument used for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation – to make sure he wasn’t exposing himself.

He said: “We were sneaking through rivers and fences. We had to be really careful of how radiated some of the areas were.

“It was so, so surreal. You would go into shopping centres and they would have food on the shelf.

“Everything has been left. Every building we went into was really weird.”

Lukka found a nuclear bunker in what he believes was a training centre. He said: “We entered a big glass building which had a model of the reactor in the lobby.

“We were close to the power plant that exploded. We walked around the building and there were rooms that had nuclear controllers in there.”

Lukka, who regularly posts his explorations to his Facebook and YouTube pages, said he found walking around the hospital a “scary experience”.

“I have never explored an area and been scared but the hospital was really scary. Seeing all the stuff, like bags, coats and other belongings gets you upset.

“I am not the type of guy to get upset but I did feel very sad walking around. The whole experience will stay with me forever.”