Street View of Fukushima - Five Years On

Five Years after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, Google has again updated its Street View imagery in some of the areas devastated by the tragedy.

After the 2011 earthquake Google realized that its Street View technology provided an unrivaled resource which enabled the company to document the destruction on the ground in Japan. In June 2011 Google created the Memories for the Future website. The website allows anyone to post their memories, photos or videos of places and buildings lost to the Great East Japan Earthquake. The site also allows visitors to explore before and after Street View images of the areas affected by the earthquake.

Google has now updated Google Maps and the Memories for the Future website with new Street View imagery taken between June 2015 and January 2016. When viewing Street View on the Memories for the Future site you now have the option (where available) to switch between Street View images taken 'Before', 'After' and 'After 2015'. You can also view the different Street View imagery on Google Maps by clicking on the date of the Street View and choosing a new date.


Google's new Street View imagery in Japan means that you can explore how these areas are recovering from the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami. For example, in the 2013 Street View imagery of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture you can see a ship that was swept well in land by the tsunami. Switch to the latest Street View imagery, taken in August of last year, and you can see that the ship has now been removed.