In the aftermath of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster that struck Japan in March 2011 and killed about 16,000 people, this medley of ghost towns and populated oases in the northeast captures the imbalance, red tape, and confusion that afflict the region—and the nation—two years on. The government says the plant is “stable.” That water is keeping the reactors cool. That the plant no longer emits significant amounts of radiation. That authorities are “doing our best” to decontaminate the area, shut down the plant, and return lives to normal. There’s no way to really determine how much of that is true—we got within nine miles of the plant before barriers blocked our path. For now, some 2,700 people are still listed as missing. And about 160,000 can’t go back their homes, many stuck in “temporary” housing—with no end in sight, and scant information from the government or Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the utility that operates Fukushima Daiichi.