Radish Shaped Like a Person
A family in Nara prefecture found this person-shaped daikon radish growing in their garden:
They even gave the daikon a name: Daisuke. After making a face for Daisuke and putting a pink ribbon on his head (because he’s transsexual?), they slice up his body and feast on it!
Afterwards, they pray to the spirit of Daisuke the daikon:
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Categories: Japanese Food, Odd / Strange
Yakuza Brokered Fake Marriage Between Chinese Student & 16-year-old Girl
ATV news reports on the arrest of a gangster who brokered a fake marriage between a Chinese student and a Japanese high school girl:
The 28-year-old Chinese student, who wanted a visa that would allow himself to stay in Japan, paid the gangster 900,000 yen to set up a marriage to a Japanese citizen. The gangster arranged for a 16-year-old girl who had run away from home to become the Chinese student’s wife.
When the marriage paperwork was submitted to a government office in Saitama, officials called the girl’s parents for confirmation. It was then determined that a marriage fraud was probably taking place.
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Categories: Foreigners in Japan, Odd / Strange
“Animal Cruelty” at Okinawa Aquarium?
Nicki H. from Australia sent this site an e-mail claiming that there is “animal cruelty” taking place at the Churaumi Aquarium in Okinawa Ocean Expo Park:
While I was visiting Japan last month, I saw some animal cruelty at the Churaumi Aquarium in Okinawa Ocean Expo Park.
The Sea Turtle Pool and Dugong pools are too small and the animals look so miserable. The Dugongs especially, can not swim because their pools are too small, they have only concrete walls to look at and nothing to eat or do.
Can you please alert the officals and ask them to send some inspectors to the Churaumi Aquarium in Okinawa to check on these conditions.
The Acquarium is located at 424 Ishikawa, Within Okinawa Expo Park, Motobu Town, Okinawa
Here are a few video clips of the Dugong tank, which is allegedly “too small” to allow the animals space to swim:
And the sea turtles:
From the video clips, it looks like the size of the tanks at the Churaumi Aquarium aren’t much different from those at other aquariums I have visited in Japan (or the United States). The Churaumi Aquarium is one of Okinawa’s major tourist attractions, and I’d be very surprised if it has never been subject to an inspection by authorities. Nicki may think that the conditions are cruel, but it is doubtful that regulations are being violated.
Do you agree with Nicki's claims about animal cruelty?
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Categories: Animal Videos
Bringing Streetcars Back to Ginza
Decades ago, streetcars were a common sight all over Tokyo. However, as car ownership increased, streetcars were seen as an annoying contributor to traffic jams and streetcar lines were shut down. Today, only the Toden Arakawa streetcar line and the Tokyu Setagaya tramway line remain.
However, as this report from “Bankisha” shows, streetcars are about to make a comeback in Tokyo:
This year’s Tokyo city budget includes funding for the construction of a new light rail transit (LRT) line, running from Ginza to the Harumi area of Chuo Ward.
A lot of new office and apartment buildings have been built in the area over the last decade, and existing mass transit cannot meet the demands of residents. A lot of people are annoyed with having to take long walks or wait a considerable time for buses.
The report mentions some advantages of streetcar/LRT lines:
- Tracks can be set up so that the streetcars can move forward regardless of automobile traffic.
- Because streetcars can be easily brought to a halt, it is not dangerous to run a streetcar within close proximity of another streetcar. During rush hour, many streetcars can follow closely behind each other on the same track.
- In the downtown area of the French city of Strasbourg, an LRT system has replaced automobile traffic. By restricting the automobile access to the area, it has beautified the city and reduced air pollution.
- LRT lines can be a very convenient for handicapped or elderly passengers. The LRT line in Toyama city runs low to the ground and close to boarding platforms. Passengers do not need to climb up stairs to board the car, and there are no large gaps on platforms that could cause trouble for wheelchairs or carts.
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Categories: General Japan, Technology
iPod-shaped Hand Warmer
NTV news introduces the e-Kairo, a hand warmer that looks a lot like an iPod nano:
The device acts much like a normal “kairo” heat pack, providing about 3 hours of heating. It can be re-charged via a USB cable.
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Categories: Technology
Beat Takeshi Speaks French
Takeshi Kitano acts like he can speak from French in a commercial for ECC French conversation lessons:
To all native French speakers who read this site: leave a comment and let us know what you think of Takeshi’s language skills.
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Categories: General Japan