Chimpanzee Learns to Brush Teeth
Ken Shimura teaches Pan-kun the chimpanzee how to brush his teeth:
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Categories: Animal Videos
“Divine Wind” – Sea Shepherd Leader Praises Typhoon That Killed Over 45 People
A few days ago, Typhoon Talas hit western Japan, inflicting serious damage. Wakayama prefecture was in the middle of the storm’s path of destruction:
In worst-hit Wakayama, rescuers recovered nine more bodies Tuesday afternoon, with 34 others still missing, according to prefectural police. That brought the nationwide death toll to 46. Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said 54 people were missing Tuesday, including those in Wakayama.
Paul Watson, head of the radical animal rights group Sea Shepherd, has written an article praising the typhoon as an example of nature’s “Divine Wind” protecting dolphins from Japanese people:
The storms are a fitting herald to Sea Shepherd’s campaign against Japanese whaling this upcoming season. This year’s campaign is titled Operation Divine Wind (kamikaze: Japanese for ‘wind of the Gods’). It was the kamikaze that destroyed the invading Mongol fleets between 1274 and 1281.
Where once the typhoons protected Japan, the Japanese fishermen have fallen from grace with the sea and now the typhoons have returned to protect the dolphins. It is now the Cove Guardians that embody the spirit of the kamikaze.
This is, of course, not the first example of such behavior. A few months ago, Watson wrote a poem about the March 11th tsunami (death toll: 22,000+), describing it as the sea god Neptune punishing Japan:
[Hat tip to Day-Bee-Toe]
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Categories: Anti-Japan
Huge Daggertooth Pike Conger
Fishermen in Hokkaido recently caught this daggertooth pike conger:
Adult daggertooth pike congers are usually about one meter long, but this one is two meters! Apparently that’s pretty rare.
Unfortunately, fishermen couldn’t identify it at the time, so they couldn’t find anyone willing to buy it. It was given away to a local sushi restaurant. They couldn’t sell mystery fish to customers, but they did eat some of it in the kitchen, and they said it tasted pretty good.
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Categories: Odd / Strange
Video: Sushi Art
A Japanese TV show visits the Tokyo Sushi Academy to watch a specialist as he creates beautiful and edible works of kazari-zushi artwork:
At about the 2:22 mark in the video, he creates a very awesome sushi Mt. Fuji, snow-capped by white squid.
The last minute of the clip shows a couple TV announcers tasting double-sided sushi art. The female announcer encounters some trouble!
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Categories: Japanese Food, Odd / Strange
Return to Tohoku – The Road to Recovery
Michael Blodgett, who worked as a JET in Miyagi from 2005-2007, recently visited the disaster area to see some old friends and check the progress of post-disaster recovery efforts:
“I recently participated in a one-week travel and exchange sponsored by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Travel Bureau. I had lived and worked in Miyagi prefecture in the northeast of Japan (Tohoku) for 2 years from 2005-2007 while on the JET Program (Japan Exchange and Teaching Program). Twenty alumni from this program were selected to return to their communities in the prefectures most affected by the earthquakes and tsunamis that took place in March this year. I have to say the people of Miyagi prefecture never fail to amaze me. The people there have been working hard to get their lives back to normal and in many ways are making their towns and communities even stronger. The kindest and most hospitable people you will meet. The thing that sticks with me most from this trip is the Japanese strong sense of pride and optimism about the future. It truly is a great place and one I highly recommend you consider visiting if ever the chance.
Beyond visiting this great area of Japan, I reccommend donating to an organization such as the Japanese Red Cross Society to show your continued support for the Tohoku region. They have set up a special website devoted to the earthquake and tsunami relief efforts here: http://www.jrc.or.jp/eq-japan2011/index.html
A big thanks to JJ O’Donoghue – producer & editor of the video.
The music, “Eternal Hope”, is compliments of Kevin MacLeod at http://incompetech.com through creative common licensing.”
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Categories: General Japan
Shunsuke: Super Cute Twitter Dog
A Japanese TV report about Shunsuke, a Pomeranian that has become an internet sensation:
Shunsuke’s popularity lies in his super cuteness, which often makes him seem more like a stuffed animal than a real dog.
Shunsuke’s owner shares the cuteness of her doggy with the world via the keep0109 Twitter account (see the photo stream here). When the TV program aired a few weeks ago, Shunsuke had about 20,000 followers on Twitter. The number has since grown to over 40,000.
Shunsuke also has an official photo book and 2012 Calendar, available through Amazon.co.jp and other major retailers.
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Categories: Animal Videos