Various Japan Pictures
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Various Trips Taken During The First Half Of
2005
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| On April 29, I was invited to observe a gigantic cargo ship being loaded by cars that were to be exported to Europe and the Middle-East. I assume Iraq is running out of cars due to all the suicide bombings, but the Islamists can rest assured and know that more cars are on the way. | Each of these ships can hold an amazing number of cars, and all the vehicles seen behind me were loaded at an extremely high speed. I am happy to admit that this sound extremely boring, but I have always been fascinated by the shipping industry and its peculiarities. |
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| The following day, on April 30, Yuka and I went to check out the new orangutan exhibit located in Tama Zoo, which opened in 1958 and continues to be the largest zoological garden in Tokyo. The Ueno Zoo is perhaps more famous as it is conveniently located in the center of Tokyo, but the animals there live in cages that can be as tiny as my apartment. | Japan has gradually given more attention to the ethical treatment of animals, and the 1973 law protecting animals was revised by the Ministry of the Environment on December 22, 2000. These two pictures are from the big new orangutan exhibit that opened in 2005 after almost two years of construction. |
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| The two following pictures are of the old orangutan exhibit, and it definitely was a depressing sight. Compared to the old exhibit, the new exhibit that opened on April 28, 2005, and cost 1 billion yen to build (approximately 10 million dollars) must seem like a luxury resort to the orangutans. | Currently, the orangutans can venture over a large area of the zoo. A 150 meter long skywalk has been built 12 meters above the ground, and the orangutans can use it to go from one exhibit to another. At the time of writing, this was the longest orangutan skywalk in the world. |
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| When Yuka and I went to Zeniarai-benten shrine in 2003, I was convinced that washing some money there would make me rich. It is said that money washed in the shrine will double, but this theory has of course been hard to prove. | The shrine is located about 20 minutes walking from Kamakura station, and there is lots of nice hiking to be done in the area. |