JAPAN: An aquarium in Tokyo prepares for Halloween, training its fish to swim in a festive formation
- 00:00:19
- ITN Source
JAPAN: An aquarium in Tokyo prepares for Halloween, training its fish to swim in a festive formation
Japanese aquarium creates the illusion of Halloween in a fish tank. Halloween can get a little fishy at the Hakkei-jima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama Japan. About 1,000 glimmering fish seem to magically transform themselves into a trick-or-treating pumpkin. These are yellow-striped butterfish - a treat for dolphins that share their tank and the Japanese that watch their little routine. While the eyes and mouth of the pumpkin are actually made of paper sticker taped on a surface of the fish tank, the fish themselves are directed by a frogman with a pail of feed. Despite the simple set up, the illusion was complete and the most of the audience said they were mesmerised by the show. "I was surprised that those tiny fish could gather and form such a big face," said eight-year old visitor Rika Okada who came with her mother and a friend. "It looks like something like a jack-o-lantern with a help of stick-on papers -- though vaguely," said 41-year old Haruko Aisaka, admitting that she didn't get the best angle to see the fishy jack-o-lantern. The spokeswoman for the aquarium said thanks to this Halloween event, usually inconspicuous small fish can overwhelm its tank mate or star of the aquarium in popularity even if for a short moment. "A main attraction in this tank is usually dolphins, however only during a Halloween season, these small fish which was raised here just to recreate natural environment for dolphins, can replace them as a leading attraction," she said. Halloween is relatively new to region, but more and more Japanese have been introduced to the holiday due to the influence of the U.S. media.
ITN Source | October 29, 2007
