Japan's 'World-First' Ice Rink Blasted as 'Immoral'

Apparently not everyone likes the idea of skating on top of 5K dead fish
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 28, 2016 8:06 AM CST
Japan's 'Immoral' Ice Rink Gets Cold Reception
Who wants to skate on top of dead fish?   (Twitter, via BBC)

A recently opened ice rink in Japan was advertised as a "world first"—only to subsequently be accused of being "immoral" and "weird" and having "no soul," CNN and the Guardian report. The skating rink in the Space World theme park in Kitakyushu came under fire for installing about 5,000 frozen fish under the ice, with some of the fish positioned in the shape of arrows and others spelling out the word "hello." Space World also posted since-deleted pictures of the attraction on its Facebook page, including such captions as "I am d … d … drowning, s … s … suffocating." Commenters took to that page to register their complaints (some of them profanity-laden), with one suggesting "you should freeze all your crew and members that enjoyed and made this program."

"What a terrible idea, no respect for living things," reads one post, while another simply noted, "Just no." Crabs, whale sharks, and rays were also spotted underneath the icy layers, but the park insists those were just blown-up pictures. The manager of the park tells CNN that staff members were "shocked" to hear there was hubbub, citing the attraction's "unprecedented" popularity during its initial two weeks. Based on the incensed reaction, however, the park plans to unfreeze the rink, pull out the fish—purchased already dead from a local market, per the manager—conduct an "appropriate religious service," and then turn the erstwhile swimmers into fertilizer. A park spokesman tells the BBC the ice rink, closed since Sunday, will reopen sometime in December. (It's not Asia's only animal-related problem.)

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