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Whale watching

31 Comments

An image of a breaching whale is projected on a screen created by a water fountain during the Odaiba water illumination show in Tokyo. The show, which projects images of whales, sharks, tropical fish and Easter Island statues on a water screen 23 meters tall and 60 meters wide, will be held through April 11.

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31 Comments
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In 20 years or so, that will be the only way to see a whale if whaling isn't stopped..........

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Cool pic!

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They should display an epic Godzilla fight.

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Quick, get your harpoons!!!

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Junk. I expected something with a little technology. A slide projector flashing photos onto water was so low tech. Waste of time. Pure Junk!

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Where's the image of Sea Shephard trying to keep Japan from doing "research" on this magnificent creature?

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looks more like something from Avatar which I watched last nite!

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Oh wow, that's cool! didn't know there were doing it

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Looks like a ghost photo from "Paranormal Activity".

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looks like dinner !!

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Far left but not pictured: boat with "RESEARCH" written on its side, trying to harpoon the whale.

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I can just hear all the onlookers, "Oishi so!" - In ten years, "So, grandpa, that's what a humpback whale looked like. Where they delicious? Why are they extinct?"

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They are killing the whales, yet they are revering them at the same time.

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They are killing the whales, yet they are revering them at the same time.

Welcome to Japan

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The ghosts of slaughtered whales have come back to wreak havoc on the Japanese.

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OMG a whale motif in Japan that's not been hunted, quick, let's make crude whaling jokes while we have the opportunity.

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i wonder how many mouths were watering

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The Humpback whale looks so well done!.. but i confess that the image of swans during the show last year at Odaiba water illumination was even more beautiful.. the Rainbow bridge was illuminated then in many colors and the swans were very well detailed. The show is 20 minutes long and shows things like elephants and dolphins and flowers.

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i wonder how many mouths were watering

All of them.

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This breaching beauty looks like it's having a whale of time. Guess we better get used to seeing whales in this form. Not much time left for the real ones, unless we do something, and the Japanese government takes an intitiative for a change and does what I feel most Japanese people really want them to.

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NOW if only they'd STOP KILLING AND EATING THEM!!!

Moderator: All readers back on topic please. This discussion is not about whaling.

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Looks cool but seriously what is the message here?

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Moderator: All readers back on topic please. This discussion is not about whaling.

Its about the picture and Whaling in Japan is what comes to mind when people see the picture.

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The epitome of Japan -- pretend to appreciate something while you're salivary glands kick in; then destroy it.

The picture actually represents what the whale looks like on being hit with an explosive tipped harpoon, and hence the Japanese can TRULY appreciate it; they probably even give out 3-D glasses and sushi plates!

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Okay, then, on the moderators demand of talking about things other than whaling; this reminds me of how most Japanese I know, and those I don't know, tend to view tours abroad and of foreign culture -- they're so busy taking pictures of it and rushing from place to place that they don't appreciate it until it's gone and they 'experience' the trip via the photos. When all the whales and tuna and what not are gone they can finally look at the pictures and holographs and say what wonderful creatures once graced the earth. Then of course blame someone else for their extinction and pat themselves on the back for building victim-like memorials. doh!

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The light display is pretty impressive!

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"what is the message here?"

The message is, "We are capable of producing an image of a breaching whale using a water fountain, therefore we are doing it."

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@misoshiro...

They are killing the whales, yet they are revering them at the same time.

They're not revering whales; they're revering empty images of whales. Huge difference, though maybe not among many in Japan.

@gogogo...

Looks cool but seriously what is the message here?

Probably the same message in every other thing used to make the masses ignorant and compliant, ignoring or hiding the larger issues and boosting up the kawaii and escapist factors, like viewing whales as cute stuffed dolls hanging from your keitai or more yen in the pockets of those wantonly killing them and selling them off to dolphinariums, but nothing more. Kinda like how Animal Planet in Japan has become little more than a mix of cute (puppies, cats, etc.) and killing (lions, tigers, etc.). Try to find the somewhat popular Whale Wars. Unless I'm just missing it, I haven't been able to here, and don't really expect to ever to see it air in Japan.

Ghostly images, 3-D IMAX films, robotic simulacra of nature and life, plastic dolls and video games, theme parks... what a lifeless future. Imagine if the same amount of energy and money were poured into preserving, even nurturing, the real things... Why does there seem to be such an escape mentality in Japan. Not everything is begging to be or needs to be controlled.

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mh..really beautiful, really beautiful.

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Sarge: The message is, "We are capable of producing an image of a breaching whale using a water fountain, therefore we are doing it."

No one ever went to a "Sound & Light" show? They are cool. I recommend them.

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Get the Blue Fin Tuna up there in memorial lights next. Oh, and what time is this show in the evening???

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