Dog "Lion" at Chinese Zoo

Zoos are great for teaching kids about the different sounds that animals make.


Horses go neigh, pigs go oink oink, and lions go woof...

Wait! A lion is not roaring but barking...!?



Turns out it was no lion, but just a Tibetan mastiff, a large, hairy breed of dog, looking out from a cage labeled "African Lion" in Luohe Zoo in central China's Henan province.

It's a dog!! lol


Apparently, officials in the zoo hoped that no one would notice when they decided to make the switch and send the enclosure's regular resident, an African lion, away to a breeding center.


And, the dog-for-cat swap wasn't the only attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of zoo patrons: two coypu rodents in a snake's cage, a white fox in a leopard's den, and another domestic dog in a wolf pen. 

The regular residents in snake cage will be sorrow when they notice their dissimilar replacements. 

I'd like to visit such a ridiculous fake zoo if possible. 

There we'll see zookeepers in a cage with the sign "Gorilla" on its gate.

68 Years On

Japan marks 68th anniversary after war with two bomb attacks.

However, we Japan still face some crucial issues among Asian neighbors.


It's because we gradually forget the past crime and pass the buck to others.


"War is evil." That's the common sense.


Then we need to think "why it happened" much more deeply, share the ideas to prevent any war and cooperate with each other for world peace.


Never Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Okinawa again.


I'd like to pray for the souls of dead and apologize deeply for Japan's past atrocity.






Here is the famous photo and explanation quoted from an English textbook of Japan's high school.

This photograph was taken by an American photojournalist, Joe O’Donnell, in Nagasaki in 1945.


He recently spoke to a Japanese interviewer about this picture.


"I saw a boy about ten years old walking by. He was carrying a baby on his back. In those days in Japan, we often saw children playing with their little brothers or sisters on their backs, but this boy was clearly different. I could see that he had come to this place for a serious reason. He was wearing no shoes. His face was hard. The little head was tipped back as if the baby were fast asleep.


"The boy stood there for five or ten minutes. The men in white masks walked over to him and quietly began to take off the rope that was holding the baby. That is when I saw that the baby was already dead. The men held the body by the hands and feet and placed it on the fire.


"The boy stood there straight without moving, watching the flames. He was biting his lower lip so hard that it shone with blood. The flame burned low like the sun going down. The boy turned around and walked silently away." 

I wish I can see many kids' smile in the next 10 years, 20 years, and forever always. 

First Fireworks at Urawa Reds Game

When it comes to a fireworks display, you go to Sumida River? Or Arakawa River?


No!! Come to Saitama Stadium!!


On Saturday night, red fireworks exploded in the sky above Saitama Stadium to celebrate Urawa Reds 2-0 lead over Sanfrecce Hiroshima during halftime.

It was a bit hard to see them from my seat...


You can go to Urawa Reds Official Facebook page to see fireworks.
→https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=616784231675659&set=vb.366946266659458&type=2&theater




The game was really good that Shinzo Koroki added another in the 55th minute to give Urawa Reds a 3-1 win, pushing home side into third spot in the J-League.


And happily, Omiya Ardija fell to fourth after a 1-0 defeat against Kashima Antlers!!


Yeehah!! In your face!! ＼(≧▽≦)／

Shinzo Koroki scored 2 goals.  

Genki Haraguchi scored the second. 

The screen was suddenly off due to the power line trouble. 

"We Make J-League More Excited! We're the Leader of J-League Always!!" 

There were only forty thousand fans despite the remarkable game.


All come together in Saitama Stadium this summer, and sing "We're Diamonds"!!


Fireworks are calling you on August 17th and 31st as well!!


Please do not hesitate to visit the stadium if you've never been there before.

Link: For Urawa Reds Beginners (only in Japanese)

Japan wins East Asian Cup 2013

Yoichiro Kakitani completed a brace with a dramatic winner as Japan won its first East Asian Cup title by beating host South Korea 2-1 in Sunday's tournament finale.

Kakitani gave Japan the lead in the 25th minute, receiving a pass from Toshihiro Aoyama and beating South Korean goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong for his second goal of the tournament. 

The hosts leveled in the 33rd on Yun Il-lok's strike from the top of the area past Japan's keeper Shusaku Nishikawa. 

Kakitani scored again in the first minute of stoppage time, picking up a loose ball after Jung could only parry a shot from Genki Haraguchi. 

Urawa Reds trio also did a good job throughout the competition. 

Behind the victory, there was a disgusting battle outside the pitch between Japan and South Korea. 

In the early part of the game, the Red Devils, a group of South Korean football supporters, hung a banner that read, "There is no future for people who have forgotten their past." 

The message was apparently aimed at Japan's reluctance to acknowledge its militaristic and colonial past. 

Along with the obviously political statement, large banners of two anti-Japan heroes were also displayed. 

Korean independence activist An Jung-geun who assassinated Japan's first Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi in 1909, as well as Admiral Yi Sun-shin, leader of a successful naval campaign against their colonizers in the late 16th century. 

But there was a nasty point in Japan side, as well. 

Some Japanese fans waved the Rising Sun Flag, which many South Koreans consider a symbol of Japan's past militarism and imperialism. 

The two countries were also at the center of a diplomatic row at the 2012 London Olympics when footballer Park Jong-woo held up a sign referring to a territorial dispute while celebrating South Korea's 2-0 win over Japan in the bronze medal game in August. 

These crucial issues should have been kicked out of the football field, and I hope the two nations will come closer to each other in the near future. 

Then, I'd like to admire South Korea's goal was really fantastic!! 

Arsenal 2-1 Urawa Reds

Lukas Podolski and Chuba Akpom scored in the second-half to give Arsenal a 2-1 victory over Japanese club Urawa Reds at Saitama Stadium last night.


Podolski gave Arsenal the lead in the 49th minute, converting a pass from Theo Walcott, before Yuki Abe leveled 10 minutes later for the hosts.


Akpom sealed the win in the 82nd when he slotted into an empty net after Mitsuru Nagata's crazy pass.


The match was a part of Arsenal's pre-season tour to Asia and also acted as the Saitama City Cup 2013.

Arsène Wenger is really cool!!

Before the match, Nu (left: a mascot of Saitama City), Kobaton (centre: a mascot of Saitama Prefecture) and Gunnersaurus Rex (right: a mascot of Arsenal) appeared and waved hands to supporters.


There was no Redia... (^o^;)

This is a photo I took from my seat line 4.


Walcott is just in front of me!!


It was a perfect position to see Podolski's goal and Nagata's blunder.

Ryo Miyaichi, who scored a penalty against Nagoya Grampus, came on after halftime.


His fitness has got improved, but needs more aggressive.

Lukas Podolski was chosen as the Man Of the Match and given a Japanese doll made in Konosu City. (Why not made in Iwatsuki...?)

It was a fantastic game!!


We always welcome Arsenal!!

Well, I met my friend Meg!! (Photo taken by you know who Meg's girl)

George, the Little Prince

Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, have named their new son "George Alexander Louis," a day after the little prince had his debut to the world when his mother emerged with him in her arms from St. Mary's Hospital in London.

Both William and Catherine seemed very relaxed when they gave the public its the first view of the new heir to the British throne, even joking that the infant prince had more hair than his father.





People has celebrated the birth of a child in any forms.


London's BT Tower was lit up with the announcement, "it's a boy!"

The official notification stands in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace, announcing the birth of a baby boy.

The London Eye, the Tower Bridge and the fountain in Trafalgar Square were illuminated to celebrate the birth.

Piccadilly Circus' famous Coke sign featured the Duchess' name on the night of the birth announcement.

The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery fired a 41 gun salute in Green Park.

A man reads a copy of British tabloid The Sun, renamed "The Son."

I'd like to say happy birthday to George from Japan.

Pushing Train United

Dozens of Japanese train passengers pushed a 32-ton train carriage away from the platform to free a woman who had fallen into the 20-cm gap between the train and platform during the busy morning rush hour Monday at JR Minami-Urawa Station. 

A public announcement that a passenger was trapped prompted about 40 people to join train officials to push the carriage.


The 32-ton train's suspension system allows it to tilt slightly to either side, allowing the woman to escape.


The unnamed woman in her 30s was then pulled out safe and uninjured.


Everyone in the station applauded the "rescue effort" and operations resumed, with just a slight delay of 8-minutes to the entire Keihin Tohoku Line. 

It was a good news, but in the first place, MIND THE GAP!!