Swim with the dolphins, enjoy some sashimi – take in all that Taiji has to offer!
Few documentaries have ever been as unsettling as 2009′s The Cove, which tells the story of the Japanese fishing town of Taiji and its annual dolphin hunt. The scenes of fishermen killing the most intelligent animals in the ocean, turning the sea blood red, could turn the stomachs of even the most hardened film-goers. So, logically it follows that Taiji is planning on developing a “marine safari park” in which tourists could swim and kayak with dolphins and whales that stop by the shores of southern Japan. The park will encompass most of the bay upon which Taiji sits, covering 69 acres and boasting beaches and, of course, whales and dolphins that have been captured nearby by fishermen, albeit ones that won’t be turned into processed meat. The park is slated to open by 2015, but officials with the town say they have no plans of cancelling the hunt anytime soon (they caught 928 last year) despite requests from basically every corner of the planet and every animal rights group to do just that.
