Japan ice skating rink freezes 5000 fish, sparks uproar

Tokyo: An amusement park in western Japan displayed about 5,000 dead fish in the ice at a skating rink.

Space World has received a lot of criticism on social media after opening the rink on November 12, 2016 and was forced to close the skating rink.

Around 25 different kinds of fish could be seen under the 250-meter (820-foot) -long skating rink.

The amusement park, which is located in the city of Kitakyushu, Japan had opened the "Ice Aquarium'' as an "attraction never heard about.

Japanese broadcaster NHK showed the fish frozen in ice on a blue floor, so it looked like they were swimming below the ice.

Some formed a school to spell out "HELLO" or make an arrow-shaped sign in the ice.

The general manager of Space World, Toshimi Takeda, said many critical messages were posted on social media, some condemning the concept as abusing living things.

Takeda said that the fish in the ice had been intended "to give the feel of the ocean to the ice skating rink,'' and that the amusement park is ``extremely remorseful to have invoked such unpleasant feelings.''

Space World said the fish were purchased from a fish market, and were dead before the water was frozen.

The operator plans to hold a memorial service for the fish once they're taken out of the ice.

(With AFP inputs)