Japanese theme park forced to apologize for creepy skating rink full of dead fish

Who thought freezing 5,000 fish into a skating rink was a good idea?

Ice skating is pretty fun, but a theme park in Japan thought it had found a way to make it even more enjoyable: let people skate over a massive fish cemetery. 

The Space World amusement park in southwestern Japan opened an ice rink earlier this month with 5,000 dead fish frozen beneath the surface. It closed Sunday, after an enormous public backlash. 

The park billed it as an “Ice Aquarium” and an “unheard of attraction.” It looked just as freaky as you’re probably imagining. 

Facebook via CNN

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But wait, it gets even weirder. According to CNN, Space World’s Facebook page posted photos of the rink with the caption “I am d... d... drowning, s ... s... suffocating.” Fish were arranged to spell out “hello” and to form an arrow pointing skaters in the right direction. 

The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP

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The fish were purchased from a local market and many of them were deemed unfit for consumption, a Space World official told Tokyo Reporter. Still, the response to the gimmick was, predictably, less than positive. Critics said the attraction was “disrespectful of life” and showed an “appalling lack of morality.”

A memorial service will be held for the fish once they’re scooped out of the ice.