Shagging on the ferris wheel

Mark Schreiber

Since March 17, young couples have been flocking to the Kasai Sea Life Park in Tokyo's Edogawa-ku. Their most likely destination, suggests Nikkan Gendai (Mar 24) has not been to marvel at the finny inhabitants of the park's famous aquarium, but more likely to take a ride on the new "Diamond and Flower Ferris Wheel."

Reaching 117 metres above the ground at its apex, the 111 metre diameter wheel with its 68 gondolas is billed as Japan's largest, and the second highest in the world. The ride (adult fare: 700 yen) has attracted long lines and some 27,000 visitors in the three days since its opening.

On a clear day, passengers are able to thrill to a panoramic view of Tokyo Bay and beyond, to the west, the majestic Mt Fuji.

Or maybe not. It seems that in the course of the wheel's 17 minute circuit, a couple in one of the separate compartments of a six passenger gondola has complete privacy. And since an announcement over the PA system warns customers several minutes before the wheel stops rotating, a couple so inclined has a full seven minutes to, er, swing without concern of putting on a shameless performance before the prying eyes of other passengers.

"There's plenty of room to get comfortable," writes Nikkan Gendai's reporter. "And once you reach a certain height, nobody can look in."

"No matter how passionate they get, there's absolutely no danger of couples causing any instability," grinned a spokesman for the wheel's manufacturer, Senyo Kogyo Co, Ltd. who pointed out that another of its products stood up to the major earthquake that struck Kobe in 1995.

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=kuchikomi&id=69

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2001

Answers

I'm waiting for a really long slow carwash. The gentle thwuffing of the long rags hanging down, like some tentacles caressing the exoskeleton of the car... [dreamy look]

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2001

Snort!

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2001

Firemouse, you would have loved the Ally McBeale episode where she meets this stranger at the carwash... only a few weeks later to show up at a friends wedding to find out he was his friends husband to be... the hot wax looked like fun :)

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2001

But...but... she's so scrawny!

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2001

It was a small car...

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2001