Rickshaws in Japan

I tried to do a good thing today, or at least I think it was a good thing, but it didn’t quite work out. It’s a bummer.

I was walking around downtown Dublin and I saw a seagull chick with a broken wing. A lady who also stopped happened to be a volunteer with an animal rescue organisation. Let’s call her Lady One. She started making phone calls, and was told she needed to email an animal welfare group. Email! WTF! So Lady One recorded a video of the poor bird and sent it via email. She also contacted a vet nearby. There was a police station nearby, so while Lady One waited by the bird, I ran to the station to see if the police could do anything. How naive I was! It was midday, the police station reception was unmanned, and there were a dozen people waiting there. So I turned around and saw a tourist emergency office inside the station. The two ladies there were helpful. They called an animal cruelty hotline and had me explained the situation. I left my phone number and the location of the bird. They said they’d send someone, and I should expect a phone call soon. I ran back to the bird, and Lady One was gone. I stayed by that poor fella, and it was clearly in distress. I called the animal cruelty people again, and the man who answered by call seemed bothered by my follow-up. He told me that I should hang up the call and wait to be called. What a fucking asshole! I do not get why he even works at the organisation, coz he clearly didn’t care about this cause. This was a busy part of town. People came and went. Some stopped to look at the bird, and some didn’t see anything. Then came Lady Two. She came out of an office building nearby, and stopped on her way to lunch. She and a colleague of hers tried to catch the bird with their bare hands. Bad idea. It didn’t work out, but no one got hurt either. She went on her way and said she’d come back. Lady One returned with a vet and a cardboard box. We tried to get the little guy into the box, but failed. Apparently the vet specialised in pets, and wasn’t more experienced in handling a bird in distress. He got a call and left. Lady One had to leave for some child duty. Before leaving, she went to a few office buildings nearby to seek help. None came. She called the animal groups a couple of more times, and they said they’d send someone, but it’d take hours. And if and when they get the bird, it’d be put down. Lady One had to take off, leaving me, the bird and a cardboard box. We exchanged phone numbers before she left. Then Lady Two came back and said if we could get the bird in the box, she’d take it to her vet. Unfortunately, the bird would be put down still. Apparently the broken wing was too grave for the bird to recover from. Anyway, Lady Two got two more passersby to help, and we were able to trap the poor little bird in the box. I carried the box with her to her office, we scotched taped the box for safety, and she called a cab and drove the box to her vet. Two hours, and a euthanised little bird. What a bummer! And the phone call I was waiting for never came.

That’s my rant about an awful experience.

On to today’s photos. I always consider rickshaws a tourist trap, and they mostly are. I’ve never taken them, coz I was raised to be of the proletariat class. But rickshaws in Japan genuinely look fun. From the uniform to the spotless vehicles. I love the visuals. And here’s a few photos.

A newly wed couple

Chitchatting while waiting for business.

The fleet.

A sales pitch.

Prepping the rickshaw.

In motion

That’s it for today! If you’ve come this far, thank you! See you soon!