CHIBA: Special railway tickets are now on sale featuring Punch, a macaque at a zoo in Chiba Prefecture that grabbed the global spotlight for clinging to a stuffed orangutan following his mother’s rejection.
Hokuso-Railway Co, which operates a line that runs near the Ichikawa City Zoological and Botanical Gardens where Punch is kept, started selling 3,000 sets of special tickets featuring photos of the monkey on Wednesday (April 29).
Raised by human caregivers, Punch went viral on social media with #HangInTherePunch for carrying a stuffed animal that the zoo gave him as his “mother,” and trying hard to join in with the other monkeys.
The #HangInTherePunch set, priced at ¥1,000 (US$6) each, includes ¥620 and ¥380 tickets for adults for a ride from Omachi Station, the nearest to the zoo.
The sets are being sold at most stations on the Hato Marche website and at some events.
Part of the proceeds will be donated to the zoo. - The Japan News/ANN
