I went to Fukushima, Japan as part of my recent TV show shoot. It wasn’t my decision. One of the locations happened to be in Sendai.

The half-day experience and lingering impact are hard to sum up. Weird, mixed feelings are ongoing… it doesn’t add up. Such as these lions, which were in the same park.

I posted a new video on YouTube and above, showing the lions caged in Tohoku Safari Park. Take away what you will from it.

I can’t reveal exactly what went on during the TV shoot, but we were in this location for the racetrack. Hence the revving car noises in the background.

The lions and tigers were in the hardest-hit zone of the earthquake. They all survived. Proud animals, and sad.

This male lion kept roaring. What do you think he’s trying to tell us?

Spot the differences between the lioness and my spoiled Scottish Fold, Basil Farrow.

Without doubt, my cat has more confidence in his eyes.

In the video, I speak a little about the ethics of having these creatures in cages…

This was my first sight of Fukushima. The TV crew took the Shinkansen to Koriyama Station, then taxied to Nihonmatsu.

The city was active — cars in the streets — yet felt empty. Shops were open, but many roofs were in repair.

To my surprise, the area was gloriously green. The natural beauty of Fukushima isn’t conveyed in the usual media coverage.

Recent health reports of Fukushima children are grim. There’s still much that we don’t know, and Japan has a huge road of recovery ahead. Let’s do what we can to help.

Proceeds from our HOPE t-shirt collection go directly to the Sendai government, to help the victims of the earthquake and tsunami. There’s more info about the shirts here. And we’re going to launch yet another charity project next week.

Were you surprised, moved, broken by these images of Fukushima? What are your thoughts on the ongoing recovery efforts? Please take a second to view my video of the lions; there’s something poignant in there…

Song of the Day: Bauhaus – Dark Entries