Oolong.

"The rabbit of this day was observed this way."

And so begins each entry in Oolong's photo diary. But first let me explain.

I first discovered this website in June 2001. I had been searching for random images when I came across the photograph on the right.

From that point I knew I had to find out the story behind this photo. I looked at the url of the picture, and traced back to the original site.
What I found was simply amazing. Picture after picture of the cutest rabbit I had ever seen. And many with various objects balanced on his head, also known as "Head performance" by his owner.

I spent the next 3 hours going completely through every single picture on the site, reading every caption and comment and saving them all to my computer. I checked back every week waiting hopefully for each new installment too.

I checked the counter on the site, and I was suprised at how very few visitors there had been to the site, about 2000 by my first count. It was then I realised this was an untouched website, probably only visited regularly by the owner and his friends in its 4 years on the net. I decided then to keep the site a secret, and I did for the next few months.

Then I began sending a few friends this picture. Many of you have probably seen it around before. It was my favourite picture, and despite my friends asking where I got it, I would not tell them. I wanted Oolong to remain a secret. Then one time I made the mistake of linking directly to the url of the picture at Oolongs website.
From there the url was sent around, and people found out about the main site, and all the pictures. A few people posted links to Oolongs site on some message boards, and from there it exploded. Oolong got over 150 thousand hits in just one week.

Oolong's owner posted this message following his rise in popularity. It made me feel sad, and I felt somehow I had caused the peaceful little world of Oolong to become an object of mockery among the internet community. I still feel that way to some extent, however I have chosen to create this area of my site as a tribute to Oolong. I hope you enjoy it.

Here are some facts about Oolong.

Oolong
Species: Oryctolagus cuniculus (Domestic Rabbit)
Age: 7
Birthday: July 28
Sex: Male
Location: Hokkaido, Japan.
Owner: Hironori Akutagawa
Origins of Name: Oolong is a kind of tea. Most popular in China.

So how did Oolong's owner discover his rabbits unique ability for "Head Performance"? Well from what I can tell on the 24th of May 1999, Oolong balanced his first object on his head.

First one, then two, then three!

After that, many many headperformances followed. But not always with perfect balance!

My favourite pictures are the ones with food. Below you fill find a selection of images, archived directly on this website.

"Baumkuchen" circular cake
A roll cake
Cap
Choco Maron
Cork
This looks heavy!
A pumpkin flavoured rice cake
Oolong on display in the snow
More Dorayaki
Steamed egg cake
A big glove, Help!
Green tea cake
Very cute
Oolong's house
What a nice hat
Oolong did this by accident
This looks yummy
I am a chef!
10 pieces! Headperformance record
A rice cake with whole strawberry.

And now here is a link to Oolong's website. Before you enter, please do not go to make fun or laugh at Oolong, and please do not write Oolong's owner with accusations of cruelty. Just visit and enjoy and appreciate while you can. 7 years is a long time for a rabbit. Thank you.