KUMANO, Mie Prefecture--The famed "Shishi-iwa" (Lion ... to be roaring at the Sea of Kumanonada, has regained its fierceness. Its "head" and "mouth" had been overgrown with black pines ...

What a charmer this place is. The Black Lion describes itself as as 'iconic country pub', and though it's but a stone's throw from the roaring Great North Road, you can half believe that claim.

The park authorities have put a pair of lions — nine-year-old male Suraj and seven-year-old female Tanaya — on display for visitors as part of their acclimatisation process Lion Suraj and lioness ...