The next day when - sure enough - sardines and mackerel rained down on a section of Nakano ward, the young policeman turned white as a sheet. With no warning whatsoever some two thousand sardines and mackerel plunged to earth from the clouds. Most of the fish were crushed to a pulp as they slammed into the ground, but a few survived and flopped around on the road by the shopping district. The fish were fresh, with still a smell of the sea about them. The fish struck people, cars and roofs, but not, apparently, from such a great height, so no serious injuries resulted. It was more shocking than anything else. A huge number of fish falling like hail from the sky - it was positively apocalyptic