Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on June 2011

When Noah was building his ark the neighbors famously mocked him, only to laugh on the other side of their faces when the deluge swept a whale into their front garden. In the wake of the March 11 tsunami, even the most cynical of skeptics would struggle to muster a chortle at the Ark of Ise, designed by Ise Industries of Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture. The steel flotation device has a windowed hatch that’s sealable from inside and is available for two, four and six people—in square, rectangular and octagonal forms, respectively. Starting from ¥40 million—a small price to pay for surviving biblical devastation—you can pick yours up from mid-June. http://meturl.com/iseark