House Critters

Every night it's hard telling what you will find on/in our house. These humid, nasty Japanese summers drive critters indoors seeking relief from the elements. One night I found an adorable little lizard on our house - and the next day I found him in our backyard too. He was barely 2 inches long! We often see blue tailed skinks running around the patio, too.

Another critter we see a lot (and have found in our house twice) is the huntsman spider. They are the largest spider in Japan, and often grow larger than a softball. They are HUGE. It makes the wolf spiders of Kentucky look like babies. They are harmless though, unless you're a bug. They are interesting because they don't build webs, they chase down their prey like an eight legged cheetah. Due to this hunting technique, they are lightning fast! You can blink and they'll be on the other side of the room!

Huntsman Spider

Sometimes we see praying mantises, which are cool. Other times we see GIANT 3 inch long cockroaches, which is not so cool. But the roaches are the favorite food of the huntsman spider, so it balances out.

We think there may have been a tanuki in our backyard a couple of nights ago! I noticed something got in our trash and had the jaw power to crunch through big, thick chicken bones, so I know it wasn't a cat. Tanuki are very cool, and are also known as raccoon dogs, although they are not related to raccoons. Tanuki are in fact canids, meaning they are cousins to foxes, wolves, and dogs, and are very similar to the bush dogs of South America. Tanuki are native to Asia, but have been introduced to Europe recently. I have seen them in zoos, but have never spotted a wild one yet, so hopefully we will someday!

Sorry, We're Closed

As with most businesses most places, when they close for the night, they roll down a security shutter. This one is near a local mall and I love it!

Foreign Snacks

A friend of mine recently went to the Philippines and brought back some snacks for us! I loved the name of this one! It was pretty good - chili cheese flavored corn nuts.

Crazy Canals

The canals here are always full of something to gawk at. First off, they always have koi in them. And ducks. Plus you can usually find crabs, puffer fish, turtles, heron, and the occasional sting ray. I was exploring the mouth of a canal recently that spilled into the bay. The amount of ocean wild life was mind blowing. I saw 2 sting rays, several fish that I have yet to identify, and tens of thousands of puffer fish!! The closer you got to the bay, the thicker the puffer fish got. The water was nearly solid with them! The pictures I got just do not do it justice. I had never seen anything like that in my life!

Exploring Ruins on the Coast

We went exploring yesterday and hiked up and down the coast and through the woods. It was a nice cloudy day, so it wasn't too hot and there was a great breeze. We climbed to the top of a light house and enjoyed the view, but my favorite part was exploring some old ruins in the woods. We happened upon a large area that looked like we were just dropped in an episode of Legends of the Hidden Temple. There was a plaque there that we used Google Translate on, and we learned that the stone structures before us were old Japanese military ruins that were over 200 years old! It said there was still ammunition stored underground at the site. There were underground tunnels that were sealed off with slabs of concrete. I found a crack in the concrete that was just big enough to stick my hand in. I shoved my camera in there (you couldn't see anything just by peaking into the hole - it was pitch black) and took some pics just to see what was in there. It was amazing!! Since the tunnels are pretty untouched by the elements, the red brick that lines their walls looks brand new. You can see way in the back that the tunnel splits and goes off 3 or 4 different directions. It was so cool!

200 year old Japanese military ruins.

The views around the coast were amazing as well. Tons of people were out on the beaches, playing and enjoying the water. While we were walking along a path up a coastal hill, we found a cat! I am constantly finding cats wherever we go - Japan must have the biggest stray cat population, I swear! While we were in the woods, we also found a really old, tiny cemetery. I had never seen one this small. Seeing as how there were no large, modern monuments, and the erosion on the tomb stones was significant, I would love to know how old it is.

Inside of an underground tunnel.

A different underground tunnel. 

Tiny, old cemetery. 

Cemeteries

The cemeteries here in Japan are so amazing. Each monument is actually a tomb that holds the cremated remains of entire families. Since space is so limited in this island nation, each individual person cannot have their own plot, so everyone is cremated and several family members through generations are kept together in the same tomb. Each interment plot usually costs about $20,000, and are fitted with large, ornate marble or granite monuments. The upper portion of the monument can have the family name, as well as the name of each family member there, engraved on it, along with a family crest or a family tree engraved on it. The large base of the monument is where the cremated remains are held. These monuments also include a place to keep water, and spaces for burning incense, placing flowers, burning the light of a lantern, and can even have a receptacle for leaving your name card or a note for the family. Like with any other cemetery I've ever come across, I could easily spend hours there, just looking around and admiring all the beauty and history and getting lost in the day dreams of how each person lived their life.

Flowers

The flowers just keep getting better!