One of the popular Japan facts is that living in such a busy and well populated city as Osaka makes it slightly difficult to spot many wild animals. Aside from the cats and dogs, inhumanly large black crows, and the occasional ferret, there aren't many undomesticated animals to be seen while going about your regular day. Kobe and Kyoto are basically the same except that Kobe has signs posted around the mountain areas warning of wild boars and such.

Wild boars!

I was never lucky enough to catch sight of one of those notoriously troublesome wild boars. About a year ago, when I was travelling back and forth to Kobe, however, one of my friends said that three of them were quite frequent visitors to the apartment building where he lived. He sometimes had trouble getting out of the building in the morning because he had to sneak past them, or wait until they got bored (pardon the pun) and moved on. Whether he was fortunate to have such an opportunity to acquaint himself with the wild boards or just plain unlucky is a matter of opinion I suppose. Either way One more Japan fact is wild boars exist within the list of wild animals.

Surprisingly, there are many wild animals in Osaka and other parts of Japan that are either very elusive or perhaps nocturnal, making it a challenge to spot them. I'd asked all of my Japanese friends, about the animals in Japan but hadn't gotten much of an answer. Residents of Japan themselves weren't able to come up with more than five or six wild animals that they supposed lived around them. This list included the cats, dogs, crows, and ferrets. A few added mice and rats to the list, and even fewer remembered about the wild boars.

One of the absolute cutest animals in Japan in fact has got to be the momonga, or the Japanese dwarf flying squirrel. Whilst they do qualify as wild animals they are alos very, very cute. I first saw these flying furballs on a special wildlife show on Japanese television last year. They have enormous dark eyes with a white belly, which really stands out while they are gliding through the air, and a flat tail. Since they are nocturnal, it isn't so easy to come across one unless you're stalking about the forest at night. I thought that they were pretty rare until I saw one being sold at the local Conan (home depot) in the pet section. Well, I didn't actually see the flying momonga itself, only a cartoon-like drawing of one urging visitors not to wake him/her from a peaceful slumber. The momonga itself was hiding inside of a miniature cloth tent and impossible to get a look at but just knowing it was there tempted me to introduce a new family member into my household.

But what about the bats? There are 16 or more types of bats that live throughout Japan, with a good majority focusing on the islands, particularly Okinawa. A few types are common in the Kansai area, including the Japanese large-footed bat and horseshoe bat. I usually come home late from work so I get to see these bats in the warm weather late in the evening. They fly pretty low and in groups, circling around overhead of an area that is sometimes well illuminated by street lamps. I'm not sure which type of bat they are but they seem to fit the description of the Little Horseshoe bats. Where I grew up, it's very rare to see a bat in the city and in good lighting. The only time I can remember seeing a bat back then is when it accidentally smacked into our patio door. Thankfully, that bat had recovered quickly and returned to whatever it had been doing, disappearing into the darkness. So when I first noticed the bats, I hadn't been able to figure out what they were for a while. I thought that they might be oversized insects so I kept my distance from them. One fateful summer night, I had a pretty unnerving encounter with one of those little bats. I'd just come out of the supermarket with my groceries and was about to turn onto the street. In front of the supermarket, the doorway area was dimly lit with overhead lights. They looked like maybe it was time to change some light bulbs (speaking of which has anyone else noticed just how fast light bulbs seem to blow these days, man I am forever shelling out for those things). I can only assume that the little bat that suddenly flew into my face agreed with me, then again I though these guys flew on instruments and didn't need light. I saw the blur before it hit me and ducked just in time to avoid a nasty collision. It just seems like everything is flying around in chaos in the summer, maybe it's the heat. Thinking that the bat was a large cicada, I quickly checked over my shoulder to make sure that it wasn't attached to me. That was when I saw the fluttering bat making friends with the lamp post. It was really a cute, harmless critter so I counted my blessings that it hadn't been a cicada and watched it for a bit before heading home.

When I first arrived in japan I did expect to see some Ninja running around, but monkeys? No way. Probably one of the most comical animals in Japan is the Japanese Macaque, an ordinary looking monkey that seems to always be up to no good. These monkeys are average in size and look very innocent from a distance. But these monkeys are very clever and cunning, capable of just about anything. They live throughout Japan, especially in the mountainous areas where they feel quite territorial. They are very brave and feel comfortable doing just about anything, including relaxing in the hot springs, approaching humans with no fear whatsoever, and even having the gumption to snatch snacks away from unsuspecting tourists. I have met both students and friends who swear that these monkeys even go so far as to collect spare change, either by picking coins off of the ground or climbing into parked cars through open windows to rummage around for coins, and then take their findings over to the nearest vending machine. They then insert the coins (whether or not they wait for change wasn't specified), push the button of their desired beverage (again, I'm not sure if they actually receive the drink they want or even know the difference), and collect the can or bottle from the machine. According to the various people that I've talked to, the monkeys then pop the lid or twist off the cap and gulp down their caffeine high. I guess that it isn't too difficult to believe seeing as how these monkeys are fussy enough to want to wash all their food before eating it. For anyone interested in meeting these amusing monkeys, you need not go far. They can be found in their very own tourist attraction ‘Monkey Mountain' located in Arashiyama, Kyoto. The mountain itself is pretty normal until you get to the top where the monkeys seem to rule with their wailing and branch shaking.

In order to see the red-crowned crane - a beautiful crane that is usually associated with Japan and many legends - you would need to travel outside of the city in either the fall or winter. This Japan fact is quite sad as we know this wild animal to be endangered. Even though these rather large birds are on the endangered species list, I have had the good fortune of seeing them hanging around the rice fields in Fukui, between Osaka and Kyoto, and along the way to Kinosaki Onsen. They are easily distinguished by the red marking on their head and their overall white body, black neck and tail. They apparently live and breed in Siberia and Mongolia, migrating to Japan and other areas of East Asia during the fall and spending the winter there before heading back home again. The Japanese people consider the crane to be a very sacred bird, fabled to live up to 1000 years. You can easily find the crane represented in traditional artwork, literature, and fairytales. There was a very famous story that I heard back in elementary school of how a Japanese girl named Sadako Sasaki of Hiroshima had attempted to fold 1000 origami cranes in order to be granted with good health, happiness, and peace. She'd been diagnosed with leukemia as a result of being exposed to radiation after the bombing of Hiroshima in World War II. Her story had such an impact on me and my classmates that we arranged to display 1000 origami cranes in the school gymnasium, using them to promote peace and happiness in the school, and to honor Sadako Sasaki's memory. So now when I see a crane, I tend to be reminded of both the perseverance of Sadako Sasaki and my old school gymnasium decorated with multi-colored cranes hanging from the walls on strings.

Another animal that is popular in Japanese folklore is the tanuki, or raccoon dog. Raccoon dogs look nothing like dogs but slightly resemble North American raccoons thanks to the shape of their faces, and the dark rings around their eyes. They are often spotted in villages and rural areas and are very furry and cute in appearance. I recently saw a couple of them on a Japanese news program where they were debating over whether or not to build another highway in a rural area. After seeing all the raccoon dogs, foxes, and other creatures using the current roads and bridges during the night, construction of a new road was indefinitely postponed. Aside from the real furry raccoon dogs, you can find statues of their comical likenesses just about anywhere. All I need to do is walk for a few minutes in any direction around my home station and I'll have no trouble spotting a raccoon dog statue standing upright outside of a local establishment or the front door of someone's house. Sometimes there are twin statues on either side of the door, and other times there are statues of varying sizes. These statues can easily be bought in any department store, pottery store, or anywhere that sells general crafts. I see them so often that I'd stopped giving them much thought when encountered. These furry creatures are so popular that Ghibli Studios - a company that is famous worldwide for their unique animated movies - made a whole movie all about them. ‘Heisei tanuki gassen pompoko' is about a group of magical raccoon dogs that can change their appearance by shape-shifting, using their powers to protect their community. This is another perfect example of an animal that is obviously considered to have great magical and spiritual powers according to Japanese myths and legends.

There are a number of rabbits living in Japan as well that are well represented in tales and artwork. You can find the Japanese rabbit on the new Spring bento box (lunch box) designs this year, as well as on chopsticks, bowls, plates, clothing, imprinted on sweets etc. It isn't so easy to run into rabbits in Japan because they are usually pretty good at hiding, unless you pay the pet store a visit. Or, on a good night, you might be able to see the pattern on the moon that depicts a rabbit making mochi.

I guess my pre Japan impressions included mostly concrete and I wasn't so sure how the Ninja still existed but my hopes held high of seeing of these fellows. What I didn't expect to find was so much forest. I read up a little and found that 79% of Japan is under forest. There is a lot, not just a bit but a whole lot of green here. It is true that a few of us are fighting hard to preserve what is left of Japan's natural forest as it is almost gone. However it was not cut down to be replaced with concrete but rather more trees that have grown to cover most of the country. The Japanese farm the mountains with crops of trees. Mostly softwood and of course this makes a perfect breeding ground for the Kabutomushi. A Kabuto is a war hat work by the samurai of the past and these guys look just like a war hat. The Japanese boys go nuts over them and if we are honest so do their dad's. I have a soft spot for them as well. But I did not appreciate one crawling into my sleeping bag and scaring the life out of me when its horns made contact with my bare foot. AGH!

At first, getting in-tune with the local wildlife might seem a bit difficult and frustrating but it gets easier if you know where to look. Perhaps because of the daytime activity, most of these creatures are either nocturnal or prefer to move about at night to avoid being seen. Thanks to Japan being a relatively safe country, I find that it's sometimes very relaxing and fun to stroll about after dark in the hopes of running into something new and interesting. Very seldom am I disappointed. All one needs is a quiet street and a sharp pair of eyes to be able to catch these animals in action.

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